NFIRS and Fire Grants

Fires and EMS calls can be challenging and even fun, but no one wants to do the reports. Structure fires, EMS calls, smoke complaints, cancelled en routes, lift assists, alarm activations: they come in around the clock. Firefighters still need to eat, clean personal protective equipment and hoselines, refill tanks, and restock medic units. But it in most fire departments across the country an incident report needs to be completed “for every call or incident to which your jurisdiction responds”¹, and it needs to be done correctly—not pencil whipped or with random boxes checked without understanding the reason behind them. It may seem dramatic, but the entire nation, not just your department, benefits from the accuracy of the data reported by the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) system. Accurate data can result in more grant funding for your jurisdiction and for other departments across the country.

Has it Always Been Like This?

NFIRS was created in the late 1970s after the report America Burning highlighted the fire problem in the U.S. A law was passed shortly after to establish the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, which had a mandate to collect national data on fires. This resulted in the creation of NFIRS. It was true then and it is true today that “the availability of accurate information about fires and other incidents is vital in achieving maximum performance. Patterns that emerge from the analysis of incident data can help departments focus on current problems, predict future problems in their communities, and measure their programs’ performance.”¹ A jurisdiction’s ability to see grant funding opportunity in data as a result of NFIRS reporting is vital to grant writing success; it builds the foundation for the proposed activities, resources, or purpose described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)².

We will take a high-level overview of the NFIRS modules and explore the data they are capturing and how that data can be used to identify issues in the jurisdiction. These issues can then be targeted for grant funding, which is much more likely to be approved as it is supported by nationally reported data. All the descriptions of the modules and the NFIRS program come from the NFIRS Version 5.0 Complete Reference Guide¹. This is the step-by-step guide created by the U.S. Fire Administration to assist all users with the NFIRS system. It is a large and extremely detailed manual. It should be readily available as a reference resource to each person who uses NFIRS or a vendor’s system that may have a different name, but uses the same data elements to report to the Federal level.

All 50 states participate in NFIRS data collection. Some states make it mandatory for departments to report and some do not. For Federal grants like Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER), data reporting is a basic eligibility requirement. There are different modules in an NFIRS report and which ones need to be filled out on each incident response are dependent, in part, depending on state and jurisdictional requirements. In short, there is a lot to learn on this topic and how the reports are completed can have far reaching effects on a department’s ability to secure funding. It would be beneficial for each department to have a subject matter expert (SME) in this area to ensure compliance and highlight opportunities.

Yes, there is a Reason for All the Boxes

The Basic Module, NFIRS-1, must be completed on every call or incident to which your department responds¹. NFIRS-2 to NFIRS-5, the Fire Module, Structure Fire Module, Civilian Fire Casualty Module, and the Fire Service Casualty Module must be completed based on the nature of the incident listed in module 1. There is required and optional information within each of these modules. For example, in the basic module it is a requirement to identify your department, state, and the incident number, among other things. It is optional to put your shift, alarm, or district. It is also optional to list the person or entity involved. Just because a section is optional does not mean it is not useful. It may be very useful to know which shift is responding as a way to pull and organize data. It could also be very helpful to know what person or entity is involved in order to follow up with them or recognize a pattern.

The other modules, NFIRS-6 through -11, are optional based on state reporting requirements. These modules collect information about EMS, hazmat, wildland fires, apparatus or resources, personnel, and arson. These optional modules include areas where many departments have significant challenges due to limited funding. The choice to collect and report data in these areas can make a significant difference in a department’s grant eligibility.

For example, there may be many members in your department who believe that lack of existing or functional residential smoke detectors over the past few years are leading to an increase in civilian casualties and that something should be done about this. Administration decides to review the reported NFIRS data, but there aren’t any records of fire detectors noted in the H2 Detector data box for any fires. They all say “unknown.” Because of this result, the training department reviews their NFIRS expectations with the firefighters and officers in the field. They express that the department will not be able to support any grant request fully if they don’t have all of the information they need. They stress the importance of accurately inputting the information about detectors: did it alert the citizen or not? These results will help the department make a case for a grant that supports a community safety initiative.

Another department has members who believe there needs to be a medic unit placed at their fire station because most of the calls they run are EMS and require equipment beyond what they have readily available to them. This jurisdiction requires reporting in the optional apparatus module along with the basic module. In the apparatus module, firefighters and officers can mark the use of the apparatus as EMS and note the level of care they are expected or certified to provide. It would be easy for them to just mark “other” or mark “suppression” because they are in a fire truck; but they don’t. The result of their accurate documentation is that when administration pulls the numbers, they can see this engine is running ALS calls. They can apply for a grant, supported by data, to request a medic unit with additional personnel or for a grant to provide additional ALS equipment for the engine and its ALS providers.

These are not two isolated examples. Accurate data can be used by departments and states to support funding for additional personnel, apparatus, equipment, computer hardware and software (even to assist with NFIRS reporting!), and departmental and community health and safety initiatives of all types. Take the time to see who your local NFIRS SMEs are. Do a deep dive into the data, see what opportunities for funding exist, and see how many more opportunities could be available with additional departmental NFIRS training.

REFERENCES

Mandy George is a retired lieutenant in the Chesapeake (VA) Fire Department. She has a master’s degree in emergency and disaster management, a master’s degree in professional writing, and an associate’s degree in emergency medical services. She is also a Nationally Registered Paramedic (NRP) and a Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (VAOEMS) Education Coordinator.