A team of inspectors announced Friday afternoon it is recommending the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District be given accreditation.

Representatives from the district will travel to Chicago in August to meet with the 11-member Commission on Fire Accreditation International.  Historically, the commission accepts the recommendations of its peer assessment teams in the field.

Today's announcement came before a packed room as part of a special meeting of the district's board of directors. The word was greeted with a standing ovation and applause from the fire district employees who attended.

"I'm very proud of the organization right now," said Fire Chief Richard Price. "I'm really pleased all their hard work has been recognized."

There are 130 fire agencies nationwide and six in California that are now accredited. Among them are the Novato and Santa Clara fire departments.

The only direct benefit to residents of accreditation is a possible lowering of fire insurance rates, especially in outlying areas. However, fire officials say accreditation is a recognition of outstanding work and a confirmation to taxpayers their money is being well-spent.

"I'm really, really excited," said board president Roxanne Lindsay.  "This is like when you want something to happen really badly but you don't want to get your hopes up and then it actually happens."

"We've always known we've had a good fire department," added Danville Vice Mayor Karen Stepper. "This is confirmation that since Chief Price's arrival, we have had an outstanding department."

The CFIA team of four inspectors spent most of the week in the San Ramon Valley assessing the district's equipment, response times, preparedness, relationships with other agencies, outreach to the community and other factors.

The four team members praised San Ramon Valley Fire's procedures and facilities. They did list five areas of improvement, including setting up different expected response times for different fire types. However, overall they said the fire district had met or exceeded every criterion for accreditation.

Team leader Chief Wayne Senter from Washington said San Ramon Valley excels at communications and transparency both within the organization and the community.

The district's Web site as well as its equipment and personnel were praised by the other team leaders, which included Chief Andrew Paradio from New York, Chief Mike Scott from Washington and Captain William Gray from Colorado.

San Ramon Valley Assistant Chief Bryan Collins, who served as the district's accreditation manager, said the department will work hard to make sure they receive accreditation when they travel to Chicago in late August.

Said Collins: "We intend to return as the first accredited agency in Contra Costa County."