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.
Robin Paulsgrove, Commissioner
Representative: Fire Agencies (serving populations of more than 250,000)
Fire Chief
Arlington Fire Department
P.O. Box 231
Arlington, TX 76004-0131
paulsgrover@ci.arlington.tx.us
Robin Paulsgrove has been fire chief and director of emergency management with the city of Arlington, Tex., since July 1997.
Paulsgrove began his fire service career with the Austin Fire Department in 1976, rising through the ranks to become fire chief in 1993. In Arlington, he has focused his resources on enhancing the EMS mission, planning for homeland security to address the city's growing entertainment district and sports venues, and strengthening the partnership between fire stations and neighborhoods through an initiative called "Out of the Station, Into the Community."
Paulsgrove was an elected board member of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Fire Protection Association, where he also served as international chair in 2000.
A frequent author and public speaker, Paulsgrove authored the Fire Department article in the 1997 World Book Encyclopedia, the Fire Administration section in theNFPA Handbook, and the Leading and Managing chapter of the International City Manager's Association's Managing Fire and Rescue Services. For eight years, Paulsgrove authored a regular column called Leadership in the industry periodical, NFPA Journal.
Paulsgrove has a bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University and an advanced certification in public management from the University of Texas at Arlington, as well as advanced coursework with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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.
Frank E. Florence, Commissioner
Representative: Consensus Standards
Senior Fire Service Specialist
National Fire Protection Association
One Batterymarch Park
Quincy, MA 02269
fflorence@nfpa.org
Frank Florence is a senior fire service specialist with the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass. With seven years' experience in codes and standards development, he serves as staff liaison to all of the fire service professional qualifications standards, NFPA 1670 Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Rescue Incidents, NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, and the NFPA Emergency Medical Service Project.
Florence is also responsible for the supervision and coordination of the standards development for these projects and serves as the executive secretary to the fire science and technology educators section. He acts as liaison from the NFPA to the International Association of Arson Investigators, the National Association of Fire Investigators, and the International Fire Service Training Association.
In his 41-year career, Florence has earned progressively diverse and responsible experience in the field of fire administration and fire protection/prevention, serving in executive, administrative, managerial, developmental, operational, and practical functions. He began his career with the Salt Lake City, Utah, Fire Department, advancing through the ranks and ultimately retiring as chief of the department.
Florence attended the University of Utah and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program. He was selected by the FEMA Fellowship Program to attend the program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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.
Barry McKinnon, Commissioner
Representative: International
Fire Protection Services - Retired
4765 Line 4 North
Hilldale, ON, Canada L0L, 1V0
barry.mckinnon@ontario.ca
Until recently Barry McKinnon served as the assistant deputy fire marshal at the Office of the Fire Marshall (OFM) for the Province of Ontario. He was responsible leading the OFM fire protection services team that provides a broad range of services to more than 500 fire departments in the province—ranging from the smallest volunteer departments to the largest full-time departments. Other major duties included responsibility for coordination of the mutual aid system for the province and business continuity planning for the OFM.
With a staff of more than 200, the OFM provides services such as standards research, code development, investigation of major fires and emergencies, education and development through its fire college, and advice and assistance to fire department and municipal officials.
During his tenure, McKinnon was extensively involved in the development of processes, models, guidelines, and benchmarks for use by all fire departments in the Province of Ontario to assist them in providing services that meet their obligations under governing legislation.
McKinnon recently retired from full-time employment with the OFM, but was contracted to return on a part-time basis and is active in both local and provincial initiatives. He serves on various technical committees as well as on the selection panel for fire and police bravery awards for the province of Ontario. McKinnon has participated as a peer assessor and team leader for CPSE since 1999, and continues to strongly advocate for fire departments in Ontario and Canada to participate in the CPSE process.
McKinnon has been a member of the fire service since 1974, serving as a volunteer in his hometown of Hillsburgh and as a full-time firefighter with the City of Mississauga before joining the OFM in 1985.
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.