Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

What Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management does

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) is a state government agency, established circa 1966, headquartered at 1110 West Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona, with approximately 93 employees. It is the state-mandated agency responsible for wildland fire suppression, fire prevention, forestry management, and all-hazard response across 22 million acres of State Trust and private lands in Arizona. The agency coordinates with 2,700 wildland firefighters and 3,000 pieces of equipment from local and federal cooperating agencies through cooperative agreements, and operates specialized programs including the only state inmate wildland firefighting crew program in Arizona (12 crews of 20 members each in partnership with the Arizona Department of Corrections), a post-release Phoenix Crew, the Federal Excess Property Program (FEPP) that has delivered nearly $9 million in refurbished equipment to rural fire departments, and an agency drone program operational since 2019 for fire reconnaissance, heat sensing, mapping, and prescribed burn planning.

DFFM's service portfolio spans six major divisions: Fire (suppression, prevention, dispatch, training, aviation including SEAT bases at Buckeye, Marana, and Wickenburg, and Air Attack and VLAT operations), Forestry (urban and community forestry, forest health, stewardship, wood utilization), Grants administration (Community Forestry, Forest Health, Training and Equipment, Hazard Fuels Mitigation, Post-Wildfire Infrastructure), the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and All Hazard Response. Its digital product surface includes a free mobile application (released 2019, available on iOS and Android), the Fire Business System (FBS) for cooperating fire departments to manage rate agreements, personnel records, and electronic billing (fully implemented April 2023), and the Incident Qualification System (IQS) for managing wildland firefighter Red Card certifications and qualifications. Under 2025 state legislation, DFFM also administers the new Wildfire Mitigation Plan Program reviewing biennial mitigation plans submitted by Arizona electric utilities.

As a public-sector entity, DFFM does not generate commercial revenue. It is funded through Arizona state budget appropriations and federal grants from USDA Forest Service and DOI Bureau of Land Management, and provides fire protection, forestry, and grant administration services to Arizona residents, rural fire departments, communities, HOAs, private forest landowners, counties, and electric utilities at no direct cost to citizens. The agency is led by the Arizona State Forester, with Charles E. Dowdy appointed as Arizona's State Fire Marshal in 2025. Core customers include Arizona rural fire departments (equipment and suppression support), Arizona communities and HOAs (Firewise USA recognition, now 215+ sites), private forest landowners (307 educated or assisted in 2024 via the Forest Stewardship Program), and Arizona electric utilities including APS, SRP, TEP, UNS, and others for wildfire mitigation plan compliance.

Name

Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

Legal name

Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

Website

https://dffm.az.gov

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Arizona's state-mandated agency for wildland fire suppression and forestry management, protecting 22 million acres of State Trust and private lands through 93 staff, an inmate firefighting crew program, aviation assets, and federal excess equipment programs serving fire departments, communities, and electric utilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Wildland Fire Protection and Forestry Services

NAICS

Fire Protection (92216), Fire Protection (922160), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildfire Suppression & Incident Response (AFAMAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Forest Fuels Management (Thinning, Mastication, Prescribed Burning) (AFAMAEAD), Wildfire Risk Assessment, Prevention & Suppression Services (IMAMAJAG), Integrated Forest Health & Fire Management Planning (AFAMAEAK)

Keywords

• Wildland fire suppression
• Forest management services
• Fire protection services
• Wildfire prevention programs
• Community forestry

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Appropriation and Grants: State agency funded through Arizona state budget appropriations and federal grants from USDA Forest Service and DOI Bureau of Land Management

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) is a state government agency that provides wildland fire suppression, fire prevention, and forestry management services across Arizona. It protects 22 million acres of State Trust and private lands through ground crews, inmate hand crews, aerial firefighting assets (SEATs, Air Attack, VLATs, helicopters), and drone reconnaissance. The agency also administers urban and community forestry programs, grants, fire marshal code enforcement, and the Firewise USA community wildfire preparedness program.

Product overview

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) is a state government agency that provides fire protection and forestry management services across Arizona. The agency offers a portfolio of programs including wildland fire suppression, fire prevention, aviation firefighting assets, community forestry programs, and grants administration. The primary customer-facing digital product is a mobile phone application available on iTunes and Google Play. DFFM also manages the Fire Business System for cooperating fire departments and the Incident Qualification System (IQS) for firefighter credentials management. The agency's services are organized into major divisions: Fire (suppression, prevention, dispatch, training), Forestry (urban forestry, forest health, stewardship, utilization), Grants, Fire Marshal services, and All Hazard Response. These programs operate as independent service offerings rather than an integrated software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wildland Fire Suppression Services Fire protection services covering 22 million acres of State Trust and private lands in Arizona, including wildland firefighting crews, aviation assets (SEATs, Air Attack, VLATs), inmate hand crews, and the Phoenix Crew post-release program.
• Firewise USA Program A national wildfire prevention program administered in Arizona by DFFM that educates homeowners on protecting homes and communities from wildfires through defensible space and Firewise practices. DFFM is the NFPA's Firewise USA liaison for Arizona with 215+ recognized sites.
• Urban and Community Forestry Program A cooperative forestry program providing technical assistance, education, and grant funding for urban forest stewardship, including Tree City USA, Tree Campus USA, and Tree Line USA recognition programs. Supports stewardship of approximately 47.2 million trees across 6,016 square miles of urban/community forest in Arizona.
• Wildfire Mitigation Plan Program Program supporting Arizona electric utility providers with biennial wildfire mitigation planning as mandated by 2025 state legislation, reviewing plans for preventive actions, protective equipment, and monitoring programs.
• Federal Excess Property Program (FEPP) Program through USDA Forest Service that acquires federal excess property at no charge, refurbishes it into wildland fire suppression equipment, and loans it to rural Arizona fire departments. 333 refurbished pieces of equipment valued at nearly $9 million on loan.
• Wood Utilization and Marketing Program Program providing technical and marketing assistance to forest-based industries to create cost-effective methods of reducing hazardous forest fuel levels and identify emerging markets for forest resources.
• Grants Administration Program Various grant programs for Arizona communities including Community Forestry Grants, Forest Health Grants, Training and Equipment Grants, Rural Fire Capacity Grants, Hazard Fuels Mitigation Grants, Forest Utilization Grants, Landscape Scale Restoration Grants, and Post-Wildfire Infrastructure Assistance.
• DFFM Mobile Phone Application A free mobile application that provides wildfire alerts, fire restriction information, agency news headlines, fire prevention tips, a Q&A section, and anonymous tip submission. Available on iTunes and Google Play stores.
• Fire Business System (FBS) A digital platform for cooperating fire departments and districts to create Cooperative Fire Rate Agreements, manage personnel and equipment records, and submit billing documents electronically.
• Incident Qualification System (IQS) A web-based system for managing wildland fire personnel qualifications, Red Card certifications, fire experience logging, and trainee program tracking for Arizona firefighters and cooperating agencies.
• Office of the State Fire Marshal Enforcement of Arizona Fire Codes, plan review, permitting and inspection, fire prevention, firefighter relief and pension fund oversight, and National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) management.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Arizona Department of CorrectionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to operate inmate wildland firefighting program with twelve 20-person Type 2 Fire Hand Crews across the state. Low-level offenders are trained as professional wildland firefighters, with some reaching advanced qualifications.
• USDA Forest ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative agreements for fire suppression on federal lands, funding for Federal Excess Property Program, and joint aerial detection survey flights. USFS provides $9 million in equipment value to rural fire departments through FEPP.
• Arizona Department of Public SafetycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFFM works with Arizona Department of Public Safety for supplemental helicopter and fixed wing aviation assets. DFFM aviation staff provide coordination, equipment, and training to DPS and Arizona Army National Guard.
• Arizona Army National GuardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFFM aviation staff provide wildland fire related support including coordination, equipment, and training to the Arizona Army National Guard.
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative fire suppression agreements and support on BLM lands throughout Arizona.
• Bureau of Indian AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative agreements for fire suppression support on tribal lands.
• Arizona Game and Fish DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for invasive species reduction work within the Gila River watershed west of Phoenix.
• Tonto National ForestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState and federal collaborative fuels reduction project (Phase 2 of the Haigler project) in the Tonto National Forest.
• Prescott National ForestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative fuels reduction project southwest of Cottonwood expanding into the Prescott National Forest.
• USDA Forest Service (Urban and Community Forestry)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary funder of Urban and Community Forestry Program. Program is a cooperative forestry program funded primarily by USDA Forest Service focusing on stewardship of urban natural resources.
• DOI Bureau of Land ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting partner for Urban and Community Forestry Program funding.
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) - Firewise USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFFM is the NFPA's Firewise USA liaison for Arizona. Works with homeowners associations, communities, and neighborhoods across the state to conduct Firewise USA training opportunities.
• Southeastern Arizona Natural Resources Coordinating Committee (SEA NRCC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape protection through Partnership Building Grants supporting natural resource coordination.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) — Firewise USA: NFPA runs the Firewise USA recognition program that DFFM administers for Arizona. The program owner rather than a competitor; included because DFFM's community risk-reduction network runs through NFPA's national framework.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Wildland Fire Management): Federal agency that coordinates wildland fire response on National Wildlife Refuges and provides trained incident management teams. Cooperates with DFFM under mutual aid agreements and is part of the same interagency fire ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Bureau of Land Management (Fire Management): Federal fire management arm within DOI BLM, a core cooperative partner of DFFM with shared jurisdiction over Arizona lands. Operates wildland fire programs at federal scale, broadly analogous mission but federal rather than state mandate.
• USDA Forest Service: Federal agency that owns and manages national forests and provides wildland fire response on federal lands. Co-funder of DFFM via cooperative agreements, FEPP, and Urban and Community Forestry grants; comparable scope but federal rather than state jurisdiction.

Direct peers

• Oregon Department of Forestry: Oregon's state forestry agency responsible for fire protection on forestlands and wildland fire suppression. Shares the structural template of state-managed fire protection districts, forest health programs, and cooperative agreements with USFS/BLM that DFFM operates.
• Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control: Colorado's state fire agency handling wildland fire response, prescribed fire, and fire prevention on state and private lands. Direct peer in scope (state-level wildland coordination), though smaller in scale than DFFM.
• Texas A&M Forest Service: Texas's state forestry agency with wildland fire suppression, prescribed fire, rural fire program support, and FEPP-style equipment programs. A direct functional analog across the full DFFM service portfolio, despite the larger geographic scale.
• Washington State Department of Natural Resources: Washington's DNR manages wildland fire response on state trust and private lands. Its combination of forest management, fire suppression, prescribed fire, and urban forestry programs closely parallels DFFM's portfolio.
• CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection): California's state-level wildland fire protection agency. The closest functional analog to DFFM in terms of mission (wildland fire suppression on state and private lands), aviation capability, fuels reduction, and statutory mandate. CAL FIRE is significantly larger and handles structural fire as well, but the operational model — including inmate hand crews, SEAT/VLAT bases, and cooperative federal agreements — directly mirrors DFFM.
• New Mexico Forestry Division (EMNRD): New Mexico's state forestry and fire resource management division. Operates adjacent to DFFM in the Southwest, runs wildland fire suppression, prescribed fire, inmate crews, and cooperative fire programs with USFS/BLM. Closest geographic peer to DFFM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/azstateforestry
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCanHZnGBwwXaa3XGwm8MK3A
• Facebookfacebook.com/arizonastateforestry
• Instagraminstagram.com/forestryfireaz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arizona-department-of-forestry-and-fire-management

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management