St. Charles Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet again has earned designation as a Chief Fire Officer by the Commission on Professional Credentialing. The designation is awarded for meeting professional, educational, technical, and community service achievements and fulfilling prescribed standards of performance, ethics, and conduct. Schelstreet was originally designated as a CFO in 2015. Each designation is valid for three years.

Schelstreet is one of nearly 1,200 designated CFOs worldwide. To maintain the designation, CFOs must show continued development in four areas: Professional Development, Professional Contributions, Active Association Membership and Community Involvement.

“We are proud of Chief Schelstreet for once again earning this prestigious accreditation,” said City Administrator Mark Koenen. “Through his over three decades of service to the department and the community, he has been committed to providing the highest quality of service to the citizens of St. Charles, and this designation exemplifies that.”

The  Commission  on  Professional   Credentialing,  an  entity  of  the  Center  for  Public  Safety Excellence, Inc., administers the CFO Designation Program. The CPC consists of individuals from academia, federal and local government, and the fire and emergency medical services professions.

Schelstreet joined the St. Charles Fire Department as a paid-on-call firefighter in 1986, and was brought on full-time in 1988 as a firefighter. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1992, Captain in 1997, Assistant Chief in 2003 and Chief in 2013. Schelstreet holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Southern Illinois University, a Master’s Degree in Management and Organizational Behavior from Benedictine University, and a Master’s Degree in Fire and Emergency Management from Oklahoma State University.

In 2013, Chief Schelstreet led the St. Charles Fire Department to earn accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International and our Emergency Management Agency to achieve accreditation through the Illinois EMA in 2014.

SOURCE: city of St. Charles news release