The Washington Fire Chief’s Association and The Commission on Fire Accreditation International will present the CFAI Basic Workshop Series in Spokane, Washington on April 22-24, 2009.

Self-Assessment and Standards of Cover Workshop
The CFAI Basic Workshop Series includes the 16-hour Self-Assessment Workshop and the 8-hour Standards of Cover (SOC) Workshop. This series assists fire and emergency service leaders in preparing for and working towards accreditation through the unique model of self-assessment. This workshop will not only provide valuable information on conducting an agency self-assessment but also on how to prepare for an on-site peer assessment visit. The series also equips fire service personnel with the fundamental know-how to rationally plan for and justify varying levels of service based upon identifying community hazards and risk. Through an overview of resource deployment planning and community risk analysis, this workshop covers the latest tools to calculate and analyze risk as well as the latest processes to map deployment and deployment coverage areas – such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software packages.
Students will learn:
 The benefits of self-assessment and ultimately accreditation;
 Defining the planning requirements for self-assessment;
 Preparing for a self-assessment;
 Review of the self-assessment process and performance activities utilized in defining the process;
 Conducting a successful self-assessment; and
 Preparing for an on-site peer evaluation.
 An overview of a process that allows an agency to determine their level of service performance in a consistent manner;
 Reviewing the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) definition of the planning requirements to be considered when participating in the self-assessment process;
 Defining methods an agency can use to determine the levels of service regarding its responsibilities and risks; and
 Defining methods of developing a Standards of Response Coverage.

Each student will receive workshop participant manuals for each course, the Fire and Emergency Service Self-Assessment 7th Edition Manual, and the CFAI Standards of Cover, 5th Edition Manual.

Link to course and registration information:

http://publicsafetyexcellence.org/CalendarOfEvents/tabid/81/ctl/Details/mid/440/ItemID/112/Default.aspx?selecteddate=4/22/2009