Fire Chief Otto J. Huber of the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department has been appointed as a Commissioner on the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
The Board of Directors of the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE) has confirmed his appointment as Commissioner on the Commission on Fire Accreditation (CFAI). He will represent accredited fire service agencies serving populations between 25,000 and 99,999. Chief Huber's name was among several proposed to represent the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). Chief Huber's term of appointment is for three years beginning on July 1, 2022, and ending on June 30, 2025.
The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) provides an assessment tool to determine when a fire department has achieved an appropriate level of professional performance and efficiency. The CFAI has been providing this service since 1988 when it was created by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the International City/County Managers Association (ICMA). In 1996, the CFAI became a trust organization in cooperation with the IAFC and ICMA, and in 2001, the CFAI incorporated to create a unique standalone organization. The cooperation among all three organizations remains excellent.
The mission of the CFAI is to “assist the fire and emergency service agencies throughout the world in achieving excellence through self-assessment and accreditation in order to provide continuous quality improvement and the enhancement of service delivery to their communities." The accreditation program provides an in-depth process of self-assessment for fire departments, granting accreditation to organizations that successfully complete the assessment process and an on-site evaluation by their peers.
Chief Huber has been with LSFD since 1976. He is a certified Ohio Fire Executive, Fire Command Officer, and a credentialed Chief Fire Officer. LSFD is an ISO Class 1 and CPSE/CFAI fire accredited agency, as well as an accredited EMS agency by the Commission on Ambulance Accreditation.