The President and Chair of the Board is Josh Waldo, Fire Chief, from Bozeman, Montana.

The inaugural convention, convened in October of that year, drew 61 participants and elected Chief Engineer John S. Damrell of Boston as its first President.

The organization's original name, the National Association of Fire Engineers, underscored the aim to foster idea exchange and introduce innovative firefighting machinery.

IAFC's headquarters have transitioned over the years, from Baltimore to New York City's Case-Shepperd-Mann Publishing Company in the 1920s, then to Washington, D.C., in the 1970s, and eventually to McLean, VA in 1992.

The IAFC's annual conference, an uninterrupted tradition since 1873 (except during World War I and II), has grown and diversified.