Fire Department On Track To Renew Accreditation

On Aug. 21, members of the Temple Terrace Fire Department will travel to Atlanta to visit the Commission of Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) and find out if it will renew their accreditation status.

Since 2006, the fire department has been an Accredited Agency, a status awarded by CFAI, a program of the Virginia-based Center for Public Safety Excellence Inc. The designation places the department among the elite firefighting organizations around the world. Temple Terrace was the first fire department in Hillsborough County to be internationally accredited.

On May 26, a four-member assessment team made up of firefighters from around the country, recommended the renewal of the department’s accreditation status.

Accredited agencies are required to renew their accreditation status every five years. It’s a task that entails a thorough review of the department’s strategic plan, standards of response and self-assessment manual. The documents, combined with available exhibits, represent more than 1,000 pages of information about the performance of the department, said Temple Terrace Fire Chief Keith Chapman.

Because there are no national standards to judge fire departments, accreditation is a way of assuring the public that its fire department is performing consistently at a high-quality level, explained Mike Dunn, the city’s public information officer.

Accreditation team leader Jerry Nulliner praised the Temple Terrace Fire Department for its performance in many areas. The team also made five strategic recommendations and five specific recommendations for the department in its report, Dunn said.

“The fire department is extremely happy with the recommendation from the assessment team,” Chapman said.

“I am thankful for the highly skilled professionals I have the opportunity to lead,” he added. “The members of this department have worked extremely hard over the last five years to maintain international accredited status. This work demonstrates their commitment to providing outstanding service to the citizens of Temple Terrace.”