[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 30527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             ACCREDITATION OF THE OAK PARK FIRE DEPARTMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 1999

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on August 26, 1999 the Village of 
Oak Park Fire Department was awarded the title ``Accredited Fire 
Department'' by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International 
(C.F.A.I.).
  The Oak Park Fire Department is only the third fire department in the 
State of Illinois and one of only 21 departments in the United States 
and Canada to achieve such accreditation.
  Fire Chief Gerald Beeson and the other members of the department 
worked to complete their application for over 2 years.
  Chief Beeson told the Wednesday Journal, ``Those who review 
applications--members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs 
and the International Association of City and County Managers--look at 
all facets of fire service, including departmental aspects like 
training and response time and on the village side like finances and 
codes.''
  The accreditation is a benchmark, a set of standards, Oak Park can 
use to judge the quality of their fire protection service. The 
departmental achievement is a credit to all of Oak Park's fire fighters 
and we salute them for their outstanding accomplishment.

                          ____________________