Published August 15 2013
Bellevue Fire Chief Michael Eisner and Battalion Chief Bruce Kroon have accepted the fire department's re-accreditation at the International Association of Fire Chiefs conference being held in Chicago.
The presentation was hosted by with the Center for Public Safety Excellence (formerly called the Commission on Fire Accreditation International). The re-accreditation from CPSE is the third for the Bellevue Fire Department.
"Accreditation is an essential tool for improving upon the high level of performance established by the Bellevue Fire Department," said Acting City Manager Brad Miyake. "It ensures that the public is getting great value for their tax dollars in the form of quality services."
Bellevue Fire was first accredited in 1998 and, at the time, was one of only eight departments in the nation to receive this prestigious recognition. The process embodies a pursuit of excellence within the fire industry; CPSE measures each and every aspect of an organization and benchmarks those findings towards continuous quality improvement.
CPSE's Accreditation Program reflects a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that enables fire and emergency service organizations to examine their service levels and performance in a way that allows them to compare to industry best practices.
Currently there are only 171 fire departments that are accredited. The Bellevue department is one of four in the state of Washington to receive this award.
The fire department is one of several Bellevue departments that have been accredited by nationally recognized, professional organizations.