From Exchange to Action: How IAFC's International Fire Department Exchange Sparked a Global Wildfire Movement
What happens when fire leaders from around the world spend a week learning from one another?
Sometimes, they return home with more than new ideas. They return home ready to build something entirely new.
That is exactly what happened after the International Association of Fire Chiefs' (IAFC) 2025 International Fire Department Exchange (IFDX).
Designed to connect fire service leaders across borders, the IFDX has become much more than an annual gathering. Since its inception, it has brought together wildfire professionals from Australia, Canada, Greece, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States to share lessons learned, tackle common challenges, and strengthen global partnerships.
Those partnerships are proving to be one of the program's greatest successes.
From Conversation to Creation
Wildfires are no longer isolated events confined to a single season or country. Longer fire seasons, increasingly volatile fuels, and more complex incidents demand new ways of thinking—and greater international collaboration.
For Craig Hope, the UK's National Wildfire Capability Advisor and an IFDX alumnus, one conversation during the exchange planted the seed for something much bigger.
"Wildfire is an international challenge that demands collaboration and innovation. An idea developed during the IFDX brought together two needs: providing firefighters with exposure to live fire and improving community resilience through strategic fire breaks."
That idea traveled thousands of miles.
Inspired by the IFDX model, Johann Breytenbach, General Manager of Wildfire Management for the Free State Umbrella Fire Protection Association in South Africa, returned home determined to create his own international learning experience.
The result was The Great Feral Burn-Off.
A Classroom Built on Fire
Held in South Africa from May 16–31, 2026, and supported by the Rural Africa Fire Alliance, the Great Feral Burn-Off wasn't a conference—it was a working fireground.
Participants rotated through live-fire operations, planning sessions, suppression tactics, operational briefings, and after-action reviews, gaining hands-on experience in real wildfire conditions while learning directly from one another.
Johann believes the program's strength lies in the diversity of experience every participant brings.
"Everybody has got experience, everybody has got something to give, that if you put it all together, then solutions are found."
The Exchange Comes Full Circle
Three former IFDX participants joined the Burn-Off:
- Craig Hope (United Kingdom)
- Flo Mwatete (Kenya)
- Fábio Silva (Portugal
For Flo Mwatete, the experience demonstrated just how far one international exchange can reach.
"When people come together with a common purpose, fire becomes more than a tool; it becomes a force for learning. What began, for me, as a participant in the IFDX has become a global gathering of passion, knowledge, and purpose."
Participants worked together on operational burning, fire line tactics, community-based fire management, and real-time decision-making, while exchanging knowledge shaped by vastly different landscapes, cultures, and wildfire challenges.
Fábio Silva reflected on the unique value of combining modern wildfire science with generations of local expertise.
"When technical expertise meets ancestral and traditional knowledge, learning occurs in coordination. The exchange between experienced practitioners and local communities creates a richer and more sustainable understanding of fire."
He added:
"As fire itself becomes more recognized as a natural and integral component of the landscape, interventions can be implemented within a socio-environmental harmony that benefits both people and ecosystems."
A Lasting Impact
The Great Feral Burn-Off is more than a successful training event. It is evidence that the relationships built through the IFDX continue to grow long after participants return home.
Ideas shared during a single exchange have evolved into an international wildfire training initiative that is strengthening firefighter capability, fostering global partnerships, and advancing community resilience.
As wildfire challenges continue to grow worldwide, the need for collaboration has never been greater. Programs like the IFDX demonstrate that some of the most powerful innovations begin with a conversation—and the willingness to learn from one another.
**Watch the Great Feral Burn-Off in action:**
Burn-Off Video
**Learn more about the Great Feral Burn-Off:**
**Interested in the IAFC International Fire Department Exchange?**
Contact IAFC Program Coordinator Killian Gause at rsg@iafc.org
View Staff IFDX Impact Article