On Oct. 22, the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) gathered community feedback on the Beverly Hills Fire Department (BHFD) during a special meeting at the Greystone Mansion. CPSE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has accredited 500 fire departments around the world. BHFD has been accredited since 2021 and is one of four fire departments in California to hold both an ISO Class 1 standing and an accreditation.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” said CPSE Technical Advisor Richard Merrell, who hosted the meeting.
In order to maintain their standing, fire departments must undergo the entire process every five years. As part of the “Community Risk Assessment–Standards of Cover” portion, the organization collects feedback from residents on how the fire department serves them. “We require [the fire department] as a government agency, to gather community input,” explained Merrell. This helps both CPSE and BHFD understand what can be improved upon.
Nine community members attended the meeting, and each of them filled out two different forms. The first was a free response questionnaire that asked about the community’s expectations, concerns, perceived positives and strengths, and what should and should not be changed. Attendees had 20 minutes to record their anonymous answers. The second form was a 55-question prioritization matrix. Attendees were given a list of the fire department’s priorities such as fire suppression, emergency medical services and community help, and they were asked to rank their level of importance.
As part of the accreditation process, CPSE also considers a description of the community served and a description of the current fire and emergency services provided. They study community hazards and risks, measure system performance, evaluate the delivery system and evaluate maintenance. This process will continue until around May 2025, as Merrell explained, at which point the community’s feedback will be published.
After that, the agency must undergo a self-assessment process covering 254 performance indicators, which must be completed by September 2025. Finally, a validation team of four independent evaluators will complete an audit of the Fire Department to verify that BHFD meets all benchmarks for accreditation.
BHFD Chief Gregory Barton attended the meeting but was not present during the feedback portion of the event.
“The fire department does an outstanding job, but it’s always good to check in with the community to make sure that we’re providing the services the community desires, and also to make sure, looking forward, what we can do to better serve the community,” Barton told the Courier. “And both the Strategic Plan and their ‘Community Risk Assessment–Standards of Cover’ give us that document to guide us for the next five years.”
