The Institution of Fire Engineers was founded in 1918 in the United Kingdom by a group of eight British chief fire officers. The mission statement they adopted at that meeting continues to guide the Institution in meeting the needs of its members and serving the interests of society:
To promote, encourage, and improve the science and practice of Fire Engineering, Fire Prevention, and Fire Extinction, and all operations and expedients connected therewith, and to give impetus to ideas likely to be useful in connection with or in relation to such science and practice to the members of the Institution and to the community at-large.
The United States of America Branch continues the tradition of fire service leadership in promoting fire engineering established by the forward looking men who established the Institution decades ago and an ocean away. A similarly small group of fire service leaders met in Tulsa, Oklahoma in February 1996 to establish the branch. Today, our membership numbers more than 500 individuals from all parts of the country.