Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell’s data-driven fire safety legacy

Influential Women is spotlighting Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, the former U.S. Fire Administrator whose career spans the Memphis Fire Department, the IAFF, and national fire safety leadership. Her work on emergency response data, wildfire resilience, and the NERIS system is helping reshape how fire agencies prepare for escalating risks.

Why it matters: - Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell’s career tracks a shift in fire safety from experience-based practice to data-driven decision-making. - Her work has focused on firefighter safety, emergency response effectiveness, wildfire resilience, and community risk reduction. - The stakes are rising as climate conditions, drought, vegetation growth, and development in fire-prone areas increase risk faster than response systems can adapt.

What happened: - Influential Women highlighted Moore-Merrell, a former U.S. Fire Administrator with more than 35 years in fire safety, emergency response, and public safety innovation. - Moore-Merrell began her career with the Memphis Fire Department after leaving medical school to work in emergency medicine in the field. - She spent seven years in frontline response before moving to the International Association of Fire Fighters. - President Biden appointed Moore-Merrell as U.S. Fire Administrator in 2021. - After retiring from the IAFF in 2019, she founded the International Public Safety Data Institute. - Moore-Merrell now serves as a leadership advisor, technology advocate, and Principal Fire Safety Strategist with UL Research Institutes Fire Safety Research Institute. - Her profile is available through her Influential Women page.

The details: - At the IAFF, Moore-Merrell first led emergency medical services efforts and helped expand EMS integration within fire departments. - Her research covered crew size, deployment models, community risk assessment, firefighter safety, civilian casualty reduction, and emergency response effectiveness. - She helped advance the use of evidence in fire service decisions across North America. - At the International Public Safety Data Institute, she worked on national data tools to modernize how fire agencies collect, analyze, and use operational information. - As U.S. Fire Administrator, she led efforts tied to emergency response modernization, wildfire resilience, and public safety innovation. - One of her most visible accomplishments was NERIS, the National Emergency Response Information System. - NERIS replaced a nearly 50-year-old federal data system with a modern, analytics-driven platform. - Moore-Merrell also founded and chaired the inaugural World Fire Congress. - The congress brought together fire leaders from more than 50 countries. - Future congresses are planned for the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. - Moore-Merrell holds an MPH in Epidemiology from The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. - She also earned a Doctorate in Public Health in Quality Performance Metrics. - She has received numerous national honors for contributions to public safety, EMS leadership, and the fire service.

Between the lines: - Moore-Merrell’s career shows how fire leadership is becoming more dependent on analytics, interoperability, and technology adoption. - Her emphasis on data reflects a broader push to make emergency systems faster at spotting risk and better at targeting resources. - Her leadership message is rooted in accountability: “Lead as if other people’s lives depend on it… because they do.” - She credits faith, mentorship, preparation, and the willingness to step into new opportunities for her success. - She says the field still lags behind the pace of emerging threats, especially as climate-driven fire risks evolve. - She also points to male mentors who pushed her to bring science into important decision-making spaces in a traditionally male-dominated field. - Early in her career, a leader told her she would need to give 110% to succeed; Moore-Merrell turned that advice into motivation. - She now urges young women to prepare for opportunity, keep learning, and treat every role as a chance to build experience.

What’s next: - Moore-Merrell’s current focus is on wildfire resilience, climate-related fire risk, technology innovation, and closing the gap between threats and response capability. - Her work suggests future fire safety gains will depend on better data systems, stronger leadership pipelines, and more rapid technology adoption. - The World Fire Congress will continue internationally, extending the cross-border collaboration she helped launch.

The bottom line: - Moore-Merrell has become a central voice in the push to modernize fire safety, using data and leadership to prepare emergency systems for a hotter, riskier future.