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U.S. Fire Administration

Our Mission

The U.S. Fire Administration supports and strengthens fire and emergency medical services and stakeholders to prepare for, prevent, mitigate and respond to all hazards.

What We Do

We work for a fire safe America. Through data collection, public education, research and training efforts, the U.S. Fire Administration has helped to reduce fire deaths and make our communities and residents safer.

Office Functions

  • National Fire Academy provides free training and education programs to support fire departments and emergency medical services organizations prepare for, prevent and respond to fires and other hazards.
  • Develops and delivers fire prevention and safety education programs in partnership with other federal agencies, the fire and emergency response community, the media and safety interest groups; works with the public and private groups to promote and improve fire prevention and life safety through research, testing and evaluation.
  • Sponsors research and conducts studies to support emergency responder health and safety and help fire departments prepare for and respond to fire, natural disasters and non-fire emergencies.
  • Maintains the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), which is the world’s largest, national, annual database of fire incident information. Provides information and analyses, based on data, on the status and scope of the U.S. fire problem.
  • Operates the National Emergency Training Center library, which provides information on fire, emergency management and other all-hazards subjects.
  • Spearheads the Fire Is Everyone’s Fight® national initiative to unite the fire service and life safety organizations and professionals to reduce home fire injuries, deaths and property loss by changing how people think about fire and fire prevention.
  • Offers a WUI toolkit to  fire departments prepare for, and respond to, wildland urban interface fires. Works collaboratively with other federal agencies to provide resources and training to assist with stakeholder efforts, to prepare communities to be more resilient in the event of a wildfire.
  • Operates the Emergency Management and Response – Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which shares critical infrastructure protection and emerging threat information with emergency management, fire and emergency medical services, hazardous materials teams, law enforcement, bomb squads, tactical operations/special weapons assault teams and search and rescue teams.
  • Develops All-Hazards Incident Management Team guidance and training in an effort to professionalize and standardize the Type 3 IMT community.

Our Strategic Goals

Build a culture of preparedness in the fire and emergency medical services.

  • Enhance fire and emergency medical services' ability to identify, prevent, prepare for and mitigate community risks.
  • Help fire and emergency medical services increase their organizational resilience.
  • Develop partnerships to strengthen fire and emergency medical services. 

Ready the nation's fire and emergency medical services for all hazards.

  • Promote the professional development of fire and emergency medical services personnel to respond to and recover from all-hazards incidents.
  • Strengthen the culture of health and wellness to improve responder safety and survival.
  • Encourage data-driven decision-making and information sharing.

Ensure the USFA is an innovative, knowledgeable and responsive organization.

  • Encourage an environment that values and embraces the contributions, innovations and potential of every employee and support ongoing professional development opportunities.
  • Simplify administrative and business operations.
  • Promote effective internal communications.
  • Create and maintain a facility that provides a safe and secure environment.
  • Increase USFA's profile on a national level. 

Leadership

View the FEMA Offices & Leadership page to learn about this program's key staff.