Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell

Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell served as the presidentially appointed U.S. Fire Administrator from October 2021 to January 2025. Prior to her appointment, Lori served as the President and CEO of the International Public Safety Data Institute (IPSDI), which she founded after retiring from a 26-year tenure as a senior executive in the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). She began her fire service career in 1987 as a fire department paramedic in Memphis Tennessee. Lori is a Doctor of Public Health and a data scientist, whose work has changed fire and EMS deployment throughout the world. As the principal investigator and senior project manager, she planned and oversaw large scale field experiments and the development of landmark reports and other resources to improve residential and high-rise fire ground operations, community risk assessment, fire and EMS resource deployment, and the use of “Big Data Analytics” in the fire service. In 2022, Moore-Merrell led the reorganization of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration to realign the administration with its originating legislation and the mission contained in the 1974 Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act. In October 2022, Dr. Moore-Merrell convened the first Summit on Fire Prevention and Control since the 1974 founding of the U.S. Fire Administration. The Summit brought the heads of every relevant government agency—and every major fire safety organization—together to articulate and execute a National Strategy for the fire service. The National Fire Service Strategy addresses firefighter recruitment, cancer screening, mental health, and climate change impact on the fire service. This collaborative effort became known as the #FireServiceOneVoice movement. Dr. Moore-Merrell believes that together, we can turn a moment of crisis into an era of opportunity for the fire service. Dr. Moore-Merrell envisioned and led the research, development, and implementation of a national emergency response analytic platform known as National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) replacing the 50-year legacy National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). Collaborating with counterparts at USDA and DOI, Dr. Moore-Merrell chaired the Wildland Fire Management and Mitigation Commission established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) delivering the Wildland fire mitigation and management commission report and recommendations to the Congress in September 2023. She was also the visionary, creator, and chair of the Inaugural World Fire Congress 2024 - National Fallen Firefighters Foundation hosted by Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, USFA and the U.S. Department of State in May 2024. The World Fire Congress identified, invited, and inspired top fire officials from 56 nations to attend the Congress along with delegates from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction mission, Africa Fire Mission, and the World Bank. The World Fire Congress continues the global collaboration through six topic specific Communities of Practice (CoPs) that will deliver reports to the 2026 Congress to be hosted in the United Kingdom.