Grand Junction Fire Department has received Accredited Agency status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) for meeting the criteria established through the CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program. GJFD is one of only 300 agencies to achieve Internationally Accredited Agency status with the CFAI and the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE), and is only the 3rd department on the Western Slope of Colorado to do so.
CFAI accreditation assists fire and emergency service agencies throughout the world in achieving excellence through self-assessment to provide continuous improvement and enhancement of service delivery to their communities. The CFAI process is voluntary and provides an agency with an improvement model to assess their service delivery and performance internally and then works with a team of peers from other agencies to evaluate their completed self-assessment.
Chief Ken Watkins stated that the agency’s achievement of Accredited Agency status, “demonstrates GJFD’s commitment to provide the highest quality of service to our community.” Watkins also said, “We have been able to use this process to proactively plan for the future of GJFD and locate areas where we can improve on the quality of the services we provided as we expand to meet the needs of our growing community.”
In 2019, GJFD began the process of gathering and analyzing data and assessing services. Over the last three years, 45 employees throughout the agency, as well as 107 members of the community provided input and feedback in the process, along with collaboration throughout the City of Grand Junction and mutual aid partner agencies. Through this collaboration GJFD developed a Strategic Plan, the Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover, and a complete Self Assessment. These documents help the department examine strengths and weaknesses, and develop a plan to annually improve the services the agency provides.
For more information on the newly Accredited Agency Status for the Grand Junction Fire Department contact the Community Outreach Office at (970)549-5800, or by email at GJFirePIO@gjcity.org.