The Mesa Fire and Medical Department has become the first fire team in Arizona to receive the designation of being a Certified Autism Center. The designation was granted by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards and comes after the staff, firefighters and other first responders at the department received position-specific training to "enhance their understanding and sensitivity when helping individuals with autism or other sensory sensitivities," according to a press release by the organization. The IBCCES website says that Certified Autism Centers must be dedicated to serving individuals with autism, have at least 80% of their staff trained and certified in the field of autism and be committed to ongoing training in autism. IBCCES President Meredith Tekin said that those standards will make a world of difference to people on the autism spectrum in the area.