Dubuque Fire Department Accreditation by the Commission on Fire Accreditation InternationalCity of Dubuque
City Council Meeting
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October 18, 2021
Action Items # 4.
Dubuque Fire Department Accreditation by the Commission on Fire
Accreditation International of the Center for Public Safety Excellence
City Manager advising that on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, the Center
for Public Safety Excellence Commission on Fire Accreditation
International voted to designate the Dubuque Fire Department as an
accredited agency.
Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
Fire Department Accreditation-MVM Memo
Staff Memo
Type
City Manager Memo
Staff Memo
THE CITY OF
Dubuque
DUB TEE
All -America City
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Dubuque Fire Department Accreditation by the Commission on Fire
Accreditation International of the Center for Public Safety Excellence
DATE: October 14, 2021
Fire Chief Rick Steines has advised that on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, the Center
for Public Safety Excellence Commission on Fire Accreditation International voted to
designate the Dubuque Fire Department as an accredited agency. Dubuque becomes
one of less than 300 accredited agencies worldwide.
Fire Chief Rick Steines describes accreditation as, It's not what you get, it's what you
become. You don't get accredited, you become accredited, and as an accredited
agency you build a culture of improvement."
This is the culmination of over five years of work in preparation for this day. I want to
especially recognize the work of Fire Chief Rick Steines, Lead Accreditation Manager
Assistant Chief Kevin Esser, and former Accreditation Manager and current Assistant
Accreditation Manager Assistant Chief Josh Knepper.
We are very proud of our Fire Department and the people who work in the department
protecting property and lives every day. This was never more apparent and appreciated
than during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no working from home for our brave
Firefighters and Medical Officers. As people were isolating, social distancing and
masking up, these were the people who were there when tragedy struck. At the same
time, many of them were dealing with the traumas of this pandemic in their personal
lives. We owe all of them a deep debt of gratitude that they chose public service as a
career and that they do their work so well and with such compassion.
The Dubuque Fire Department has an Insurance Service Organization (ISO) rating as a
Class 2, placing the department in the top 3% in the country.
Since 2017, the Dubuque Fire Department has been an annual recipient of the
American Heart Association's Mission Lifeline award for excellence in emergency care
and in 2021 also received the award for excellence in the treatment of heart attacks.
Each year over 300 business CEO's in the Dubuque area are interviewed by the
Greater Dubuque Development Corporation on satisfaction with City services and the
Fire Department consistently receives an average score of over 6 on a scale of 1-7,
receiving a 90% satisfaction rating in the most recent survey, with the Fire Department
in general being the highest rated City service and the ambulance service being the
second highest rated City service.
We know we are not perfect, and we commit to improving in the areas identified by the
assessment team.
The Commission on Fire Accreditation International advises that accreditation is a
process of agency self -assessment.
The Dubuque Fire Department spent over five years working towards achieving
accreditation. The Commission on Fire Accreditation International says this achieves
the following:
• Provides greater community alignment.
• Encourages quality improvement.
• Facilitates input from and builds positive relationships with labor.
• Identifies areas of strengths and weaknesses.
• Allows for the establishment of a plan for improvement.
• Provides data supported decision -making.
• Communicates management and leadership philosophies.
• Ensures your agency has a defined mission and related objectives.
• Encourages the development of organizational procedural documents.
Accredited agencies are often described as being community -focused, data -driven,
outcome -focused, strategic -minded, well organized, properly equipped, and properly
staffed and trained.
Part of the reason for this is the holistic scope of the Commission on Fire Accreditation
International model. It includes 11 categories that cover the span of fire and emergency
service operations:
1. Governance and Administration
2. Assessment and Planning
3. Goals and Objectives
4. Financial Resources
5. Community Risk Reduction Programs
6. Physical Resources
7. Human Resources
8. Training and Competency
9. Essential Resources
10. External Systems Relationship
11. Health and Safety
Agency accreditation is a voluntary process. Accreditation is an international
recognition of achievement. It shows to the community that the fire department
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continually self -assesses, looks for opportunities for improvement, and is transparent
and accountable through third party verification and validation.
The Commission on Fire Accreditation International has 11 members that represent a
cross-section of the fire and emergency service, including fire departments, city and
county management, labor, standards development organizations, and the U.S.
Department of Defense.
The current commissioners are:
1. Steve Dongworth, Fire Chief, Calgary, Alberta Canada Fire Department
2. Steve Dirksen, Fire Chief, Fargo, North Dakota Fire Department
3. Bradley Arnold, County Administrator, Sumter County, Florida, Board of County
Commissioners
4. Thomas Breyer, Director of Fire and EMS Operations, International Association
of Fire Fighters
5. John Butler, Fire Chief, Fairfax County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department
6. Ken Holland, Senior Emergency Service Specialist, National Fire Protection
Association
7. Salvatore Izzo, Sr. Risk Control/Fire Protection Engineer, Insurance Services
Office
8. James Keating, Fire Chief, Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District,
Breckenridge, Colorado
9. Jesse Lightle, Administrator, Washington Township, Ohio
10. Gregg Moriguchi, Fire Chief, Navy Region Hawaii Fire and Emergency Services
11. Jake Rhoades, Fire Chief, Kingman, Arizona Fire Department
We also know that even with all these positive recognitions, additional investments have
been directed by the Mayor and City Council. In fiscal year (FY) 2019, the fire
department was authorized for 89 uniformed personnel. Beginning in FY2020, the
department initiated a plan to add staff as part of the plan to add a West End fire station.
This plan outlines adding one additional firefighter each year from FY2020 through
FY2025, bringing the total personnel count to 95. One staff member was added in
FY2020 and in FY2021.
Due to the budget issues caused by the pandemic, no staff were added in FY2022 but
two are expected to be added in FY2023, then one in FY2024 and one in FY2025. The
City also froze some vacant positions during the economic crisis created by the
pandemic, putting extra strain on employee schedules, allowing fewer vacation
opportunities, and requiring more overtime of existing staff. Now that those vacancies
have become unfrozen, the City is moving quickly to fill those open positions.
The fire department's staff expansion plan also calls for the addition of up to six more
firefighters in FY2026 to increase the authorized uniformed personnel total to 101,
depending on whether a seventh station is added or an existing station is relocated.
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The Dubuque Fire Department has created a Mission Statement, stated as follows:
To protect, assist, and educate our community and visitors with pride, skill, and
compassion.
Our shared values are:
INTEGRITY We serve in an honest and equitable fashion.
We respect those we serve and are accountable to them.
PROFESSIONAL We provide a high degree of excellence.
We work with a positive attitude.
DEDICATION We are committed to helping our neighbors.
We strive to do our best for others.
SKILL Our ability is important in the lives of our neighbors.
We hold ourselves to a high standard.
COMPASSION We show empathy for those in need and seek
ways to be helpful. We perform with a sense of community.
PRIDE Our tradition is a job well done.
We strive to be prompt, safe, and fit for duty.
My thanks to the Mayor and City Council for your support throughout this process, and
my congratulations to the members of the Dubuque Fire Department.
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Micliael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Rick Steines, Fire Chief
12
THE CU�gkE
DUB
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Rick Steines, Fire Chief
DATE: October 14. 2021
RE: Fire Department Accreditation
INTRODUCTION
Dubuque
All•America City
1 I:..,
2007.2012.2013
2017*2019
This memo is to formally announce the recent accreditation of the fire department
with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).
BACKGROUND
Beginning in 2014 members of the fire department began to explore the
requirements to achieve international accreditation. This effort turned into a years -long
effort to meet the 242 performance indicators identified in the process. Along the way,
the department needed to develop a strategic plan, standards of cover, and complete
myriad changes and updates to our operations, processes, and data collection.
After five years as a registered agency with the Commission on Fire
Accreditation International, then another year as an applicant agency, the fire
department became a candidate agency in early 2021. This status led to submission of
a self -assessment document, followed by the on -site evaluation from a Peer
Assessment Team from CFAI. This team recommended full accreditation by the CFAI
board of commissioners.
Yesterday, October 13, 2021, the fire department sat before the CFAI
commission to present our site report and answer questions. I am happy to announce
that the commission voted unanimously for accreditation of our department. I stated my
view on accreditation to the commission "It's not what you get, it's what you become.
You don't get accredited, you become accredited, and as an accredited agency you
build a culture of improvement". The Dubuque fire department has now joined less than
300 other fire departments worldwide as an accredited agency.
The fire department has worked with the city public information office to create a
flyer announcing this achievement, along with other accolades. We will also be doing
additional media releases and recognition in the near future.