Thanks to the men and women who make up the El Paso Fire Department, the department once again received its international accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). After appearing before an 11-member commission, which represents a cross-section of the nation’s fire service industry, the CFAI voted to renew the El Paso Fire Department’s international accreditation. Members of the El Paso Fire Department appeared before the commission on July 27.
“International accreditation is important because it provides a clear and transparent assurance to the community of a well-organized department, effective in meeting their needs.”
“We couldn’t have achieved this accreditation without the employees of the El Paso Fire Department who do an outstanding job 24/7,” Fire Chief Mario D’Agostino said. “International accreditation is important because it provides a clear and transparent assurance to the community of a well-organized department, effective in meeting their needs.”
The Department first earned the prestigious accreditation in 2012. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates there are 35,000 fire departments in the United States; only 233 are internationally accredited. Only 54 fire departments in the country are both recognized as an accredited agency and have a Class 1 rating from the Insurance Services Organizations (ISO) on Public Protection. Of those, only five are metro-sized with populations over 500,000.
The El Paso Fire Department’s international accreditation, combined with the ISO Class 1 rating, helps keep home insurance rates low for homeowners resulting in substantial savings.
“This international accreditation is proof that El Paso has some of the best fire professionals in the world,” Mayor Dee Margo said. “Their commitment to this community is unquestionable and I am proud of all the hard work they put forth to ensure that our citizens are safe.”
City Manager Tommy Gonzalez agrees.
“El Paso has received a lot of recognition lately, from being named a top city for quality life, to being named a top metro to start a business, all are key performance indicators of being a high performing organization,” he said. “This latest international accreditation shows that El Paso also places a high priority on safety and quality service.”
The CFAI/Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) provides the only international accreditation program for fire service organizations in the world. Accreditation serves as a mechanism for measuring organizational effectiveness. It is a process by which the commission recognizes an agency as meeting predetermined standards and qualifications, which includes over 250 performance indicators, in 10 different categories, over 80 core competencies.
EP FireWire 