All Three Public Safety Departments Accredited

Our Fire Department has officially received Accredited Agency status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, Inc. (CFAI) for meeting the criteria established through the CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and rigorous on-site inspection. We are one of 114 agencies to achieve Internationally Accredited Agency status with the CFAI worldwide and the first in Iowa to receive it. CFAI was established in 1996 as a non-profit organization. The International Association of Fire Chiefs worked in concert with the International City/County Management Association in the development of the CFAI program. This Accreditation makes West Des Moines one of only a handful of cities in the nation to have all three public safety departments (police, fire, and EMS) accredited. Departments are judged on more than 100 factors ranging from training and competency to physical, financial, and human resources. Our EMS, Fire, and Police departments provide excellent service and accreditation by National Boards serves to validate the highly professional manner in which they operate. Most importantly, in order to maintain our accreditation we must continually improve and demonstrate accurate data collection and goal evaluations. Pictured above are City staff and officials as they accept the accreditation award: Lt. Rod Benson, Mayor Gene Meyer, Chief Don Cox, Doug Rex, and me.