Western Fire Cheifs Assn
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO PURSUE THE PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY BY LEADERSHIP, EDUCATION AND SUPPORT FOR ITS MEMBERS AND AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS.
- Income
- $4.9 million
- Spending
- $4.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 1.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 68%
- Employees
- 21
- Volunteers
- 16
- Highest pay
- $164,719, director of digita
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 62 out of 100.
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.7 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 31% of what it owns.
Living within its means
12 of 15Income exceeded spending by 1% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 27% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 75 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 14 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (13)
- $2.0 million spent. THE ASSOCIATION PROVIDES FOR THE PROMOTION, RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF CODES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PREVENTING, SUPPRESSING AND EXTINGUISHING FIRES.
- $753,571 spent. THE PUBLIC SAFETY CLOUD IS BEING DEVELOPED TO ALLOW ALL CONNECTED PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS TO LEVERAGE SHARED, TRUSTED AND TIMELY INFORMATION.
- $353,593 spent. DAILY DISPATCH - COMPILED AND DISTRIBUTED A FREE SUBSCRIPTION-BASED, STATE-SPECIFIC ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER TO OVER 75,000 FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICE MEMBERS EACH WEEKDAY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION RELATED TO MEMBER SUPPORT, AND RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF FIRE PREVENTION CODES.
- $347,845 spent. FIRE RESCUE GROUP PURCHASING ORGANIZATION - A NATIONAL GROUP PURCHASING PROGRAM AVAILABLE TO ALL 50 STATES WHICH BRINGS COST SAVINGS TO FIRE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. ROYALTIES GIVE BACK TO THE STATES AND DIVISIONS TOTALED $9,375 IN 2024.
- $175,022 spent. RAPID, SCALABLE OUTDOOR AND INDOOR MACHINE LEARNINGS BASED MAPPING OF FIRE DEPARTMENT PRE-PLANS: WFCA'S PROJECT WILL TEST AND VALIDATE THE APPLICATION OF GEOCAM VISUAL MAPPING SYSTEM TO PROVE ITS FEASIBILITY TO AUTOMATE CITY-SCALE FIRE PRE-PLAN MAPS ACROSS COMPLEX OUTDOOR AND INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS. THEY WILL DEVELOP A MACHINE-LEARNING-BASED PRODUCT AND SERVICE THAT WILL PROVIDE GEO-LOCATED IMAGERY OUTDOORS AND INDOORS, SUPPORTING REMOTE AND FREQUENT VIRTUAL TRAINING FOR DEPARTMENT MEMBERS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PRE-PLANS ON CRITICAL STRUCTURES WITHIN A CITY. IT WILL ALSO ENABLE PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS TO OBTAIN NEW INFORMATION ABOUT STRUCTURAL CHANGES ON A REGULAR BASIS TO IMPROVE ON-DEMAND PREPLANNING.
- $112,992 spent. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO INVESTED IN CREATING A FIRE MAP FOR THE PUBLIC AVAILABLE AT THEIR SITE: WWW.WFCA/FIRE-MAP. THE WESTERN FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION (WFCA) FIRE MAP DEPICTS ACTIVE AND RECENT WILDLAND FIRES IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES AND ALASKA. THE FIRE MAP DRAWS NEAR REAL-TIME 911 DISPATCH CALL DATA FROM PULSEPOINT. EMERGING AND ONGOING WILDLAND FIRE LOCATION AND BOUNDARY DATA ARE PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER IRWIN FEEDS. FIRIS (CALIFORNIA ONLY) PROVIDES EARLY FIRE PERIMETER AND 3 HOUR FORECASTING MODELS. FIRE DISPATCH AND LOCATION DATA ARE APPROXIMATE AND NO WARRANTY IS GIVEN AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE DATA.
- $75,786 spent. MULTI-STATE ALIGNMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY ON PARCEL AND COMMUNITY LEVEL MITIGATIONS IN THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE(WUI): THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO ESTABLISH KEY STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT IN FOUR WESTERN STATES ON PARCEL AND COMMUNITY LEVEL MITIGATIONS THAT MATTER IN THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE (WUI). THOSE KEY STAKEHOLDERS ARE THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL (OR WARDEN), THE STATE INSURANCE REGULATORY OFFICE, THE STATE/REGIONAL INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND THE STATE FIRE CHIEF'S ASSOCIATION.
- $29,937 spent. WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE FIRE RESPONSE RATING(FRR): BY DECEMBER 2024, A COMPREHENSIVE RATING METHODOLOGY OF A WUI COMMUNITY'S INITIAL RESPONSE CAPABILITY TO PREVENT CONFLAGRATION BY DISRUPTING FIRE SPREAD INTO A COMMUNITY FROM THE IMMEDIATE VEGETATIVE LANDSCAPE, AND WITHIN THE COMMUNITY FROM STRUCTURE TO STRUCTURE SPREAD, WILL HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND PILOTED AS A CATASTROPHE RISK AND GRAPH THEORY MODEL MITIGATION VARIABLE AGAINST PROPERTY LOSS.
- THE WILDFIRE INITIATIVE (CWR) IS DIRECTED BY THE WILDFIRE POLICY COMMITTEE TO ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES THAT IMPROVE THE RESPONSE CAPABILITIES OF AMERICA'S FIRE SERVICE TO CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRES. THIS IS DONE THROUGH TARGETED EVENTS, INFORMATION SHARING, AND HIGH-LEVEL SUPPORT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. THE PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED THROUGH A CONSULTING SERVICE THAT PROVIDES FIRE SERVICE INSIGHT TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMPANIES. RETIRED FIRE CHIEFS ARE HIRED TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES AS CONTRACTORS.
- WILDFIRE DECISION AND DATA MAPPING: THE PROJECT WILL EXAMINE WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT DECISIONS AND INTERVENTIONS TO DEVELOP A DECISION MODEL IDENTIFYING WORKFLOW, DECISION POINTS, TIME NEEDS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DISCREET FIREFIGHTING POSITIONS AND TASKS. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A SCIENCE BASED DECISION MODEL ENABLING NASA AND THE WILDFIRE COMMUNITY TO ALIGN AND PRIORITIZE INVESTMENTS IN SENSORS AND SYSTEMS, DATA AND DATA ANALYTICS, RESILIENCE AND PRE-EVENT MITIGATION AND OPERATIONAL REDESIGN BASED ON DESIRED OUTCOMES.
- WILDFIRE SELF MITIGATION INCENTIVE RESEARCH: A PROJECT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY WILL CONDUCT FIELD RESEARCH WITHIN THE METHODS APPROVED BY THE OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD TO STUDY THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INCENTIVES TO PROMOTE SELF-MITIGATION BY PROPERTY OWNERS IN OREGON.
- WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE FIRE RESPONSE RATING(WRR)- TO SUPPORT AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR PRIORITIZING, IMPLEMENTING AND TRACKING SCIENCE BASED FIRE MITIGATIONS IN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. BY JUNE 2025 NOVEL SOLUTIONS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED FOR AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS AT RISK COMMUNITIES TO BE ASSESSED TO IDENTIFY FIRE PATHWAYS, PROVIDED WITH SPECIFIC FUEL TREATMENTS INCLUSIVE OF LOCATION, PRESCRIPTION AND RETURN INTERVAL, AND GIVEN A MECHANISM TO REPORT PROGRESS, UNDERSTAND MITIGATION RETURN ON INVESTMENT AND VISUALIZE RESIDUAL RISK THROUGH A DYNAMIC COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PREVENTION PLAN LINKED TO CATASTROPHIC RISK MODELS.
- JANUS - CREATE AN AR SYSTEM THAT WILL DISPLAY MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS TO PROPERTY OWNERS IN WIDELY AVAILABLE AND USER-FRIENDLY COMMERCIAL-OFF-THE-SHELF AR INTERFACES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 1966.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.