NFIRS Elements

NFIRS 5.0 - NFIRS Codes Cheat Sheet - Coding - Examples - Elements - Validation

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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..
• Activity At Time Of Injury
• Activity of Person
• Activity when Injured
• 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’..
• Affiliation
• Age
• Age of Person - The estimated age of the person involved (if age was a factor.).
• Aid Given or Received - Was any form of aid given to or received from another department..
• Air Temperature
• Alarm Date Time - The date/time when the incident was toned/dispatched..
• Alarms - The number of alarms for the incident..
• Apartment Number - The number of the specific apartment, suite or room of the owner of the property involved in the incident..
• Apparatus Actions Taken
• Apparatus Arrival Date/Time
• Apparatus Clear Date/Time
• Apparatus Dispatch Date/Time
• Apparatus First In Service Date
• Apparatus ID - The designation/identifier for the apparatus, e.g. 7001..
• Apparatus Name - The common name for the apparatus, e.g. Engine 1.
• Apparatus Sequence Number
• Apparatus Sequence Number - Reference to the Apparatus (reference by Sequence Number).
• Apparatus Type - The apparatus type, e.g. Engine.
• Apparatus Use
• Area Type
• Area of Origin - Where the fire started..
• Arrival Date Time - The date/time when the first unit arrived at the incident scene..
• Arrived At Patient Date/Time
• Aspect - Aspect is the general direction that a given slope faces..
• Authority In Charge Assignment - Assignment of Authority in Charge (e.g. Command).
• Authority In Charge Date - Date that the authority took Charge.
• Authority In Charge First Name - The first name of the person who was the Authority In Charge.
• Authority In Charge Last Name - The last name of the person who was the Authority In Charge.
• Authority In Charge Middle Initial Name - The middle initial of the person who was the Authority In Charge.
• Authority In Charge Personnel ID - The personnel ID (e.g. radio designation) of the person who was the Authority In Charge.
• Authority In Charge Rank - Rank of Authority in Charge.
• Authority Reporting Assignment - Assignment of the person making this report..
• Authority Reporting Date - Date this report was made..
• Authority Reporting First Name - The first name for the person making this report..
• Authority Reporting Last Name - The last name for the person making this report..
• Authority Reporting Middle Initial Name - The middle initial for the person making this report..
• Authority Reporting Personnel ID - The personnel ID (e.g. radio designation) for the person in making this report..
• Authority Reporting Rank - Rank of the person making this report..
• Automatic Extinguishment System (AES) Failure Reason
• Automatic Extinguishment System (AES) Operation
• Automatic Extinguishment System (AES) Presence
• Automatic Extinguishment System (AES) Type
• Body Sites of Injury
• Building Height: Stories Above Grade - The number of stories at or above grade in the fire building.
• Building Height: Stories Below Grade - The number of stories below grade in the fire building.
• Building Length
• Building Status - The operational status of the building involved in the fire. Indicates the actual use of the building at the time of the fire..
• Building Width
• Cause Of Firefighter Injury
• 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..
• Cause of Illness/Injury
• Cause of Injury
• 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 tht is used in the mailing address if the property is not located within city limits..
• City Town Village Local Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Civilian Fire Casualty Sequence Number
• Confined to Origin - Was the fire confined to the object of origin?.
• Contents Loss - Estimate of the total contents dollar loss.
• Contents Value - Estimate of the total pre-incident contents dollar value (replacement cost).
• Contributed to Ignition Factors - The contributing factors that allowed the heat source and combustible material to combine to ignite the fire..
• Contributing Factors
• County or Parish Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Cross Street, Directions or National Grid
• Detector Alerted Occupants - Did the detector succeed in alerting the occupants, or not?.
• Detector Effectiveness
• Detector Failure Reason
• Detector Operation
• Detector Power
• Detector Presence
• Detector Type
• Disposition
• Disposition
• District
• EMS Apparatus - Apparatus used for emergency medical services, e.g. ambulance / rescue..
• EMS Patient Sequence Number
• EMS Personnel - Personnel performing tasks of emergency medical services..
• Elevation - Elevation refers to the numeric representation of the distance from mean sea level to the wildland fire, measured in feet..
• Equipment Brand
• Equipment Involved
• Equipment Involved In Ignition
• Equipment Manufacturer
• Equipment Model
• Equipment Model
• Equipment Portability
• Equipment Power Source
• Equipment Serial Number
• Equipment Serial Number
• Equipment Used
• Equipment Year
• Ethnicity
• Exposure Number - This represents a fire spreading and causes an additional fire/exposure. The initial incident is exposure zero..
• Factor Contributing To Injury
• Factors Contributing To Ignition
• Federal Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Federal Agency Code
• Fire Danger Rating
• Fire Department City - City for the fire department’s address..
• Fire Department E-mail - E-mail address for contacting the fire department’s administration..
• Fire Department FIPS County Code
• Fire Department Fax - Facsimile number for the fire department’s administration..
• Fire Department ID
• Fire Department ID - Receiving Aid - The NFIRS FDID for the primary (hosting) department..
• Fire Department Name
• Fire Department Phone - Phone number for contacting the fire department’s administration..
• Fire Department State
• Fire Department State - Receiving Aid - The state or territory for the primary (hosting) department..
• Fire Department Station - This is a local option; meaning not used by FEMA NFIRS. Provide the station number or identifier..
• Fire Department Street Number or Milepost
• Fire Department Street Prefix
• Fire Department Street Suffix
• Fire Department Street Type
• Fire Department Street or Highway Name
• Fire Department Zip - Zip code for the fire department’s address..
• Fire Origin (Story #)
• Fire Service Affiliation
• Fire Service Casualty Sequence Number
• Fire Service Deaths
• Fire Service Injuries
• Fire Spread
• 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..
• Firefighter Email
• Firefighter First Name
• Firefighter Identifier
• Firefighter Last Name
• Firefighter Middle Initial Name
• Firefighter Name Suffix
• Firefighter Personnel ID
• Firefighter Phone1
• Firefighter Phone2
• Firefighter Rank
• Firefighter Sequence Number
• First Name
• First Name
• First Name
• 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..
• Foreign Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Fuel Moisture
• Gender
• Gender
• Gender
• General Location at Time of Incident
• Hazardous Material Released - Were hazardous materials released as a result of this incident?.
• Heat Source - The heat source that ignited the ‘Item First Ignited’ to cause the fire..
• Highest Level of Care
• 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
• Human Factors
• 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 date/time when the incident was controlled..
• Incident Number (Identifier) - The incident number is a unique sequence number (unique within a given day.).
• 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 the (with precision) the category of incident, leading to exactly what additional information (modules, transaction) are required..
• Initial Arrest Rhythm
• Initial Level of Care
• Injury Date Time
• Injury Date Time
• Injury Relation To Structure
• Injury Types
• Item Contributing To Spread
• 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 Name
• Last Name
• Last Name
• Last Unit Cleared Date Time - The date/time when the last unit departed the incident scene, and the incident terminated..
• Latitude
• 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..
• Location at Time of Incident
• Longitude
• Materials Storage Use
• Meridian
• Middle Initial
• Middle Initial Name
• Middle Initial Name
• Military Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• 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 occured..
• Mobile Property Involved - Mobile Property is a term for Vehicle, Trailer, Truck, Boat, Train, etc. How was the mobile property involved in this fire?.
• Mobile Property License Plate - The mobile property license place number.
• Mobile Property Make - Make of this mobile property.
• Mobile Property Model - Model of this mobile property.
• Mobile Property State - The state or territory where this mobile property was registered.
• Mobile Property Type - Type of mobile property; personal vehicle, etc..
• Mobile Property VIN Number - The mobile property unique Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
• Mobile Property Year - Year of manufacturer for this mobile property.
• NFDRS Fuel Model At Origin
• NFDRS Weather Station ID
• NFIRS Version - The version of the NFIRS specification used within this transaction..
• Name Suffix
• Name Suffix
• No Flame Spread/Same As First/Unknown
• Non-Tax Paying Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Not Residential
• Number Of Buildings Involved
• 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 Ignited
• Number of Buildings Threatened
• Number of Paid Firefighters
• Number of People
• Number of Sprinklers Operating
• Number of Stations
• Number of Stories with Damage: Extreme
• Number of Stories with Damage: Heavy
• Number of Stories with Damage: Minor
• Number of Stories with Damage: Significant
• Number of Volunteer Firefighters
• Number of Volunteer Paid Per Call
• Number or Milepost - The street number, or milepost number when a mile marker..
• Object Involved In Injury
• 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..
• Other Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Other Apparatus - Aparatus not used in fire suppression nor medical, e.g. Command Vehicles..
• Other Deaths
• Other Factors
• Other Injuries
• Other Personnel - Personnel not performing fire suppression nor emergency medical services, e.g. command..
• Patient Age
• Patient Ethnicity
• Patient Gender
• Patient Race
• Patient Status
• Patient Transfer Date/Time
• Person Age - The age of the person involved. A 6 month old child would be entered as 0.5 years..
• Person Age - The age of the person involved. A 6 month old child would be entered as 0.5 years..
• Person Responsible For Fire
• Personnel Actions Taken
• Personnel ID
• Personnel Sequence Number
• Physical Condition
• Pre or Post Arrival Arrest
• Pre-Arrival Arrest Descriptors
• Primary Apparent Symptom
• Primary Apparent Symptom
• Primary Crop Burned #1
• Primary Crop Burned #2
• Primary Crop Burned #3
• Primary Part Of Body Injured
• Primary Part Of Body Injured
• Procedures Used
• Property Loss - Estimate of the total property dollar loss.
• Property Management Ownership
• 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).
• Protective Equipment Contributed To Injury
• Protective Equipment Item
• Protective Equipment Problem
• Protective Equipment Sequence Number
• Provider Impression / Assessment
• Pulse on Transfer
• Race
• Range
• Range Direction - East/West
• Rank
• 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..
• Relative Humidity
• Relative Position on Slope - This observation indicates a point location’s relative position on a slope..
• Remarks - Remarks are the longer form detailed narrative / description of the incident..
• Resource Module (Form) Used. - Is the resource module/form used (instead of numbers.).
• Resources Include Mutual Aid - Do these resource counts (for apparatus and personnel) include those of mutual aid..
• Responses
• Section
• Severity
• Severity
• Sex of Person
• Shift - The department shift that responded to the incident..
• Special Study Code - The special study value, specific to each study..
• Special Study Identification Number - The identification for the special study, each study having it’s own identifier..
• Special Study Sequence Number - Each separate study request a separate sequence number.
• Specific Location Where Injury Occurred
• Specific Location at Time of Incident
• State - The State or U.S. territory where the owner of the property lives..
• State or Province Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Story Where Injury Occurred
• Story at Start of Incident
• Story when Injury Occurred
• Street Prefix - The street prefix is the compass direction if before the street name..
• Street Suffix - The street suffix is the compass direction when after the street type..
• Street Type
• Street or Highway Name
• Structure Type - The identification of a structure as a specific property type..
• Subsection
• Suppression Apparatus - Apparatus used for fire suppression, e.g. engines, tenders..
• Suppression Personnel - Personnel performing tasks of fire suppression..
• Taken To
• Tax Paying Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Testing #1
• Total Acres Burned
• Total Square Feet
• Township
• Township Direction - North/South
• Transaction Type (Add, etc.) - 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 occured in this reporting period..
• Type Of Material Contributing To Spread
• 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, flam- mable liquid, chemical, plastic, wood, paper, fabric, or any number of other materials..
• Type of Right of Way - The precise type of the Right Of Way..
• Undetermined Acres Burned Percentage (%)
• Usual Assignment
• Vehicle Type
• Weather Type
• Where Injury Occurred
• Wildland Fire Cause
• Wind Direction
• Wind Speed
• Zip - A numerical code assigned by the U.S. Postal Service to all jurisdictions within the United States..

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