Professionalism has long been a goal sought by the fire service. It has only been within the past 25 years that a system has evolved to produce national professional qualifications standards that an agency can use to establish performance measures for training programs. This independent review is the best way to assure candidates and governance bodies that the training agency's program meets the national standards. Certification from a nationally accredited agency is a statement of success, an indisputable mark of performance belonging to individual fire service professionals. Each successful candidate for certification from an accredited agency knows that he or she has been measured against peers and meets rigorous national standards.
National certification affords the individual a uniformity and portability of qualifications.
In addition, the credibility of an organization is enhanced by having members certified to national consensus standards. A high percentage of certified members within a department should certainly help managers in their pursuit of adequate funding at budget time. Each organization seats one member on the Board of Directors whose task it is to set policy and oversee operations of the system. The Committee on Accreditation is comprised of representatives appointed by each of the sponsoring organizations and representatives elected by the accredited agencies. They are charged with the task of accreditation through review of applications, site visits and implementation of policy set by the Board of Directors.