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Maxwell fire department recommended for accreditation

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman William J. Blankenship
  • 42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  The 42nd Air Base Wing's fire department earned a recommendation for becoming an accredited institution through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International after their four-day inspection concluded on Maxwell Air Force Base, Jan. 9, 2015.

In February 2011, the Air Force Civil Engineer Fire Panel voted for all Air Force fire departments to be accredited within five years. Maxwell is poised to be the first Air Education and Training Command base to get certified and only the sixth in the Air Force.

"This is a huge accomplishment for our fire department," said Col. Michael Borgert, commander of the 42nd Mission Support Group. "Accreditation tells the community that their fire department meets an internationally recognized benchmark system measuring the quality of fire and emergency services. Our firefighters put a significant amount of effort into meeting accreditation standards, and this recommendation shows that they're ready. We look forward to celebrating the board's approval in March."

The accreditation is valid for five years and is renewed or maintained by submitting required documents annually to the CFAI for assessment and re-approval.

"We started preparing for this in March of 2011," said Tech. Sgt. Mitchell Robinson, base firefighter. "We had to register to be an accredited agency. About a year later, we completed a few of the preparation phases and our three-year clock started for us to get all of our paperwork and processes in line."

Being the first base in AETC is something that Robinson said was important to him and the entire team.

"Our motivation and drive got us here," he said. "This is definitely the biggest thing that I have been a part of during my time in the Air Force. I will look back one day and feel pretty good about what we accomplished here. We just have to finish out strong and not let up.

"The fire house has eight inbound Airmen who will be walking into a newly honored institution with lofty expectations," said Robinson.

"It makes people feel good and have pride in their department," he said. "There are only 270 accredited fire houses in the U.S., and we will be the sixth in the Air Force. That is a big deal for a new guy to walk into. They will get trained right and be a part of a winning team."

The commission's recommendation will go before the accrediting agency board on March 18, 2015. The board will determine if they will grant the fire department their final approval to complete the accreditation process.