Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre

What Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre does

Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) is a federally incorporated not-for-profit corporation, established June 2, 1982, and owned and operated by Canada's federal, provincial, and territorial wildland fire management agencies. Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with approximately 40 staff, CIFFC serves as the sole national coordinating body for interagency wildland fire resource sharing, mutual aid, and information sharing across all 13 Canadian provinces and territories, plus reciprocal arrangements with the United States (National Interagency Coordination Center, Boise), Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, and South Africa. Its mandate, expanded in 2021, covers response coordination plus prevention and mitigation through FireSmart Canada.

CIFFC's product surface is a portfolio of coordination platforms and standards rather than a single unified product. Core platforms include FireGrowthModel.ca (hosting Prometheus, PSaaS, REDapp, Burn-P3, and Pandora wildfire behavior modeling applications), CIAPP (a Windows desktop Incident Action Plan tool whose source code is published on GitHub), ICS Canada training and certification, the Learning Hub, the FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition Portal, and the Advanced Assessments tool. Operational products include the daily National Situation Reports distributed during fire season, aviation tracking standards (AFF), the WFX-FIT physical fitness standard for wildland firefighters, the Canadian Wildland Fire Management Glossary, the CIFFC Collaboration Hub, and cumulative mobilization statistics tracked since 1982. Resource sharing is formalized through the MARS Agreement domestically and the CANUS Arrangement internationally.

CIFFC operates a non-commercial revenue model funded entirely by government appropriations. The federal government contributes one-third of base operating costs, while provinces and territories fund the remaining two-thirds of base costs and 100% of collaborative project costs on a calculated model. In 2026, the Government of Canada announced a CAD $316.7 million five-year investment through CIFFC to lease and deploy aerial firefighting aircraft for the 2026 wildfire season, following Canada's second worst wildfire season in 2025; this sits within a broader nearly CAD $1 billion federal investment in wildfire resilience since 2019. CIFFC does not sell its services commercially and instead delivers them as coordination infrastructure to its member agencies, with daily operational contact maintained with the U.S. NICC during fire season.

Name

Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre

Legal name

Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc.

Website

https://ciffc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CIFFC is a federally incorporated Canadian not-for-profit corporation that coordinates wildland fire resource sharing, mutual aid, and information sharing among all federal, provincial, and territorial fire management agencies, with international reciprocal arrangements and a suite of standards, training, and digital platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildland Fire Management Coordination

NAICS

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

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildfire Risk Assessment, Prevention & Suppression Services (IMAMAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Forest Fire Management & Fuels Reduction Services (IMAMAAAH)

Keywords

• Wildland fire coordination
• Forest fire management
• Interagency resource sharing
• Wildfire prevention programs
• Incident command training

Headquarters

HQ city

Winnipeg

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: CIFFC receives government funding through a unique model: the Federal government contributes one-third of the CIFFC's base operating costs. The remaining two-thirds of base costs plus 100% of collaborative project costs are funded by provinces and territories based on a calculated model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CIFFC is a federally incorporated not-for-profit corporation that coordinates wildland fire management resources (personnel, aircraft, equipment) across Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial agencies. The organization operates the Coordination Centre, publishes daily National Situation Reports, runs the FireSmart Canada prevention program, and delivers standardized training (ICS Canada) and aviation/fitness standards for interoperability among member agencies and international partners.

Product overview

CIFFC is a not-for-profit corporation owned and operated by Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial wildland fire management agencies. The organization offers a suite of coordination services and digital platforms rather than a single unified product. Core offerings include FireGrowthModel.ca (wildfire growth modelling platform), CIAPP (incident action plan desktop application), and FireSmart Canada (community wildfire prevention program with Neighbourhood Recognition Portal and Advanced Assessments). Supporting platforms include ICS Canada (incident command system training), Learning Hub (professional development), and the Canadian Wildland Fire Glossary. The organization also provides aviation coordination standards, WFX-FIT physical fitness standards, and daily National Situation Reports. Resource sharing is facilitated through the MARS Agreement and international CANUS Arrangement with the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FireSmart Canada: A national program coordinating wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts across Canadian communities
• ICS Canada
• MARS Agreement

Products and services

• FireGrowthModel.ca A web platform hosting Canadian wildfire growth modelling tools and applications for fire behavior prediction and analysis, serving fire management agencies and researchers.
• CIAPP (Canadian Incident Action Plan Program) A Windows desktop application that helps responders create Incident Action Plans using standard ICS Canada forms, available in English only.
• FireSmart Canada A national wildfire prevention program coordinated by CIFFC providing funding, promotional materials, and resources to communities across Canada for community-led wildfire resilience activities.
• Neighbourhood Recognition Portal A web portal under FireSmart Canada for recognizing communities that have taken steps to reduce wildfire risk through the FireSmart program.
• Advanced Assessments A web-based assessment tool available through FireSmart Canada for evaluating wildfire risk and resilience at the community level.
• ICS Canada A platform providing Incident Command System training and resources, including ICS 100 online training courses for wildland fire management personnel.
• Learning Hub A centralized online learning platform offering training resources and courses for wildland fire management professionals.
• National Situation Reports Daily reports produced during fire season providing information and intelligence on fire situation to all member agencies, including aircraft, personnel, equipment and specialty item mobilizations.
• MARS Agreement The Canadian Interagency Mutual Aid Resources Sharing Agreement outlining terms for sharing equipment, personnel, and aircraft resources between member agencies.
• CANUS Arrangement Canada/United States Reciprocal Forest Fire Fighting Arrangement authorizing resource sharing across the international boundary with the National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho.
• Canadian Wildland Fire Management Glossary A comprehensive glossary providing definitions of terms most commonly used in Canada in the field of forest fire management.
• WFX-FIT (Wildland Fire Fighter Fitness Integration Test) A valid job-related physical performance standard used to determine whether wildland firefighters possess the physical capabilities necessary to meet the demands of firefighting, including aerobic fitness, muscular strength and muscular endurance requirements.
• Aviation Standards Standards for aviation operations including AFF (Automated Flight Following) data standards, hover exit guidelines, aviation safety matrix, and helicopter pilot competencies for wildfire operations.
• CIFFC Collaboration Hub A platform connecting wildfire agencies across Canada through committees, working groups, and task teams focused on communications, technology, prevention, mitigation, and fire operations.
• Mobilization Statistics Daily updated graphs tracking cumulative mobilization of aircraft, personnel, hose, and pumps since 1982, broken down by categories such as birddogs, skimmers, initial attack firefighters, and sustained action firefighters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Coordinated resource sharing across 13 Canadian jurisdictions plus international partners during peak fire seasons

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United States (National Interagency Coordination Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiplomatic Note signed with the United States authorizes sharing of resources for fire suppression across the international boundary. The Canada/United States Reciprocal Forest Fire Fighting Arrangement (CANUS) combined with other exemptions allows quick movement of resources. CIFFC Coordination Centre maintains daily contact with NICC in Boise, Idaho.
• AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArrangements in place for requesting and providing mutual assistance with Australia for fire suppression support.
• MexicominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArrangements in place for requesting and providing mutual assistance with Mexico for fire suppression support.
• New ZealandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArrangements in place for requesting and providing mutual assistance with New Zealand for fire suppression support.
• South AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArrangements in place for requesting and providing mutual assistance with South Africa for fire suppression support.
• North American Forestry CommissionminorOthersCIFFC maintains membership with the North American Forestry Commission for international collaboration.
• Global Fire Monitoring CentreminorOthersCIFFC maintains membership with the Global Fire Monitoring Centre for international fire management intelligence.
• Canadian Council of Forest MinisterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Canadian Council of Forest Ministers originally directed CIFFC to promote and improve fire management on a national level through agreements and development of standards and collaborative projects.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• AFAC (Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council): The peak council for fire and emergency service agencies across Australia and New Zealand. AFAC performs a role analogous to CIFFC for the Australasian region, coordinating cross-jurisdictional fire response and standards — and is an active mutual-aid partner of CIFFC.
• European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS): The EU's wildfire information system operated by the Joint Research Centre. EFFIS provides European-scale wildfire monitoring, risk assessment, and coordination support that parallels CIFFC's national situation reporting and fire behavior modeling work — though in a regional rather than federal-state architecture.

Emerging players

• Watch Duty: A nonprofit wildfire alert and situational awareness platform popular with US fire agencies and the public. Watch Duty demonstrates how a non-traditional, tech-enabled coordinator could emerge to deliver wildfire intelligence outside the traditional government-coordination body model.
• Pano AI: An emerging technology company providing AI-enabled wildfire detection and situational intelligence to utilities, fire agencies, and government customers. Pano AI represents the type of private-sector technology entrant whose products could supplement or partially bypass CIFFC's coordination and intelligence role.
• Dryad Networks: An IoT-based early wildfire detection provider deploying sensor networks across forests globally. Dryad represents the technology-enabled shift toward earlier, more granular fire detection — a capability increasingly demanded by the same agencies CIFFC coordinates.

Broad incumbents

• USDA Forest Service: The US federal agency responsible for managing national forests and wildland fire response on federal lands. Through its coordination role with NICC/NIFC and the CANUS Arrangement, it is CIFFC's primary international counterpart for wildfire operations, standards alignment, and resource sharing.
• BC Wildfire Service: British Columbia's provincial wildland fire management agency and one of CIFFC's largest member agencies. While BC Wildfire Service both consumes CIFFC coordination services and operates significant independent capacity, its scale and operational independence make it a natural reference point for provincial-level wildfire capability.
• Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada): The federal agency that, alongside Parks Canada, is one of CIFFC's two federal member agencies. CFS shares the federal mandate for wildland fire science, research, and policy and provides the technical backbone for many of the modeling tools hosted on FireGrowthModel.ca.

Direct peers

• National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) / National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC): The US federal interagency coordination center for wildland fire response. CIFFC maintains daily contact with NICC in Boise, Idaho, under the CANUS Reciprocal Forest Fire Fighting Arrangement — making it the closest functional counterpart across all of CIFFC's coordination, aviation, and resource-sharing activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/ciffc-devops
• Facebookfacebook.com/canadianinteragencyforestfirecenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ciffc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre