ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Fire Department (OFD) lost national accreditation due to what appears to be a lapse in communication and planning. Now the department is requesting a 60-day extension as it works to appeal the decision.
Union Raised Concerns Months Ago
Concerns about the department’s future were raised as early as April 2024, when the head of the Orlando Fire Union publicly questioned the lack of a strategic growth plan.
“Our strategic plan has expired and we don’t have a growth plan for all of the annexation,” Doug Zabin said back then.
That expired strategic plan is a critical component of the documentation submitted to the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), the organization that oversees national fire service accreditation.
Why Accreditation Matters
Accreditation serves basically as a third-party audit of fire department policies, procedures, and performance. It’s used to determine whether a department is doing enough to protect the public and meet national standards.
OFD had held this accreditation for 12 consecutive years but recently received notice from CFAI that the accreditation had been terminated.
According to internal communications, CFAI had been trying for over a year to obtain updated documentation from the department. Attempts to schedule inspections were reportedly ignored, leading to the termination of accreditation.
City Still Maintains ISO Class 1 Rating
Despite losing accreditation, the department still holds an ISO Class 1 rating, which ranks them in the top 0.9% of nearly 30,000 fire departments nationwide. According to the city of Orlando’s website, OFD is the only department in Florida to hold both the ISO rating and the now-lost accreditation and Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) certification and ACE accreditation (911/Communications Center)..
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer who touts the accreditation when talking about the department responded saying, “The accreditation is nice to have. We tout that. It’s an objective observation on where you stand, but it won’t affect day-to-day service in any way.”
What’s Next?
In response to the accreditation loss, OFD has formally filed an appeal and requested a 60-day extension with the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), the parent organization of CFAI.
In a statement, the department said in part :
“OFD continues to be ranked as an ISO Class 1 fire department… The department remains fully committed to continuous improvement and delivering high-quality services to the residents, businesses, and visitors of Orlando.”
Questions Remain
Despite repeated attempts, fire department officials have not explained why or how the situation was allowed to reach the point where it was revoked.
Channel 9 has reached out to CPSE and is awaiting a response to see if an extension will be granted and what the department would need to do to get that accreditation back.
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