COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Columbus Air Force Base Fire Emergency Services in Columbus, Mississippi has received Accredited Status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International for meeting the criteria established through the CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program.
Mr. Gilbert Montoya, the Director of Logistics, Installations and Mission Support, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio Randolph, Texas, presented Rick Songer, 14th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Chief, the award during his base visit Aug. 31.
Columbus AFB’s McAllister Fire Station is the second fire department in the state of Mississippi, as well as the fourth in Air Education and Training Command, to achieve this accredited status. It is the 221st in the world.
“It's an honor to be awarded accreditation status and it truly demonstrates the dedication of the department to provide the highest level of service possible to the community we serve,” Songer said.
Receiving accreditation through CFAI requires hundreds of hours of work. To receive accreditation, a fire station must self-assess on categories such as training, programs, resources and planning, and demonstrate proficiency in each.
Columbus AFB’s fire station is named after Robert McAllister, one of the Air Force’s most highly-decorated firefighters, who served as the Columbus AFB Fire Chief from 1981 to 2002. The station conducts fire prevention and response to Columbus Air Force Base as well as providing assistance to City of Columbus and Lowndes County fire departments.
CFAI is dedicated to assisting 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 process is voluntary, and provides an agency with an improvement model to assess their service delivery and performance.