FIRE - Flagstaff International Relief Effort
Delivering Support Person to Person Since 1999
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
FIRE began as an alternative to the graft often found in a struggling economy. FIRE continually evolves to meet the challenges of a changing world. Through sustainable and award-winning programming FIRE strives to empower communities and individuals with replicable programs that address problems in new and effective ways. Mongolia has the highest rate of liver cancer and among the highest rates of viral hepatitis in the world. More than 77% of Mongolians will have been infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) at some time during their life. One in 10 deaths in Mongolia is caused by liver cancer. 93% of liver cancer patients in Mongolia have hepatitis, and the high rate of liver cancer in is due largely to a late diagnosis of hepatitis. 78% of liver cancer is not diagnosed until stage III or IV, and 85% of Mongolian liver cancer patients die within one year of receiving their diagnosis. FIRE also works with Langtang, Nepal, after one third of the village died in the 2015 earthquake.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Community Health
FIRE’s community health programs promote and protect the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play. We focus on prevention, and promote wellness by encouraging healthy behaviors through screening and vaccination activities, educational and awareness campaigns, and connecting participants to care.
In Mongolia, these programs include liver health, medical waste management and health safety training and supply distribution and oral health for children.
In Nepal, FIRE’s medical mission trips utilize the compassion and expertise of experienced medical professionals for building bridges of cross-cultural understanding with remote communities. Each trip is carefully researched and prepared to assist communities where they need it most—in a responsible, sustainable and empowering way.
Love the Liver
Since 2011, FIRE has worked with the Mongolian Ministry of Health, rural governments, health departments, and health care facilities, and local stakeholders in seven provinces, conducting comprehensive liver screening events for 8,526 people. Participants are tested for hepatitis B and C, vaccinated against hepatitis B as needed, screened for various cancers and liver issues including cirrhosis and fatty liver, examined and counseled by specialists, given an ultrasound and FibroScan examination, and are connected to treatment. This project prioritizes impoverished individuals living in rural communities without access to these services. 35% of participants are given some sort of positive diagnosis, giving them lifesaving time and information. This project is most often done in conjunction with training health care workers, community awareness activities, infection prevention and control activities, and advocacy meetings with the community.
Health Care Worker Capacity Building
FIRE has conducted training for rural health care providers across Mongolia in their local facilities since 2005. These trainings are currently conducted by visiting specialists from Ulaanbaatar and include multi-day classroom lessons and half-day hands-on “shadow training” sessions. Shadow training means that specialists from Ulaanbaatar work side by side with local doctors, teaching them techniques through a hands-on approach.
Our efforts have proved the most successful when done in conjunction with our Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Screening Project while visiting rural communities. The classroom training sessions followed by the hands-on shadow training allows health care workers to put the training into action under the supervision and further guidance.
FIRE’s two training objectives include:
Training Liver Specialists This training teaches local health care providers to assist their patients in making healthy lifestyle choices, to detect early stages of liver disease, and to treat liver disease. To supplement this training, FIRE has created educational material in conjunction with our program partners. These materials include toolkits complete with a hepatitis treatment manual created by the National Center for Communicable Disease, and the “Physician’s Guide for Hepatitis B” written by the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University.
Health Safety and Medical Waste Management: To prevent the risk of disease transmission to health care workers and eventually to the general public, FIRE has developed a systematic training program for healthcare workers. Since 2009, in accordance with the National Strategy for Improving Health Care Waste Management in Mongolia, FIRE has supported every state health care facility in 10 out of 21 Mongolian provinces in improving their medical waste management and health safety practices. These improvements include training health care workers and providing on-site technical support and supply distribution. Training materials and supplies include instructional videos, posters, pamphlets, and necessary medical waste management tools including biohazard waste bags, sharp boxes and medical waste containers. Please visit our Infection, Control, and Prevention page for more information.
Infection Prevention Control
The health care environment is one of the leading forms of transmission for infections, including blood borne viruses such as hepatitis. Poor medical waste management and health safety practices are largely attributed to being the cause of this transmission. Since 2009, FIRE has conducted health safety training for health care workers along with with distribution of medical waste management supplies.
Community Development
Our community development programs in Nepal focus on heritage programs and supporitng the most vulnerable members of the community with food, clothing and supplies.
Where we work
External reviews

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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of vaccines administered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Love the Liver
Number of clients who report adequate access to services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Love the Liver
Total number of counseling sessions performed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Love the Liver
Number of clinic visits provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Number of patient consultations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Health
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
FIRE programs focus on community health, capacity building, and community development. FIRE maintains a high standard of oversight, integrity, and efficiency — setting the highest bar among organizations.
Most of FIRE’s work involves public health programs focused on viral hepatitis and liver cancer prevention in Mongolia. Viral hepatitis infections can be prevented through administering vaccines, improvement in infection prevention and control procedures in hospitals, and education of the general population. Targeted at the general population and health care facilities and workers, FIRE’s programs focus on training, supply distribution, awareness campaigns, testing and screening, and vaccination. These life-saving programs are strategically and responsibly implemented through partnerships that include the Mongolian Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
FIRE’s programs in Langtang, Nepal focus on improved access to healthcare, direct aid, and heritage preservation.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our responsible, multi-layered programs work with partners at all levels — local, national and international — including government, civil society, and individuals. FIRE's working relationship with these stakeholders helps maximize efficiency and impact. Our working relationships allow leveraging resources and support, ensuring the most empowering, sustainable, and cost-effective programs as possible.
At each step, FIRE works with local community members from the poorest members of the community to the provincial governor. The community determines their needs and issues. All of FIRE’s staff in Nepal and Mongolia are from the respective countries. In Mongolia, FIRE pointedly supports the infrastructure and administration of the public sector by focusing on state-run facilities and employees. By teaching, we empower individuals and communities with the knowledge to continue the work after FIRE’s projects are completed.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In 2016, FIRE’s “Hepatitis Free Mongolia” liver screening project was one of five international projects recognized as an “Innovative Hepatitis Screening Project” worldwide by the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). FIRE’s innovative work comes from a comprehensive approach to designing multi-layered, strategic programs that address complex issues focused on remote and under-served populations. We are able to remain flexible and adaptable to the quickly changing local needs and logistics.
On World Hepatitis Day 2017, FIRE was one of five international initiatives featured in The Economist Magazine Intelligence Unit (EIU) “The Path to Zero” program. FIRE's Executive Director, Meredith Potts, was recognized by The Economist Magazine as a 2017 HCV Change Maker for her exemplary devotion to making screening more readily available throughout Mongolia.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 2009, FIRE has provided 8,526 people in 7 provinces with comprehensive liver and cancer screenings including tests for hepatitis B and C, liver cancer, and ultrasound, FibroScan, and physical examinations; distributed 78,500 pieces of community awareness materials; vaccinated 3,022 people against hepatitis B; trained 3,571 health care workers; distributed 155,000 sharps containers and $1,000,000 in medical supplies; and distributed 2,000 health safety training videos.
Next, we hope to continue screening all of Mongolia—one province at a time—reaching everyone who is not covered by the government program. We will continue our hepatitis prevention work by building the health safety and medical waste management capacity of rural health care facilities through training and supply distribution.
Our combined programs are a comprehensive strategy for prevention of and screening for hepatitis and liver cancer that can be replicated in other rural communities in developing countries.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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FIRE - Flagstaff International Relief Effort
Board of directorsas of 6/18/2019
Meredith Potts
FIRE Projects
Term: 2013 -
David Edwards
David Edwards Photography
Troy Levitt, MD
Chinle Hospital
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes