The village of Tinley Park (IL) Fire Prevention Bureau is the first local department in the nation to achieve Fire Prevention and Life Safety Department Accreditation from the International Accreditation Service (IAS). A subsidiary of the International Code Council, IAS provides an independent assessment and verification the department operates at the highest legal, ethical and technical standards.
“We are proud to be the first in Illinois and the first local department in the country to achieve Fire Prevention and Life Safety Department Accreditation,” said Senior Fire Inspector Daniel Riordan of the Tinley Park Fire Department and Fire Prevention Bureau. “This acknowledgment validates what we are all about at Tinley Park. It’s a testament to the hard work that keeps this community safe.”
Tinley Park is a south Chicago suburb and one of the fastest growing suburbs in the area. Tinley Park covers 15 square miles with an estimated population of almost 57,000, according to the 2011 Census. In 2009, Business Week named Tinley Park the best place to raise a family.
Accreditation by IAS provides formal recognition that the department has demonstrated the competence to administer an effective system of code enforcement, fire prevention, life safety programs, and other functions of fire marshals’ offices that benefit the communities they serve.
“This is a great achievement and demonstrates the village of Tinley Park, Illinois Fire Prevention Bureau’s commitment to public safety,” said IAS President Chuck Ramani. “To attain accreditation, the department underwent rigorous assessments to verify that it operates under the highest ethical, legal and technical standards while providing enhanced life safety and property protection.”
The accreditation is based on the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Fire Prevention Departments/Code Enforcement Agencies (AC426). The accreditation process included an IAS review of the bureau’s policies and procedures, an onsite pre-evaluation in April and a full evaluation of the bureau onsite in July.
The IAS team evaluated Tinley Park against the performance requirements in 10 primary categories including governance and administration, risk assessment, goals and objectives, finance, program activity, physical resources, human resources, training and competency, essential resources and external systems relations.
IAS and the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) partnered to create the accreditation program for fire prevention and life safety departments. The Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting the international fire and emergency services community in seeking excellence in service delivery and continuous quality improvement in the provision of services and leadership to the communities they serve. CPSE achieves its mission through its two commissions, the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, and the Commission on Professional Credentialing.
IAS is a recognized accreditation body and a nonprofit, public benefit corporation and has been providing accreditation services since 1975. IAS accredits training agencies, curriculum developers, testing and calibration laboratories, product certification agencies, special inspection agencies, inspection programs for metal building manufacturers, fabricator inspection programs, inspection agencies, field evaluation bodies, building departments, fire prevention departments and building department service providers.
For more information, email info@iasonline.org, call 866-427-4422 ext. 5275, or visit the IAS website at www.iasonline.org/fire.
