Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC)
Overview
CIFFC, or the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, is a not-for-profit organization that coordinates wildfire management resources and strategies for its federal, provincial, and territorial member agencies (government agencies). Its primary goal is to ensure efficient resource sharing, mutual aid, and information exchange occurs amongst these agencies.
It acts as a central hub, deploying reinforcements like crews and equipment between agencies as needed. CIFFC also standardizes practices, such as fitness standards and terminology, to streamline collaboration, and promotes knowledge sharing through training and cross-agency learning opportunities. All of this helps to support national preparedness across the wildfire agencies in Canada.
While during the fire season, you may get the impression that CIFFC is a logistics hub for the fire agencies, it is involved in a number of other functions as listed below.
-
When agencies are short-staffed and dealing with multiple wildfires, CIFFC steps in to help by coordinating support like trained crews, equipment, and aircraft. This network ensures agencies can rely on one another for support during large wildfire events.
-
CIFFC provides up-to-date wildfire data through its Wildfire Dashboard and Situation Reports, keeping agencies and firefighters across Canada informed. This information is used to assess risks and resource allocation nationally.
-
Beyond resource allocation for fire suppression, CIFFC is also involved in long-term planning and program delivery to support wildfire readiness for current and future season.
-
CIFFC partners with other wildfire organizations globally to exchange knowledge and expertise. During busy fire season, these partnerships allow for the international assistance to come in seamlessly.
