City of Riverside Fire Department Awarded International Re-accreditation Status
Published: 2/28/2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Feb. 28, 2024
Contact:
Battalion Chief Brian Guzzetta
951-312-5568
City of Riverside Fire Department Awarded International Re-accreditation Status
Honor means Riversiders receive protection enjoyed by only 13 percent of U.S. population
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The City of Riverside Fire Department (RFD) today (2/28) completed a rigorous process to achieve its Re-accredited Agency Status from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), maintaining itself as one of only five fire agencies in California to be both accredited and an ISO Class 1 department as recognized by the Insurance Service Office.
The decision keeps Riverside residents, students and business owners in select company because only 13% of the U.S. population benefits from the protection of an accredited agency.
RFD representatives were grilled by the 12-member Commission at the Center for Public Safety Excellence Conference in Orlando before the unanimous vote. Accreditation is a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that examines past, current, and future service levels and internal performance and compares them to industry best practices. RFD is accredited through 2028.
"We are delighted to receive this recognition once again, further solidifying our position as a premier fire agency,” Chief Michael Moore said. “Our commitment to the CPSE accreditation process, centered on continuous improvement across our services, is deeply embedded in our organizational culture.”
As one of only 24 accredited agencies in all of California and only 312 worldwide recognized by CFAI and the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE), RFD takes great pride in attaining this esteemed status. The integration of the accreditation process into daily operations and culture serves as the foundation for delivering quality services to the Riverside community.
CFAI is dedicated to assisting fire and emergency service agencies throughout the world in achieving excellence through self-assessment and accreditation to provide continuous quality improvement and the enhancement of service delivery to their communities. The CFAI process provides agencies with an improvement model to assess their service delivery and performance internally, and then works with a team of peers from other agencies to verify and validate their completed self-assessment.
The re-accreditation process unremittingly covered all aspects of the agency's strategies, deployment, and operational effectiveness. The extensive evaluation process required RFD to complete and participate in the creation of a 5-year Community-driven Strategic Plan and a comprehensive Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover.
The department prepared and submitted an agency-wide Self-Assessment Manual, along with essential documents, for review by expert fire service peers nationwide. These peers, possessing significant expertise, conducted an in-depth site visit to Riverside in October 2023 to validate the findings in the report. The collective efforts of the peer assessors resulted in a unanimous recommendation for RFD's continued accreditation during the fall site visit, prompting today’s final hearing.
“We take immense pride in having the Riverside Fire Department within our organization, and the successful re-accreditation further exemplifies the commitment to excellence that defines our community's firefighting operations,” said City Manager Mike Futrell, who attended the hearing. “We’ve leveraged the process of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International as a proactive and transparent tool to strategize for the future of our agency and locate areas where we can improve on the quality of the services we provide.”
The unanimous re-accreditation is a testament to the first-rate services continually provided to the Riverside community. RFD remains steadfast in its commitment to the community by being well trained, competent, professional and ready to respond to all hazards.
Learn more about the City of Riverside Fire Department at RiversideCA.gov/fire
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