Four inspectors will fan out across San Ramon Valley this week to decide whether the region's fire district deserves the coveted status of accreditation.

Residents could see lower fire insurance rates for homes and businesses if the area gets this stamp of approval. Beyond that, said Fire Chief Richard Price,  accreditation assures the public the department is doing a good job.

The team, from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, will inspect everything from stations to hydrants to maps to trucks over the next three days to see if the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District meets the agency's standards.

The squad will announce its decision midday Friday at the fire district's administration building on Bollinger Canyon Road. (The exact time has not been announced.)

According to district fire inspector Natalie Kurtz, most insurance companies lower fire insurance rates as a result of accreditation, though they are not required to do so. But a fire district's performance level is one of the top criteria used to set these rates, she added.

Accreditation is not an easy designation to receive. Only six fire districts in California and 130 nationwide are accredited.

"The standards are extremely high and it takes years of work," said Price, who will blog about the visit all week.

"The CFIA team is really doing a review on behalf of the entire community," said Price. "They are letting them know if their tax dollars are being used properly."

The chief said the district is already a better agency because of improvements it has made to meet accreditation standards.

"We've used the assessment to grow and become a better organization," Price said this morning. "It's providing us with a framework for the future of our organization."

The inspection kicked off at 9 a.m. today when Price had exactly one hour to brief the inspectors on the district.

During the briefing, Price said the effort toward accreditation began in 2005 when district leaders decided to pursue the goal. An operations review convinced them they needed to improve several areas before they could apply. Areas that needed work included record keeping and strategic plans for large-scale emergencies.

In 2008, the district put the goal of accreditation into its five-year business plan. Since then, more than 120 district staffers have worked on the application, addressing 45 specific criterion and 244 performance indicators.

"This has been a grassroots effort," said the chief. "It was done from the bottom up, not the top down."

The only outside costs have been hiring a consultant for one phase ($25,000) and printing manuals ($2,000), according to the district.

This morning, the chief highlighted a number of his agency's strengths. First, he described the district, which has 200 employees and a $53 million annual budget. It covers 155 square miles and serves 167,000 residents in San Ramon, Danville, Blackhawk, Alamo, Diablo, Tassajara Valley and the southern edge of Morgan Territory.

The district includes wildland areas, homes on large lots, schools, a 585-acre business park and a regional hospital. It has nine regular stations and one volunteer station as well as its own communications center. In 2009, the district responded to 7,720 calls for service.

"Being an independent special district, we provide our own service," Price explained. "We are a completely independent stand-alone agency."

Price highlighted the district's record-keeping system (ILM), which both keeps detailed information and alerts battalion chiefs and others about whether maintenance and inspections are up to date.

"All this stuff that's supposed to get done, how do you know it's getting done? ILM is our solution," Price said.

The chief also spotlighted the 400 strategic plans the district has for emergencies at schools, business parks, rock formations on Mount Diablo and other locations.

The district web page was also showcased. Price said it's a modern site that a number of employees are given access to update.

"This allows the site to have rich content that's current," he said. "The website is strategic. It's more than just a pretty site."

At the end of the presentation, the inspection team thanked the chief but did not ask questions. They left the room, splitting up to spread out across the valley. The rest of the week, they'll inspect all the district's facilities as well as talk to firefighters, dispatchers and people the agency works with such as Chevron and the East Bay Municipal Utility District.

Price said the fact the team spent the time and money to come here is a good sign. He'll find out along with everyone else on Friday if the district's hard work has paid off.

Follow Chief Price's blog about the team's visit here.