The United States Fire Administration (USFA) was created following the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. That legislation responded to the America Burning report, which set out the scale of fire deaths, injuries and property losses in the United States and called for a national body to coordinate data, research, training and public education on fire safety.
The original body was the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration within the Department of Commerce. In 1978 it was renamed the United States Fire Administration, and in 1979 it was moved into the newly established Federal Emergency Management Agency, which now sits in the Department of Homeland Security. From its base at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, USFA provides leadership, data, education and federal coordination for the fire and rescue community.
The U.S. Fire Administrator is the head of the USFA. The role has traditionally been a presidential appointment, originally requiring Senate confirmation and now appointed directly by the President. Acting fire administrators step into the post between permanent appointments, keeping the agency’s work moving and providing continuity for the National Fire Academy, national data systems and federal programmes. Both appointed and acting leaders form part of a continuous line of responsibility stretching back to the mid 1970s.
The sections below first outline key developments in USFA’s history decade by decade. This is followed by a chronological list of administrators, from the first to the present, with brief biographical notes and highlights of their time in office.
In 1974 Congress passed the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act. The Act created the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration to coordinate national efforts in fire data, research, public education and support for state and local fire services, directly addressing recommendations from America Burning.
In 1978 Congress amended the original Act and changed the agency’s name to the United States Fire Administration. The change marked a clearer identity for the federal fire body within government structures.
In 1979, under a wider reorganisation of federal emergency management, USFA was placed within the new Federal Emergency Management Agency as an autonomous entity. FEMA acquired the former St Joseph College campus at Emmitsburg, Maryland, to house USFA and the National Fire Academy. This site became the National Emergency Training Center and remains the physical home of USFA and NFA programmes.
During the late 1970s USFA began building the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), a standardised national system for reporting fire incidents. NFIRS provided a way for fire departments to contribute comparable data that could be analysed at national level to inform prevention and policy.
In the early 1980s proposals were put forward to dismantle or significantly reduce the USFA. Congressional hearings examined whether the federal government should continue to play a role in fire training, data and public education. USFA ultimately remained in place, and the debate reinforced the agency’s national mandate.
Through the decade the Emmitsburg campus matured into a national centre for advanced training. The National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management Institute shared the site, helping to align fire and emergency management leadership training and to widen the professional network of senior officers.
By the late 1980s NFIRS had grown into a large national database, with many thousands of fire departments contributing data. The system gradually came to represent a significant portion of all reported fires in the United States, supporting trend analysis and informing prevention campaigns.
In 1994 Carrye B. Brown was appointed as U.S. Fire Administrator. She was the first woman and the first African American to hold the post. Her appointment was itself a landmark in the history of the federal fire service and helped broaden the public and professional profile of USFA.
Throughout the 1990s Congress periodically reauthorised USFA. These reauthorisations provided opportunities to review priorities in training, data, research and public education, and to assess the impact of federal support on fire deaths and losses. A 1999 House report marking the twenty fifth anniversary of the 1974 Act highlighted USFA’s contribution to reductions in fire fatalities.
The National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Programme grew into a flagship leadership development route. Participants carried out applied research projects addressing real issues in their departments, and USFA disseminated these projects nationally, encouraging evidence based practice in the fire service.
After the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, FEMA and USFA were brought into DHS in 2003. USFA’s mission was framed within an all hazards and homeland security context, while its core focus on fire prevention, data and training remained intact.
Through the 2000s USFA played a central role in administering federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). These grants provided funding for apparatus, personal protective equipment, training and prevention projects, bringing visible federal support directly to local fire departments.
NFIRS 5.0, introduced at the end of the 1990s, was rolled out and fully embedded through the 2000s. The system expanded reporting beyond fires to a wide range of incident types, giving USFA and participating departments a more complete view of fire and emergency workloads. USFA developed training and self study materials to support local adoption.
Under the leadership of U.S. Fire Administrator Ernest (Ernie) Mitchell Jr, USFA placed renewed emphasis on wildland urban interface fire risk. Large loss fires in interface areas, and the strain they placed on local and state resources, became a major theme of national discussion. USFA used its platform to highlight the need for planning, prevention and resilient construction in these environments.
In 2012 Congress passed legislation reauthorising USFA. As part of these changes, the post of U.S. Fire Administrator was removed from the list of positions requiring Senate confirmation, streamlining the appointment process while retaining presidential responsibility for naming the administrator.
Throughout the decade USFA continued to support NFIRS and to develop guidance on community risk reduction, firefighter safety, fire prevention and public education. Data from NFIRS and related research informed campaigns on residential fire safety, smoke alarms and sprinkler use.
Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator Tonya L. Hoover provided continuity through a change of administration in 2021. As Acting U.S. Fire Administrator she maintained National Fire Academy operations, national data programmes and engagement with state and local partners during a period that still bore the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.
From October 2021 Dr Lori Moore Merrell led USFA with a strong emphasis on firefighter health, occupational exposure, climate driven wildfire risk and recruitment and retention challenges. Under her leadership, USFA convened the U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control in 2022, which produced a national strategy and set out priority actions for federal, state and local partners.
Follow up summit work in 2023 and 2024 placed particular attention on mental health. Recommendations included establishing an advisory panel on behavioural health and embedding mental health and wellbeing programmes into fire and emergency medical services agencies across the country.
USFA announced that NFIRS would be replaced by the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS), a new cloud based, all hazards data platform developed with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate and UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute. NERIS aims to provide more flexible, real time data for local agencies and national analysis, with adoption beginning in the mid 2020s.
In 2025, with Dr Moore Merrell’s departure, Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator Chief Donna Black became Acting U.S. Fire Administrator. Her role is to maintain continuity across training, data and national programmes while the next permanent appointment is awaited, ensuring that the agency’s long term work continues uninterrupted.
Role: First U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 1975 to 1978
Howard D. Tipton was the first head of the federal fire agency, initially titled the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration. Appointed after the publication of America Burning, he was responsible for building the organisation’s basic structure, staffing and early programmes from the ground up. Under his leadership the agency began developing national fire data systems, providing support for state and local fire services and laying foundations for the National Fire Academy. Tipton’s tenure established the core functions that still define USFA: data, research, training and public education.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 1979 to 1981
Gordon Vickery, a former Seattle Fire Chief and later head of Seattle City Light, took office as USFA was integrated into FEMA and moved to the Emmitsburg campus. He led the transition from the agency’s start up period into a more stable role within the federal emergency management framework. Vickery’s time in office saw the continued development of the National Fire Academy curriculum, closer coordination with state training agencies and further progress in implementing a national approach to fire data and prevention.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 1981 to 1984
Bobby J. Thompson, previously Fire Chief of Santa Ana, California, brought frontline experience to the national level. As administrator during the early 1980s he helped maintain federal fire programmes at a time when the future of USFA was under scrutiny. Thompson supported the growth of National Fire Academy offerings, promoted professional development for fire officers and sustained federal involvement in fire research and public education. His leadership helped guide the agency through debates about the federal role in fire services.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 1984 to 1989
Clyde A. Bragdon Jr., former Los Angeles County Fire Chief and County Forester, led USFA during a period of consolidation. He emphasised firefighter professionalism, advanced training programmes and stronger coordination between federal, state and local agencies. Bragdon also lent national visibility to emerging concerns about wildland urban interface risk, drawing on his experience in a large, high risk county. Under his leadership, USFA’s reputation as a national resource for operational guidance, leadership development and data grew significantly.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 1990 to the early 1990s
Olin L. Greene Jr. came to USFA with experience as both Florida and Oregon State Fire Marshal. His appointment reflected the importance of state level prevention and investigation work to the federal mission. Greene deepened USFA’s engagement with state fire marshals and related offices, advancing efforts in arson prevention and data driven fire prevention strategies. His tenure coincided with growing interest in using national incident data to inform local code enforcement and community risk reduction.
Role: Acting U.S. Fire Administrators
Tenure: Early 1990s until 1994
After Olin Greene’s service and before the appointment of Carrye B. Brown, the USFA was led by senior career officials serving in an acting capacity. Public records do not consistently name all of these acting administrators, but they maintained continuity across the National Fire Academy, NFIRS, federal prevention programmes and support to state and local partners. This period bridged the gap between presidential appointees while core training and data functions continued.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 1994 to 2001
Carrye B. Brown became the first woman and the first African American to serve as U.S. Fire Administrator. With a background in local government and public administration, she guided USFA through one of its most influential eras. Brown championed community risk reduction, with a strong emphasis on prevention, public education and data based decision making. She supported the expansion of the National Fire Academy’s role, strengthened the use of NFIRS data for national analysis and raised the profile of USFA across the fire service. Her long tenure in the 1990s helped embed federal fire programmes within the broader public safety landscape.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 2001 to the mid 2000s
R. David Paulison, former Miami Dade Fire Chief, took office only months after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. His tenure at USFA overlapped with a period of profound change in national emergency management and homeland security. Paulison supported enhanced readiness across the fire service for complex incidents, promoted the integration of fire service needs into emerging homeland security structures and continued to drive improvements in NFIRS participation and data use. He later became the Director of FEMA and Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management, taking his fire service experience into broader federal emergency leadership.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 2007 to around 2009
Gregory B. Cade, a former chief of the Hampton, Virginia Division of Fire and Rescue, was appointed U.S. Fire Administrator in 2007. Cade focused on firefighter safety and health, supporting national efforts to reduce line of duty deaths and injuries, including improved data on contributing factors. He worked closely with national fire organisations to advance consensus standards and to promote risk reduction programmes. During his tenure USFA continued to administer major grant programmes and to expand its outreach to the broader emergency services community.
Role: Acting U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: Around 2009 to 2011
Glenn A. Gaines, Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator and former Fairfax County Fire Chief, became Acting U.S. Fire Administrator in the early Obama administration. Gaines was widely respected for his operational and leadership experience. As acting administrator he focused on firefighter health and safety, professional development and national resilience planning. He played an important role in maintaining programme continuity at USFA while the administration’s long term leadership team was being established.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 2011 to 2017
Ernest (Ernie) Mitchell Jr., former Fire Chief of Pasadena, California, was appointed U.S. Fire Administrator in 2011. Mitchell oversaw significant progress in data modernisation, community risk reduction and federal engagement with the fire service. He worked to highlight wildland urban interface risks, to support volunteer and combination departments and to keep firefighter safety at the centre of USFA’s agenda. Under his leadership, USFA strengthened its links with national fire organisations and continued to manage key grant and training programmes that support fire departments across the country.
Role: Acting U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 2017
Dr Denis Onieal, a long serving deputy administrator and former Superintendent of the National Fire Academy, served as Acting U.S. Fire Administrator during the early months of the Trump administration. With deep knowledge of USFA’s programmes and history, he ensured stability across training, data and grants whilst a new appointee was selected. His period as acting administrator maintained the trajectory set under previous leadership, particularly in the areas of leadership development and community risk reduction.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 2017 to 2021
G. Keith Bryant, former Oklahoma City Fire Chief, served as U.S. Fire Administrator from 2017 until 2021. His tenure included a sustained focus on firefighter cancer risks, health and safety, and on challenges in recruitment and retention across the fire service. Bryant worked on improving national coordination for wildland and wildland urban interface fires, and on broadening the digital resources available through USFA and the National Fire Academy. He continued to oversee major grant programmes and represented the federal fire community in wider emergency management and homeland security discussions.
Role: Acting U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: January 2021 to October 2021
Tonya L. Hoover, a former California State Fire Marshal and National Fire Academy Superintendent, served as Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator before stepping into the acting role in 2021. As Acting U.S. Fire Administrator she bridged the transition between administrations during a period still shaped by the COVID 19 pandemic. Hoover oversaw day to day operations at USFA and NFA, supported ongoing modernisation of national fire data systems and contributed to the reshaping of executive education programmes, including work on the Executive Fire Officer curriculum. Her leadership maintained momentum in training and national coordination while the next permanent administrator was selected.
Role: U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: October 2021 to 2025
Dr Lori Moore Merrell, with a background in fire service research and policy, was appointed U.S. Fire Administrator in October 2021. She brought a strong analytical perspective to the role, prioritising firefighter health, cancer and behavioural health, as well as the impacts of climate driven wildfire on communities and fire services. Under her leadership USFA convened the U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control and subsequent follow up meetings, which set out a national strategy with specific goals for prevention, staffing, health and safety and data. She also championed the transition from NFIRS to the National Emergency Response Information System, positioning data as a central tool for policy and practice.
Role: Acting U.S. Fire Administrator
Tenure: 2025 to present
Chief Donna Black, a long serving volunteer fire chief and previously the Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator, became Acting U.S. Fire Administrator in 2025 following Dr Moore Merrell’s departure. In this capacity she leads USFA’s ongoing programmes, including the National Fire Academy, national fire data initiatives and federal engagement with state and local fire services. Her role is to ensure continuity of leadership and delivery while the next permanent appointment is made, maintaining USFA’s support for the fire and rescue community during a period of organisational and environmental change.
The United States Fire Administration is a federal agency within the Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security. It provides national leadership in fire and emergency services through training, data, research and public fire education.
The agency was created in 1974 as the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration under the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act. In 1978 it became the United States Fire Administration.
The USFA supports fire and emergency medical services nationwide through the National Fire Academy, national fire data systems, research, leadership development, community risk reduction guidance and coordination with state and local fire services.
The USFA is located at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, which it shares with the National Fire Academy.
The agency is led by the U.S. Fire Administrator, appointed by the President. Acting administrators serve between appointments to maintain continuity.
USFA provides advanced training, research, technical guidance, national data tools, public education materials and federal coordination. It supports state training systems and works closely with local fire departments on prevention and risk-reduction initiatives.
NFIRS, the National Fire Incident Reporting System, is the long-standing national standard for incident data reporting. Fire departments submit incident information to NFIRS so that national trends can be analysed and used to inform prevention, policy and resource planning.
NERIS, the National Emergency Response Information System, is the new cloud-based system being introduced to replace NFIRS. It is designed to provide more flexible, real-time and all-hazards data for both local agencies and federal analysis. The transition from NFIRS to NERIS is taking place throughout the mid-2020s.
Yes. The USFA plays a major role in administering national grant programmes such as the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Programme, which helps departments acquire training, equipment and prevention resources.
The USFA monitors risks such as wildland urban interface fires, firefighter cancer and behavioural health, lithium-ion battery incidents and climate-related fire hazards. It produces guidance, training and research to help departments prepare for these challenges.
No. Local fire departments operate at municipal, county or state levels. The USFA does not respond to emergencies. Instead, it supports the national fire service through policy, training, data and coordination.
Professionals can take National Fire Academy courses, use USFA research and publications, participate in NFIRS and NERIS reporting, access online training and apply for federal grant programmes. The agency also provides numerous resources for prevention, leadership development and community risk reduction.
