NFIRS 5.0 elements are individual data fields (e.g. age of patient, or time of arrival, number of floors with fire damage.) NFIRS specifies metadata about each element, including if it can be repeated (and how many times). Elements range from integers and text to Zip codes, Date or Date and Time types, but many elements are ‘coded fields’; meaning NFIRS specifies lists of values to select from. Type information and coding lists are provided for each element below.
All NFIRS 5.0 Elements
Acres Burned (Outside Fires only) - The total number of acres of fires burn. Do not set if not outside component, e.g. indoor/structure fire. This is for brush/grass fires..
Actions Taken - The duties performed at the incident scene by the responding fire department..
Address recorded on Wildland Module (Form) - Flag to indicate that the address for this incident is provided on the Wildland Fire Module in Section B; ‘Alternative Location Specification.’ It is not provided (as normal) on the ‘Basic Module’..
Area Type - A general description of the area where the wildland fire occurred..
Area of Origin - The primary use of the area where the fire started within the property.The area of origin may be a room, a portion of a room, a vehicle, a portion of a vehicle, or an open area devoted to a specific use. Every fire has an area of fire origin..
Arrival Date Time - The date/time when the first unit arrived at the incident scene..
Cause of Ignition - The general causal factor that resulted in a heat source igniting a combustible material.The cause could be the result of a deliberate act, mechanical failure, or act of nature..
Census Tract - The census tract number is a six-digit number assigned by the U.S. Census Bureau that identifies an area of land within the United States. Not all jurisdictions have census tract numbers..
City - The city where the owner of the property involved in the incident lives, or the city that is used in the mailing address if the property is not located within city limits..
Cross Street, Directions or National Grid - The nearest cross street to the incident address or directions from a recognized landmark or the second street name of an intersection if Directions is selected as the Location Type. If U.S. National Grid is selected as the Location Type, enter the USNG address (a geospatial address based on universally defined coordinate and grid systems and a common frame of reference across multiple jurisdictions easily extended world-wide). Using an alpha-numeric reference that overlays the UTM (q.v.) coordinate system, USNG spatial addresses break down into three parts: Grid Zone Designation, for a world-wide unique address; 100,000-meter Square Identification, for regional areas; Grid Coordinates, for local areas..
Detector Effectiveness - The effectiveness of the fire detection equipment in alerting occupants..
Detector Failure Reason - The reason why the detector failed to operate or did not operate properly..
Detector Operation - The operation and effectiveness of the detector relative to the area of fire origin..
Detector Power - Identifies the type of power supplying the detector..
Detector Presence - The presence in the general area of fire origin of one or more detectors that was within the operational range of the detector(s) at the time of an incident..
Detector Type - Identifies the type of fire detection system that was present in the area of fire origin..
Fire Spread - The extent of fire spread in terms of how far the flame damage extended. The extent of flame damage is the area actually burned or charred and does not include the area receiving only heat, smoke, or water damage..
Fire Suppression Factors - Factors that contributed to the growth, spread, or suppression of the fire.This is used to report incident information that directly impacted the ignition, spread of fire or smoke, incident complexity, or presence of hazardous conditions..
Flame Length - This observation refers to the distance between the flame tip and midpoint of the flame depth at the base of the flame (generally the ground surface), measured in feet..
Horizontal Distance From Right Of Way - The horizontal distance between the point of fire origin from the edge of the traveled surface of a road or the nearest outside rail of a railroad right-of-way, or from the nearest power line or power transmission equipment of a utility right-of-way..
Human Factors - The human condition or situation that allowed the heat source and combustible material to combine to ignire the fire..
Human Factors Contributing - The human condition or situation that allowed the heat source and combustible material to combine to ignite the fire..
Incident (Alarm) Date - The date the initial incident occurs, which is only different from the incident date/time if this is an exposure on the initial fire, and the exposure occurs on a subsequent day..
Incident Controlled Date Time - The actual month, day, year, and time of day when the fire is brought under control or the incident is stabilized and does not require additional emergency resources. ‘Controlled’ is the time when the incident commander determines that the fire will not escape from its containment perimeter..
Incident Number (Identifier) - Receiving Aid - The NFIRS incident number for the primary (hosting) department incident record. References the primary report, with the most complete data..
Incident Type - The incident type specifies (with precision) the category of incident, leading to exactly what additional information (modules, transaction) are required..
Item First Ignited - The use or configuration of the item or material first ignited by the heat source. This identifies the first item that had sufficient volume or heat intensity to extend to uncontrolled or self-perpetuating fire..
Last Unit Cleared Date Time - The date/time when the last unit departed the incident scene, and the incident terminated..
Latitude - Latitude and Longitude: Angular coordinates measured with respect to the center of the Earth. The value is expressed in degrees and minutes. Latitude lines run east/west parallel to the equator.Values range from 0 degrees at the equator to 90 degrees at the North and South poles.The United States and Canada are in the Northern Hemisphere. Minutes and seconds range from 0 to 59..
Less than one Acre - For brush/grass (wildland) fires when less than one acre was burned..
Location Type - Is the location describe a street address, a mile marker, a USGS location, an intersection, etc..
Longitude - Latitude and Longitude: Angular coordinates measured with respect to the center of the Earth. The value is expressed in degrees and minutes. Longitude lines run north/south, are parallel at the equator, and converge at the North and South Poles.Values ranges from 0 degrees at Greenwich, England (near London at the Royal Naval Observatory) to 180 degrees at the International Date Line west of Hawaii. Most of the United States and all of Canada are in the Western Hemisphere. Minutes and seconds range from 0 to 59..
Mixed Use - Some properties have multiple uses, e.g. a farm has both residential and farming uses. Please see ‘property use’ for the precise one at which the incident occurred..
Mobile Property Involved - Mobile Property is a term for Vehicle, Trailer, Truck, Boat, Train, etc. Was and how was the mobile property involved in this fire?.
Mobile Property State - The state or territory where this mobile property was registered.
Mobile Property Type - Property that is designed and constructed to be mobile, movable under its own power, or towed, such as an airplane, automobile, boat, cargo trailer, farm vehicle, motorcycle, or recreation vehicle..
Number Of Residential Units - The estimated total number of residential living units in the building of origin, whether or not all of the units became involved in the fire..
Number of Buildings Threatened - The number of buildings, if any, that were threatened, but not ignited by the wildland fire. This field implies that these buildings were ‘saved’ by the efforts of fire suppression resources..
Number of Stories with Damage: Extreme - The number of stories damaged by flame spread with extreme damage (75% to 100% flame damage). Flame damage is the area actually burned or charred and does not include areas receiving only heat, smoke, or water damage..
Number of Stories with Damage: Heavy - The number of stories damaged by flame spread with heavy damage (50% to 74% flame damage). Flame damage is the area actually burned or charred and does not include areas receiving only heat, smoke, or water damage..
Number of Stories with Damage: Minor - The number of stories damaged by flame spread with minor damage (1 to 24% flame damage). Flame damage is the area actually burned or charred and does not include areas receiving only heat, smoke, or water damage..
Number of Stories with Damage: Significant - The number of stories damaged by flame spread with significant damage (25% to 49% flame damage). Flame damage is the area actually burned or charred and does not include areas receiving only heat, smoke, or water damage..
On Site Materials - Identifies any significant amounts of commercial, industrial, energy, or agricultural products or materials on the property, whether or not they became involved in the fire..
Property Use - The precise use at the location of the incident, e.g. residential or maybe farming. Please see ‘mixed use’ for the option to provide alternative uses of the property, however this is the precise use at the incident..
Property Value - Estimate of the total pre-incident property dollar value (replacement cost).
Rate of Spread - Rate of spread measured in chains per hour..
Record Type/Transaction Code - The record type / transaction code defines the purpose of this transaction, and what fields to expect in this transaction..
Total Acres Burned - This data element captures the estimated total acres burned by a wildland fire..
Total Square Feet - Main Floor Size: The size of the main floor in square feet. This is an estimate..
Township - Consists of 36 sections arranged in a six-by-six array, measuring 6 miles by 6 miles. Sections are numbered beginning with the northeast-most section, proceeding west to 6, then south along the west edge of the township and to the east.This array is depicted below:.
Transaction Type (Add, Update, Delete) - Defines the intent of this transaction upon the NFIRS system. Should NFIRS read this as an ‘add’ or ‘change’ or ‘delete’? ‘No Activity’ is a special use case, for when no incidents have occurred in this reporting period..
Type of Material - The composition of the material in the item first ignited by the heat source. The type of material ignited refers to the raw, common, or natural state of the material. The type of material ignited may be a gas, flammable liquid, chemical, plastic, wood, paper, fabric, or any number of other materials..
Wildland Fire Cause - This block provides for the broadest classification of ignition causes consistent with the ‘General Fire Causes’ adopted by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)..
