FIRE was founded by Flagstaff based photojournalist Dave Edwards who began traveling and photographing extensively in Mongolia in the early 1990’s. The collapse of Soviet-supported economy in 1990, ending 70 years of communist government, left Mongolia in economic ruin and one of its darkest periods ensued. In 1993 from a desire to give back to the struggling society which had given him so much, Edwards began hand-carrying duffel bags of used clothing from Flagstaff to orphanages in Mongolia. By 1997 Edwards and a group of Flagstaff residents founded a grassroots aid organization, the Mongolian Orphans Association. The name was changed to Flagstaff International Relief Effort in 2000 to reflect the evolving scope of aid projects envisioned
for the future. 

In 2009, FIRE surveyed more than 400 health care workers from Ulaanbaatar, Aimag and Soum health care facilities. This Knowledge Aptitude and Practice (KAP) survey is Mongolia’s first comprehensive medical survey of basic orthopedic knowledge and treatment, Hepatitis B awareness, and health safety and medical waste management practices.  We Opened an office in Ulaanbaatar, hired Narnygerel Erdenbelig as FIRE’s full time Medical Director in Mongolia and second employee, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mongolian Ministry of Health for cooperation on   FIRE’s medical programs, developed a long-term working relationship with the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop medical training materials and so much more... (more information)