Cary Fire Department Earns Sixth International Accreditation from CFAI

The Cary Fire Department has been granted international reaccreditation by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, with the CFAI commission voting unanimously to award the designation. The Town of Cary posted the formal announcement on March 10, 2026.

The reaccreditation is the department's sixth from CFAI, placing Cary among 334 agencies worldwide that have successfully completed the rigorous accreditation process. The distinction reflects a sustained institutional commitment that dates back more than two decades: Cary first became an internationally accredited agency through CFAI in 1999, was re-accredited in 2004, and earned reaccreditation again in August 2010.

That long accreditation history has unfolded against the backdrop of one of North Carolina's fastest-growing municipalities. According to U.S. Census figures, Cary's population has doubled every decade since the 1960s, growing by more than 90,000 residents over four decades. By 2000, Cary ranked as the seventh-largest city in North Carolina, larger than Wilmington, Asheville, and High Point. Under CFAI's 2008 population criteria, the town is classified as an urban area.

The department structures its operations through a Business/Strategic Plan maintained as part of CFAI accreditation requirements and required by the Cary town manager. That plan organizes the department into three business activities: Operations, which includes Training and Risk Management; Logistics; and Budget and Planning.

The department's roots trace to a time when the town employed just two paid firefighters, specifically to ensure one was always on duty. Former Rural Cary Fire Department volunteers later formed an organization to handle calls outside town limits, but by 1982 the volunteer firefighter model had been phased out entirely.

The sixth accreditation extends a record of external validation that few fire agencies anywhere in the world can match.