During
Fiscal Year 2008 that ended on June 30, 2009, the Committee on
Accreditation conducted document reviews and site visits that
resulted in the Accreditation or Re-Accreditation of 11 entities.
The newly accredited entities were Louisiana State University, Seoul
Metropolitan Fire Academy, and the Illinois Fire Service Institute.
Long time member entities Justice Institute of British Columbia,
Massachusetts Fire Training Council, Nebraska Fire Marshal's Office,
International Association of Arson Investigators, SABIC Fire
Training Center, Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal, Great Oaks
Institute, and the Alabama Fire College were Re-Accredited. A warm
welcome to our new entities and congratulations to our existing
organizations that underwent the re-accreditation
process.
Special thanks are in order to all of the
staff and employees of the entities that underwent the accreditation
process. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to properly prepare
the documentation required and to then participate in the site visit
process. Thanks too to the members of the Committee on Accreditation
that reviewed documents and took part in the site
visits.
Numerous entities also applied for and were
granted Extensions to their accreditation, thereby affording
additional opportunities to those who seek
accreditation.
A total of 19 site visits are currently
planned for 2009/2010 for new accreditation and re-accreditation.
For those entities that have already submitted the required
documentation, thank you, for those that haven't, please try to do
so as soon as possible.
Committee members staffed the
Pro Board information booth at the Fire Department Instructors
Conference in Indianapolis.
The Committee met in July
to discuss and consider a number of important issues that may impact
future requests. Future Newsletters will report on those
issues.
I want to extend the Committee's thanks and
appreciation to the staff of our accredited entities for their
continued cooperation and support and for their hard work preparing
the documents and materials needed to continue and advance in our
system and without whom our efforts would be very
difficult.
Finally, the Committee wishes to extend our
heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Program Manager Dave Trebisacci
who has taken on a new assignment at NFPA that will prevent him from
continuing in current capacity with the Pro Board. Dave's counsel,
guidance, support, and most of all friendship will be sorely missed.
Best wishes Dave.
Our fiscal year ended on June 30th and it was
another very successful year for the Pro Board system. This occasion
provides me an opportunity to thank all of our Accredited Entities
for their support of our shared mission of increasing
professionalism for the fire and emergency services. During the past
year, we welcomed three additional agencies into the Pro Board
system bringing the total to 51, a new all time high. We also added
over 62,000 certificates to the Certification Data Base. All 425,000
Pro Board certificates issued since 1982 are recorded in the
registry and are accessible on our website 
Chairman Jim Estepp presents Dave
Trebisacci a pewter replica of a 19th century fire chiefs trumpet
megaphone in recognition of Dave's many years of service to the Pro
Board.
