FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2022
Charlottesville Fire Department Receives International Reaccreditation Status.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Charlottesville Fire Department 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.
CFD is one of more than 300 agencies to achieve Internationally Accredited Agency status with the CFAI and the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE). The fire department leadership team traveled to Denver Colarado, where they completed the final hearing and responded to questions from an eleven-member Commission CFAI panel. CFAI is dedicated to assisting the fire and emergency service agencies worldwide in achieving excellence through self-assessment and accreditation. This level of excellence will help provide continuous quality improvement and enhanced service delivery to their communities.
The CFAI process is voluntary and provides an agency with an improvement model to assess their service delivery and performance internally. A team of peers from other agencies then evaluate the agency’s completed self-assessment for consideration. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the committed firefighters/EMS and civilian staff relentlessly committed to the department’s core values: Family, Integrity, Respect, and Excellence.
Deputy City Manager Michael C. Rogers said, “we are proud of the Fire Department and have been happy to support the team in the process of seeking reaccreditation of the department. Accreditation is a great stamp of approval for local fire departments and we are proud to stand among the best.”
Fire Chief Dr. Hezedean A. Smith stated that the agency’s achievement of Accredited Agency status “demonstrates our commitment to continuous quality improvement and the resilience of the women and men who proudly serve and provide the highest quality service to our Charlottesville community.”
The accreditation status remains active for five years and requires the department to provide an Annual Compliance Report, confirming its activity to ensure that all applicable Core Competencies remain in compliance.
Media Contacts
Dr. Hezedean A. Smith, Fire Chief
smithhez@charlottesville.gov
(434)970-3323