Accreditation

The West Allis Fire Department was unanimously awarded Accredited Agency Status by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) at the Center for Public Safety Excellence Commission hearings in Chicago, Illinois in August 2023. This was the fifth time the West Allis Fire Department has been awarded Accredited Agency status by the Commission. The original accreditation was awarded in 2003 and re-accreditation was awarded in 2008, 2013 and most recently in 2023. The West Allis Fire Department is currently one of only eight municipal agencies in the State of Wisconsin to obtain CFAI Accredited Agency Status.

Accreditation Requirements

Accreditation requires months and even years of rigorous preparation by the fire staff to prepare for in-depth scrutiny by an accreditation peer review team. Each year the West Allis Fire Department’s Accreditation Manager submits an Annual Compliance Report for review by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. Every five years, five-day site visits are conducted by peer assessors from the United States and Canada. The peer assessors evaluate the fire department in order to confirm that it has met all criteria established through Commission on Fire Accreditation International’s self-assessment and accreditation program. The evaluation process includes verification and validation of programs and services provided by the department, along with in-depth reviews of City and fire department policies, principles, and practices.

About the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI)

The goal of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International is to assist fire and emergency service agencies throughout the world in achieving excellence through self-assessment, accreditation and continuous quality improvement in order to enhance service delivery to their communities.

For more information on accreditation, visit the Center for Public Safety Excellence website.