The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) is governed by an 11-member commission representing a cross-section of the fire service industry, including fire departments, city and county management, code councils, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the International Association of Firefighters. The commission meets biannually, in the spring and during the International Association of Fire Chief's Fire Rescue International conference in the fall, to review all of the agencies applying for accredited status.
In addition, the commission:
- Oversees the development of CFAI materials and training to support its mission.
- Makes recommendations to the Board of Directors on policy and financial decisions.
- Oversees general organizational operation and special programs and activities.
- Revises the accreditation model and self-assessment process.
- Manages issues related to self and peer assessment.
- Researches and develops specific topics within the self-assessment model
Ernst Piercy, CFO, Chairman
Representative: U.S. Department of Defense
Fire Chief
U.S. Air Force Academy
10 CES/CEF
6202 Pine Drive, Ste. 100
USAF Academy, CO 80840
afafirechief@msn.com
Since May 2003, Ernst Piercy has served as the fire chief at the United States Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo.
Piercy also serves on a variety of professional committees, including the Air Force Fire Panel, U.S. Department of Defense Commission for The Center for Public Service Excellence, and the Pikes Peak Community College Fire Science Advisory Committee.
Piercy holds several prominent national certifications, including Fire Officer IV, Fire Instructor II, Fire Inspector II, Fire Investigator II, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Hazardous Materials Incident Commander. He is a Chief Fire Officer Designate (CFOD), and has completed the Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program through the National Fire Academy.
Born at Columbus AFB, Miss., Piercy enlisted in the Air Force in 1978. Following basic military training at Lackland AFB, Tex., he attended the USAF Fire School at Chanute AFB, Ill. From 1978 to 1982, he served in numerous fire protection positions while assigned to Tyndall AFB, Fla., and Misawa AFB, Japan. He was promoted to staff sergeant in 1982 before separating from the Air Force in December 1982.
In March 1983, Piercy resumed his fire protection career as a firefighter at Homestead AFB, Fla. In April 1985, he transferred to the USAF Academy, Colo., as a fire prevention inspector, and later served as station captain, assistant chief for training, assistant chief for operations, and deputy fire chief, until his selection as the fire chief at the Air Force Academy. He served as the accreditation manager in the Air Force Academy fire department's successful bid for international fire department accreditation in March 2001, and again in 2006.
William F. Jenaway, CFO, Vice Chairman
Representative: Fire Agencies (serving populations of less than 25,000)
Fire Chief
King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company
170 Allendale Road
King of Prussia, PA 19406
bjenaway@comcast.net
William Jenaway, Ph.D., is the executive vice president of VFIS, responsible for education, training, and consulting services to insured and clients through the VFIS education and training staff and emergency services consulting group. He also serves as chief of the King of Prussia, Penn., volunteer fire company.
Jenaway was one of the first chiefs to receive the CFO designation from the Commission, and King of Prussia was the nation's first all-volunteer department to achieve CPSE accreditation.
Jenaway has authored several fire service texts, writes extensively for various emergency service tabloids, and is a regular speaker at emergency services conferences. Among his numerous activities, he currently chairs the NFPA Risk Management Committee and the NFPA Committee on Providing Emergency Services to the Public, and is the president of the Congressional Fire Services Institute. Jenaway also was named 2001 Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year by Fire Chief magazine.
Jenaway has a Ph.D. in management, a master's degree in education, a bachelor's degree in business administration, and an associate's degree in fire science.
Steven Westermann, Commissioner
Representative: Fire Agencies (serving populations of 25,000 - 99,999)
Fire Chief
Central Jackson County Fire Protection District
1609 NE Scarborough Drive
Blue Springs, MO 64014
swestermann@cjcfpd.org
Steven Westermann has served as chief of the Central Jackson County Fire Protection District since 1988 and has been in the fire service since 1972.
During this time, from 2007-2008, he served as president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). Prior to serving as IAFC president, he served as the international director for the Missouri Valley Division, as president of the Missouri Valley Division, and on the IAFC's NFPA 1710 Implementation Guide Task Force. He has also served as president of both the Heart of America Kansas City Metro Fire Chiefs Council and the Missouri Association of Fire Chiefs.
Westermann has a master's in public administration from the University of Missouri-KC, is an Executive Fire Officer graduate, Chief Fire Officer designate, and a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University.
Raymond "Allan" Cain, Commissioner
Representative: Fire Agencies (serving populations of 100,000 - 249,000)
Fire Chief
Cary Fire Department
100 N. Academy Street
Cary, NC 27511
allan.cain@townofcary.org
Raymond "Allan" Cain is chief of the Cary Fire Department.
Cain began his firefighting journey as a high school student, volunteering for the Cumberland Road Fire Department. He has served as a firefighter for the City of Fayetteville, N.C., Fire Department; assistant emergency management coordinator for Cumberland County, N.C.; and fire chief for the City of Dunn, N.C.
Cain is currently pursuing an MBA at East Carolina University. He has completed certificate programs for Community Preparedness - Disaster Management and Municipal Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has a bachelor's degree in business administration from North Carolina Wesleyan College.
Edwin W. Smith, Commissioner
Representative: Fire Agencies (serving populations of more than 250,000)
Fire Chief
County of Henrico, Division of Fire
P O Box 90775
Henrico, Va. 23273
esmith@co.henrico.va.us
Edwin Smith oversees the second largest in personnel, fire-rescue department in the state of Virginia with an annual budget of approximately $50 million. Henrico County (HCDF) is staffed by over 540 employees, more than 500 of whom are sworn uniformed firefighters, working out of 20 stations. The men and women of the HCDF serve an urban-suburban community of more than 300,000 residents, businesses and visitors.
He established his career as a firefighter and moved through the ranks to the position of Fire Chief. He has served in every position as a firefighter and officer from riding an engine, a ladder truck, and an ambulance. He has current certifications as a Hazardous Materials Specialist and sworn Virginia Fire Investigator.
After serving as a Division Chief for six years, Edwin was appointed to the Fire Chief position in August 2007. During his career, Chief Smith participated in the preparation and review process for the CFAI accreditation of Henrico Fire multiple times. Henrico County was the ninth overall department in the world to receive accreditation initially and has reaccredited twice since that time.
Chief Smith has an Associate's Degree in Fire Science and a BA through the University of Richmond. He is an active member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs serving on the Human Relations Committee, Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, National Fire Protection Association, Central Virginia Fire and Arson Association, and Virginia Fire Chiefs Association chairing the Human Relations Committee.
Ronald W. Holt, Commissioner
Representative: County Managers
County Administrator
Sedgwick County
525 N. Main, #343
Bel Aire, KS 67203
rholt@sedgwick.gov
As assistant county manager for Sedgwick County, Kan., Ronald Holt oversees the Divisions of Public Safety; and Community Development, and Culture, Entertainment & Recreation. His many duties include serving as the project leader for the new Sedgwick County Arena in Downtown Wichita. He also has responsibility for funding relationships with a number of community museums and attractions supported by Sedgwick County.
Before joining Sedgwick County in 2002, Holt spent more than 30 years at Westar Energy, formerly KGE, assuming various leadership positions in customer service, human resources management, community affairs, and field operations. In January 2000, he was named chairman and president of what was then KGE, an electric utility subsidiary of Western Resources, Inc.
Mr. Holt has received numerous honors and awards and serves on several boards throughout the community, including Boys and Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas (chairman); Midway Kansas Chapter, American Red Cross; Via Christi Regional Medical Center; Southwestern College; Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters Community Advisory Board; Commerce Bank Wichita; and Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Mr. Holt is a graduate of Friends University and Wichita State University.
Jeffrey A. Pomeranz, Commissioner
Representative: City Managers
City Manager
City of West Des Moines
P.O. Box 65320
West Des Moines, IA 50265-0320
Jeff.Pomeranz@wdm-ia.com
Jeffrey Pomeranz has served as the city manager of West Des Moines, Iowa, since 1998.
Pomeranz previously was city manager for the cities of Port Angeles, Wash., and Del Rio, Tex. He is an executive board member of the Iowa League of Cities and president of the Iowa City Management Association. He also serves on the board of Choose Des Moines Communities, the United Way Campaign Cabinet, and the adjunct faculty of Drake University's masters of public administration program.
Pomeranz has a bachelor's degree in political science from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a master's in public administration from the University of Alabama.
Ralph Dorio, Commissioner
Representative: Insurance Industry
Insurance Services Office
545 Washington Boulevard
LOC 18-11
Jersey City, NJ 07310-1686
rdorio@iso.com
Ralph Dorio, a licensed building, fire, mechanical, and construction administration official in New Jersey, joined Insurance Services Office in 1999 as a technical coordinator for the Building Codes Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS).
Dorio is chairman of the board of Fire Commissioners for Washington Township Fire District Number 1. He serves on the technical committee for the ICC performance code, the committee for hurricane-resistant construction, several NFPA technical committees, and the certification committee. He also participated in the 9/11 Commission as an active member of the group reviewing emergency preparedness for the private sector.
Dorio is a certified code enforcement instructor, holds an ICC CBO certification, and has 15 years' experience in construction and more than 10 years' experience in plan reviews and construction inspection. He has also served as a volunteer fire fighter since 1984, including three years as chief officer.
Dorio has a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree.
William Bruce Burrell, Commissioner
Representative: International
Fire Chief
Calgary Fire Department
4124 11th Street SE
Calgary, AB T2G 3H2
firechiefcalgary@calgary.ca
In August of 2005, Chief Burrell was hired by the City of Calgary as Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Management. During his tenure, Calgary has grown to over one million in population and covers one of the largest municipal land masses in North America. As Chief he is responsible for all facets of emergency service delivery, fiscal accountability and personnel management. The Calgary Fire Department has grown by close to three hundred members during the last five years.
Chief Burrell’s Leadership Team has been involved in a transformational change process along with conducting business planning, budget and program reviews and a rewrite of policies and procedures. CFD continues to evolve as a modern fire department and continuously strive for improvement of services. Chief Burrell also instructs for Dalhousie Universities Fire Service Administration and Fire Service Leadership Programs.
Chief Burrell is currently a member of the Technical Committee, Canadian Standards Council; IAFC Program Planning Committee; President of CAFC; Chairman of the Burns Memorial Fire Fund and Chair of Calgary Public Safety Communications.
Lori L. Moore-Merrell, Commissioner
Representative: Labor
Assistant to the General President
International Association of Fire Fighters
1750 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006-5395
lmoore@iaff.org
Lori Moore-Merrell, Ph.D., serves as an assistant to the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), with responsibility for technical assistance on labor issues and collective bargaining, fire and EMS operations, and IAFF field services.
Moore's expertise is in emergency response system design, staffing and deployment of mobile resources, system performance measurement, and evaluation. She led the effort to develop the IAFF/IAFC fire-based EMS system performance measures and is now staffing the committee working to develop fire and rescue operational indicators and performance measures.
Moore is a member of the National Association of EMS Physicians, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and the American Public Health Association. She serves as an organizational liaison to the American College of Emergency Physicians, the National Association of State EMS Directors, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Association of EMS Educators.
Moore-Merrell also serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board and has been appointed to the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Executive Board.
Moore-Merrell has seven years of service as a fire/paramedic with the City of Memphis Fire Department and as a member of IAFF Local 1784. After receiving her EMT-Paramedic license in 1984, she became an instructor-coordinator for the State of Tennessee in 1991, joined IAFF Headquarters Operations in 1993 as an EMS specialist, and was then promoted to EMS Director in 1995.
Moore-Merrell has written numerous publications, including a chapter titled "Performance Measurement in EMS" for an NAEMSP publication, Improving Quality in EMS (2005); "Measuring Quality and Effectiveness of Prehospital EMS" in the Prehospital Emergency Care Journal (October/December 1999); Emergency Medical Services: A Guidebook for Fire-Based Systems (May 1999): Prehospital Emergency Medicine: A Series of Monographs (May 1997): and Emergency Medical Service: A Public Relations and Marketing Guide (May 1997). She also co-authored the Effectiveness of Fire-Based EMS Manual (June 1995) and Responding to Privatization: A User's Guide (August 1998).
Moore-Merrell has a doctor of public health degree in health policy and quality performance measurement, a master's degree in public health in epidemiology, and a bachelor's degree in education. She also was awarded the James O. Page Achievement award by the IAFC.