Pasadena Fire Department Is Awarded International Accreditation

Pasadena Fire Chief Bertral Washington is honored to announce the Department joins an elite cadre of fire organizations around the world to receive the coveted “Accredited Agency” status from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).  Only 10 municipal fire departments in California and 218 internationally have earned Accredited Agency status.  The United States has more than 30,000 Fire Departments.

The accreditation award was presented Aug. 26, 2015, at the Commission Hearing in Atlanta after an extensive evaluation process.  Accreditation is a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that enables organizations to examine past, current and future service levels and internal performances and to compare them to industry best practices.  The process leads to improved service delivery for the public.

“All Fire Department personnel, city leaders, and key members of other departments have collaborated to achieve Accredited Agency status.  This demonstrates our commitment to provide the highest quality of service to our community.  We are able to use the Commission on Fire Accreditation International’s process as a proactive mechanism to plan for the future and identify areas we can improve on the services we provide,” Fire Chief Washington said.

The Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) serves as the governing body for the CFAI and the Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC) that offer the accreditation, education and credentialing services to first responder and fire service industry professionals and agencies.

CPSE promotes the continuous quality improvement of fire and emergency service agencies that serve communities worldwide by providing training and career resource information.  As a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation, CPSE supports and encourages agencies and personnel to meet international performance standards through various programs and the work of the two commissions.

A task force of highly qualified and dedicated chief fire officers, trainers, city/county administrators, and academic professionals worked together to create the self-assessment model—the basis for CFAI accreditation.

The Pasadena Fire Department Accreditation was managed by Battalion Chief Anthony Bagan (Accreditation Manager), Firefighter/Paramedic Oscar Sepulveda (Assistant Accreditation Manager) and Fire Chief Bertral Washington.