NFIRS Support and Guides

Resources

The NFIRS Cheat Sheet is a great resource to assist in coding incident types, property uses, actions taken and other tips.

Use this Step-By-Step Guide in conjunction with the NFIRS Cheat Sheet to find the right incident code for your call.

This Flow Chart will assist in evaluating whether your organization gave or received aid.

These One Page Reference Guides will assist in completing some of the most common incidents.

This NFIRS Data Warehouse Reports Tool Quick Start Guide is an easy step-by-step guide to simple DW reporting.

How-to Videos & NFA Training Courses

Here, you can find several short topic specific videos to assist you in submitting your NFIRS reports as well as links to National Fire Academy NFIRS courses: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfirs/training/

NFIRSGrams

NFIRSGrams provide coding help to fire department personnel using the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

These short bulletins address frequently asked questions and common mistakes made when completing incident reports.

Coding Questions Guide

The Coding Questions Guide PDF contains instructions on how to code NFIRS 15.0 incident reports in a question-and-answer format.

FAQs

1. Which incidents must we report to NFIRS?
2. When must reports be submitted?
3. What if we do not have any reports for an entire month?
4. What information should be submitted to NFIRS for medical emergency incidents?
5. But what about patients that have been injured by fire?
6. I'm locked out. Can you reset my password?

1. Which incidents must we report to NFIRS?

In Illinois, all incidents including medical runs must be submitted to NFIRS.

2. When must reports be submitted?

Reports are due by the 15^th of the following month.

3. What if we do not have any reports for an entire month?

If a department does not respond to any incidents in a given month, they must submit a No-Activity Report. To do so, follow the procedure below:

After logging into NFIRS, select "Create Incident"
Check the "No Activity" box
Enter "0000000" as the incident number
Enter the last date of the month
Click the blue "Save" button and you're done

4. What information should be submitted to NFIRS for medical emergency incidents?

To comply with HIPAA laws, only a Basic Module (and optional Personnel/Apparatus Modules) should be submitted but must not contain any personally identifiable information about the patient or their condition.

5. But what about patients that have been injured by fire?

According to the US Fire Administration, the federal law that established the NFIRS system allows for the importing of personally identifiable information of fire casualties.

6. I'm locked out. Can you reset my password?

Password resets are now handled by you, the local user. Neither OSFM nor FEMA have the ability to provide you with a new password. To receive a new password, go to the sign-on page and click "Forgot Password". A temporary password with be sent to the email address assigned to the username. The temporary password you receive will expire in five days. If you need to have the email address assigned to you username, please contact us.