CPSE Annual Awards Banquet
On August 18, CPSE held is seventeenth and final Annual Awards Ceremony. Over 350 individuals came together for an evening of recognition, networking, and celebration.
The theme for this year’s banquet held in San Antonio, TX was “Celebrating 20 Years of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.” CFAI was incorporated in 1996 and in 2006, to reflect its larger focus and its importance to all-hazard response, the corporation’s name was changed to the Center for Public Safety Excellence. A video featuring Chief Ronny J. Coleman, one of the founders of CFAI, sharing the early history of the organization was shown during the banquet. The video can be viewed online at:
https://vimeo.com/179892232/59c7540d76
During the evening’s program, the almost 50 agencies that were accredited and the over 650 officers that were credentialed over the last year were recognized for their achievements. In addition, the outgoing Chair of the Commission on Professional Credentialing, Steve Locke, CFO, Fire Chief Burlington Fire Department, VT, and the outgoing Vice Chair of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, Steve Olson, CFO, retired Fire Chief Geneva Fire Department, IL were recognized for their service to CPSE.
Chief Randy Bruegman, CFO, CPSE Board President, and Fire Chief, Anaheim Fire Rescue, CA served as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Chief Bruegman gave an impassioned speech on the future of the fire and emergency service and the role that CPSE and all in attendance could play in this future. Prior to bringing Chief Bruegman to the stage, Preet Bassi, CPSE Chief Executive Officer, recognized the contributions of CPSE volunteers and staff thanking them for their dedication.
Last week, 34 agencies came before the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) to complete their self-assessment journey. The final phase, held during a public hearing, involves a presentation by the peer assessment team leader, the fire chief, and a questions and answers session with the CFAI. CFAI is an 11-member panel with representatives from the IAFC, ICMA, IAFF, ISO, NFPA, and DOD. The questions focused on the agencies’ commitment to quality improvement and the findings from their recent peer team site visit.
As of the hearings last week, there are now 234 accredited agencies with over 200 more working through the self-assessment process.
CPSE would like to recognize and congratulate the following agencies for successfully completing their journey to accredited status:
- Clearwater Fire & Rescue, Clearwater, FL
- Cherry Hill Fire Department, Cherry Hill, NJ
- Columbus AFB Fire Emergency Services, Columbus AFB, MS
- Davenport Fire Department, Davenport, IA
- Detroit Metro Airport Fire Department, Detroit, MI
- Dover AFB Fire Emergency Services, Dover AFB, DE
- Durham Fire Department, Durham, NC
- Fayetteville Fire/Emergency Management Department, Fayetteville, NC
- Gastonia Fire Department, Gastonia, NC
- Geneva Fire Department, Geneva, IL
- Grissom ARB Fire Department, Grissom ARB, IN
- Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue, Hampton, VA
- High Point Fire Department, High Point, NC
- Huntley Fire Protection District, Huntley, IL
- Houston Fire Department, Houston, TX
- Kingsport Fire Department, Kingsport, TN
- Lee’s Summit Fire Department, Lee’s Summit, MO
- Morrisville Fire/Rescue Department, Morrisville, NC
- Mount Pleasant Fire Department, Mount Pleasant, SC
- Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Fire & Emergency Services, Seal Beach, CA
- City of Pewaukee Fire Department, Pewaukee, WI
- Village of Pinehurst Fire Department, Pinehurst, NC
- Quantico Fire and Emergency Services, Quantico, VA
- Rockford Fire Department, Rockford, IL
- Rogers Fire Department, Rogers, AR
- Savannah Fire & Emergency Services, Savannah, GA
- Scott AFB Fire Emergency Services, Scott AFB, IL
- Spokane Valley Fire Department, Spokane Valley, WA
- St. Albert Fire Services, St. Albert, Alberta
- Temple Terrace Fire Department, Temple Terrace, FL
- Town of Menasha Fire Department, Neenah, WI
- Virginia Beach Fire Department, Virginia Beach, VA
- Wilmette Fire Department, Wilmette, IL
- Winter Park Fire-Rescue, Winter Park, FL
The CFAI hearings were simulcast via web with over 1,300 views of the proceedings over the three days.
Following the successful appearance of multiple DOD Fire Departments before CFAI, Air Force Fire Chief Jim Podolske (r) presented an award to CFAI recognizing the commission’s role in supporting Air Force Fire in their pursuit of excellence.
The Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC) met last week during Fire-Rescue International in San Antonio, TX. During the meeting the Commission acted on 15 candidate portfolios and 28 renewal applications. This brings the total number of designated officers to 1844 broken down as follows:
- Chief Fire Officer (CFO) – 1179
- Chief EMS Officer (CEMSO) – 116
- Fire Marshal (FM) – 111
- Chief Training Officer (CTO) – 89
- Fire Officer (FO) – 349
The next CPC meeting is scheduled for October 4th. Candidate applications must be uploaded to the CPSE drop box no later than August 29th to be considered for designation at the October meeting.
As many of you know the CPSE family lost one of its long time Board Members – Mike Worthington – last September. Mike brought a unique set of talents to the Board having served as the Fire Chief for Pitt County, NC before moving on to Motorola where he enjoyed a 32 year career retiring as a corporate vice president and general manager of global market operations and strategic communications.
Mike exemplified continuous improvement and always encouraged others to constantly grow and improve. In his honor, CPSE has established a scholarship program to further the professional development and education of fire officers.
During our awards ceremony, Chief Ron Siarnicki, CFO, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), presented the CPSE with a donation in the amount of $5000 for the Mike Worthington Scholarship Fund. Chief Siarnicki praised Mike for the support he had given the NFFF during his career, particularly his time with Motorola. Chief Siarnicki informed the crowd the contribution was made possible by an anonymous donor.
The mission of the NFFF is to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes and to provide resources to assist their survivors in rebuilding their lives and work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths and injuries.
For more information on the Foundation, visit www.firehero.org.
Purchase a Walk of Honor Brick in the CPSE node.
Donate to the Worthington Scholarship Fund.
Last week during the educational program at FRI in San Antonio, TX, CPSE Board Member and Fire Chief Town of Cary, NC, Chief Allan Cain, CFO and CFAI Program Director Karl Ristow, CFO presented to nearly 40 attendees “Solutions to the Five Wicked Issues within the Fire Service: Data and Culture.” Their presentation discussed challenges the fire service has on a daily basis with data and why it is a major factor to the lethargic changes made in its culture. The presentation explored areas of data that need to be captured, synthesized, analyzed, and then utilized to challenge and change the fire service norm. Solutions to dealing with wicked issues were discussed with the audience to capture their ideas for moving forward.
CPSE’s official photographer, Craig Hacker, has posted the photos from the awards banquet on August 18 to his web site. Accredited agencies and credentialed officers that posed for pictures prior to the awards banquet can access the photos directly through this link:
www.craighacker.photoshelter.com/gallery/2016-CPSE-Awards-Banquet-San-Antonio/G0000Wb2_ETKlTu0
Or, alternatively, you can go to www.craighacker.com and look under “Recently Updated” 2016 CPSE Awards Banquet – San Antonio.
Fire Chief Joe Holomy, CFO, was appointed by Governor Bruce Rauner to serve as chairman of the Illinois Fire Advisory Commission.
The state commission advises the Illinois State Fire Marshal on fire protection, investigation and prevention, as well as other duties required by law.
The commission is made up of 18 members, nine which are appointed by the governor, who also designates the chairman. Also on the commission are three professional full-time paid firefighters, one volunteer firefighter, one registered fire protection engineer, a representative of the fire insurance industry in Illinois and others.
Holomy was hired as Effingham fire chief in November 2004. Chief Holomy was recently recognized as a fifth term Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designate having earned his credential in February 2004.
Nashville, TN
October 18-22, 2016
Visit CPSE at booth #460 and learn more about accreditation and credentialing.
Register for FirehouseExpo2016
CPSE has several workshops scheduled for the next few months. Register today to reserve your seat at the workshop that meets your needs. Please pass these dates and locations on to your colleagues at adjacent fire departments to help us promote attendance at all workshops.
For course details and registration, go to:
www.cpse.org/news/upcoming-workshops-events.aspx.
August 29, 2016
DoD Only: Data Analysis & Presentation
Holloman AFB, NM
September 13, 2016
DoD Only: Quality Improvement Through Accreditation
Camp Pendleton, CA
September 19, 2016
Quality Improvement Through Accreditation
Fairfax, VA
September 20, 2016
Quality Improvement Through Accreditation
Edmonton, Canada
October 03, 2016
Quality Improvement Through Accreditation
Burlington, VT
October 04, 2016
Quality Improvement Through Accreditation
Des Moines, IA
October 17, 2016
Quality Improvement Through Accreditation
South Bend, IN
October 19, 2016
Quality Improvement Through Accreditaton
Sarasota, FL
October 20, 2016
Firehouse Expo
Nashville, TN
October 24, 2016
Exceeding Customer Expectations
Campbell, CA
November 01, 2016
Quality Improvement Through Accreditation
Kirkland, WA
November 07, 2016
Data Analysis & Presentation
St. Charles, MO
November 14, 2016
Data Analysis & Presentation
Campbell, CA