Emmitsburg, MD – State and local fire officials have a new toolkit developed by the United States Fire Administration (USFA) to help implement the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). USFA is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
NFIRS is the data standard used by communities to report fire department activities and the loss of life and property from fires. According to USFA officials, the NFIRS Toolkit will assist state and local NFIRS coordinators in the training of NFIRS Version 5.0 users. NFIRS users will learn how the analysis of fire data can help them identify incident trends and determine the most effective allocation of resources.
“The human and economic cost from fire losses in United States is unacceptable and during the year 2000 there were 1.7 million fires nationally accounting for more than 4,000 deaths, 22,000 injuries and $11 billion in losses,” R. David Paulison, United States Fire Administrator, said. “The data collected through NFIRS is vital and allows identification and analysis of local, regional, and national fire problems so that prevention measures and resources can be developed and effectively deployed where they are needed most.”
“It is in the interest of all fire departments to collect NFIRS data about their own community fire experience and this new NFIRS Toolkit will help to make that happen.”
The NFIRS 5.0 Toolkit is a web-enhanced CD-ROM that contains a brief tutorial on seven major subject areas, including:
- NFIRS Overview;
- Planning for NFIRS Implementation
- Managing NFIRS;
- Marketing NFIRS;
- Using NFIRS Data;
- Providing Training; and
- Providing Ongoing Support.
Each subject area contains:
- A checklist of critical tasks to perform;
- Frequently asked questions;
- Access to some manuals related to that subject area;
- Samples that can be used and adapted;
- Tools and resources related to that subject area; and
- Links to some helpful Web sites.
The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-498) authorizes the National Fire Data Center in the USFA to gather and analyze information on the magnitude of the nation’s fire problem, as well as its detailed characteristics and trends. USFA develops uniform data reporting methods, and encourages and assists state agencies in developing and reporting data.
The NFIRS Toolkit CD-ROM, FA-217, is available to fire service organizations free of charge. For your copy please use the USFA Web site at: www.usfa.fema.gov/usfapubs/, Fax: (301) 447-1213, or contact the USFA Publications Center directly at (800) 561-3356 or (301) 447-1189.
