City of Prescott Fire Department travels to Florida to accept Accreditation Status
The City of Prescott Fire Department has received Accredited Agency status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) for meeting the criteria established through the CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program. The City of Prescott Fire Department is one of 259 agencies to achieve Internationally Accredited Agency status with the CFAI and the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE). The City of Prescott Fire Department is one of 11 departments in the state, and the only department in Yavapai County to be recognized as being accredited.
The City of Prescott Fire Department has been working for nearly 2 years towards becoming internationally accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). This process has necessitated the development of a comprehensive Community Risk Assessment, a Standards of Cover document, a five-year Strategic Plan, and a Fire and Emergency Services Self-Assessment Manual.
In November of 2019, The City of Prescott Fire Department went through an onsite 3rd party review of the Department. Upon completion of the review, the assessors recommended that the City of Prescott Fire Department appear in front of the Commission to be considered for Accreditation Status by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).
On March 3, 2020, members of the City of Prescott Fire Department traveled to Orlando Florida to answer any further questions from the Commission. After further questioning, the Commission approved the recommendation to award the City of Prescott Fire Department Accredited Agency Status.
According to Accreditation Manager and Battalion Chief Ralph Lucas “This recommendation is instrumental in setting us apart from most departments in that it subjects us to an independent peer review to verify and validate our capabilities against nationally recognized best practices”
Fire Chief Dennis Light said, “This is the result of an effort that included the entire department and took a number of years to complete, but when it comes to process improvement and encouraging best practices, such efforts never cease”. Chief Light went on to say, “Becoming an accredited agency is not the end, it is the beginning. Now that the Prescott Fire Department has been accredited, it will require us to regularly evaluate our processes and improvement. We will be required to submit annual reports to the CFAI, detailing our actions with regard to compliance and process improvement for each of the ten specific categories and 252 individual performance indicators. Accreditation is not for life, it is for a 5 year period, so our work to improve our operations will be continuous in anticipation of being fully reviewed again in 5 years for re-accreditation.”
The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) is committed to improving fire and emergency service agencies around the world. They assist agencies in achieving organizational and professional excellence. This is done through its strategic self-assessment model and accreditation process, which provides continuous quality improvement and enhancement of service delivery to the community.