Mt. Lebanon receives International Fire Service Accreditation 

Mt. Lebanon Fire Department has achieved “Accredited Agency Status” from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). CFAI is dedicated to assisting fire and emergency service agencies achieve organizational and professional excellence.

 Mt. Lebanon is one of only 160 fire agencies in the United States and Canada to achieve this elite status, recognized worldwide as a measure of excellence. The accreditation is the result of six years of effort by Fire Chief Nick Sohyda and the department’s career and volunteer staff. 

 “This achievement validates our commitment to continuous improvement and superior service delivery in a highly efficient and cost effective manner,” Sohyda said. “To know we were evaluated against national standards and internationally recognized best management practices should assure residents that our department is among the most professional in the country.”

 Becoming accredited involved extensive goal setting, self-evaluation and data collection. It also required a four-day on-site inspection last July by an independent CFAI Peer Assessment Team that evaluated the department’s compliance with more than 250 performance indicators. The vote for accreditation took place on March 7 at CFAI’s annual meeting in Las Vegas.

 “The accreditation process has helped us better understand the community risks and to more accurately evaluate our performance,” said Lt. Kevin Abbott, the department’s accreditation manager.

 To maintain accreditation, the department will need to file annual reports with the CFAI for the next five years, at which time it will have to repeat the entire process.

Resident returns home to see flames shooting through roof in Mount Lebanon

Crews said the fire appeared to have started in the chimney and spread to other areas of the house.  No one was injured in the blaze.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Three hospitalized from smoke in Mt. Lebanon fire

Mt. Lebanon Deputy Fire Chief Chris Buttlar said a dozen people were displaced by the fire that started at about 11:30 p.m. at the Baywood Terrace complex.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11345/1196231-100.stm#ixzz1gFc7pQLG

An early morning, one-alarm fire in Mt. Lebanon caused an estimated $60,000 damage to an unoccupied home at 361 Avon Drive.

Mt. Lebanon Fire Chief Nick Sohyda said the fire was reported at 5:30 a.m. at a home that is under renovation and had no contents in it. The family that owns the home was in Florida at the time of the blaze.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11323/1191227-100.stm#ixzz1f0zpCd9m