Fire department leaders across the nation are recognizing the importance of leading their departments through Fire Department Accreditation. Across the United States, there are 338 (Year 2025) accredited fire departments; this represents an increase of 37 departments since August 2022. There are a total of six Tennessee municipal fire departments included in this prestigious number: Alcoa, Brentwood, Bristol, Johnson City, Kingsport, and Maryville. This represents a one department reduction since 2022, with Murfreesboro not participating in the renewal process. Currently, 16% of the US population is protected by an accredited agency.

Accreditation is a way to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a fire department by determining community risks and fire safety needs, accurately evaluating the organization’s performance against a consensus standard of excellence, and providing a method for continuous improvement. Measuring professionalism and service delivery of fire and emergency services is a new concept for most cities.

Every day, fire chiefs, city managers, and local elected officials make critical decisions about fire protection and emergency medical services for their communities. Now more than ever, there is constant pressure to do more with the same resources and in some cases fewer resources. Most city managers are hard-pressed to justify increasing expenditures unless they can be attributed directly to improved or expanded service delivery. There are a number of methods and a variety of techniques to measure fire service performance. Everyone agrees that the process should allow citizens, elected and appointed officials, and fire service personnel to see success.