Spartanburg (SC) Fire Dept. Survives CPSE Re-Accreditation

March 2016- After their accreditation manager left the Spartanburg Fire Department, the chief and the fire marshal were left with the daunting task of being ready for an imminent peer review team site visit. They were granted an extension under the circumstances by the commission. The fire department issued an RFP for Technical Consulting Services and after several interviews, chose Robert McNally of Beacon GIS to assist the department with its accreditation process.

Meanwhile, the peer review team was contemplating on cancelling the trip because of the lack of data and disorganization of materials. This would have certainly resulted in the loss of accreditation status. Impressed by the work that the Fire Department and Beacon GIS was able to achieve in very short order, the team decided to come to Spartanburg for a peer review visit.

Although much progress had been made, ultimately the accreditation of the Spartanburg Fire Department was deferred by CPSE in order to rectify some insufficiencies as recommended by the peer review team. Over the next year, the fire department staff and Beacon GIS, LLC worked to meet the rigors of accreditation. In 2016 in Orlando at the Public Safety Excellence Conference, the CPSE accreditation commission approved the Spartanburg Fire Department as an accredited agency for another five year term. Beacon GIS, LLC continues to assist the department so that a repeat crisis does not occur.