The Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) was established in 1998 at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the University of Freiburg as a contribution to the United Nations’ International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. It was designed as a global information, monitoring and advisory facility to support governments, international organizations, scientists and practitioners in fire management decision-making.

Over the past 25 years, GFMC has served as a key interface between science, policy and practice, providing scientific, technical and policy advice to countries and multilateral institutions, and supporting the development of integrated fire management approaches worldwide. It also coordinates the Global Wildland Fire Network and a series of Regional Fire Management Resource Centers, strengthening international cooperation and capacity development in fire management.

Following decisions taken in 2023, GFMC expertise and resources are now being integrated into the Global Fire Management Hub. The transition of GFMC, the Global Wildland Fire Network, and its affiliated regional centers into the Fire Hub builds on more than four decades of collaboration with FAO, one of the co-leads of the Fire Hub, dating back to the establishment of the Fire Ecology Research Group in 1985. This partnership enables the Fire Hub to carry forward GFMC's strong legacy of global cooperation, knowledge-sharing and operational support - advancing efforts to reduce fire-related risks, damage and losses worldwide.