Elements - NFIRS

NFIRS Codes Cheat Sheet - NFIRS Coding - NFIRS Examples - FDIDs - POCs

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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 fire 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 - The duties performed at the incident scene by the apparatus or resource personnel..
• 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 type for the apparatus or resources used at the incident..
• Apparatus Use
• 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..
• 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 - 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 - 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 - The reason why the automatic extinguishing system failed to operate or did not operate properly..
• Automatic Extinguishment System (AES) Operation - The operation and effectiveness of the automatic extinguishing system relative to the area of fire origin..
• Automatic Extinguishment System (AES) Presence - The existence of an AES within the AES’s designed range of a fire..
• Automatic Extinguishment System (AES) Type - Identifies the type of automatic extinguishing system that was present in the area of fire origin..
• 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 - Main Floor Size: The length of the main floor in square feet. This is an estimate..
• 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 - Main Floor Size: The width of the main floor in square feet. This is an estimate..
• 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 that 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 - 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 Alerted Occupants - Did the detector succeed in alerting the occupants, or not?.
• 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..
• 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 - The contributing factors that allowed the heat source and combustible material to combine to ignite the fire..
• 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 #) - Identifies the story where the fire originated within the building..
• Fire Service Affiliation
• Fire Service Casualty Sequence Number
• Fire Service Deaths
• Fire Service Injuries
• 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..
• Firefighter Email
• Firefighter First Name
• Firefighter Identifier
• Firefighter Last Name
• Firefighter Middle Initial
• 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 Injury
• HazMat Actions Taken
• HazMat Area Affected Measurement
• HazMat Area Affected Units
• HazMat Area Evacuated Measurement
• HazMat Cause of Release
• HazMat Chemical
• HazMat Chemical CAS Registration
• HazMat Chemical Capacity
• HazMat Chemical Capacity Units
• HazMat Chemical Container Name
• HazMat Chemical D.O.T. Hazard Classification
• HazMat Chemical Estimated Amount Released
• HazMat Chemical Name
• HazMat Chemical Physical State When Released
• HazMat Chemical Released Into
• HazMat Chemical Released Units
• HazMat Chemical Sequence Number
• HazMat Civilian Deaths
• HazMat Civilian Injuries
• HazMat Disposition
• HazMat Equipment Involved In Release
• HazMat Estimated Number Of People
• HazMat Estimated Number of Buildings
• HazMat Evacuated Units
• HazMat Factors Affecting Mitigation (Mitigating Factors)
• HazMat Factors Contributing to Release
• HazMat Occurred First
• HazMat Population Density
• HazMat Released From
• HazMat Story of Release
• 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 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) - 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 (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 - 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..
• Location at Time of Incident
• 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..
• Materials Storage Use
• Meridian
• Middle Initial
• Middle Initial
• Middle Initial
• 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 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 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 - 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..
• 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 or Same As First or Unknown - Yes if no flame spread OR if same as Material First Ignited (Block D4, Fire Module) OR if unable to determine..
• 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 - The number of buildings, if any, that were ignited by the wildland 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 Paid Firefighters
• Number of People
• Number of Sprinklers Operating - The total number of sprinkler heads that operated during the fire..
• Number of Stations
• 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..
• 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..
• Person Age - The age of the person involved..
• 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 entered 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 - The street type descriptor appearing after a street or highway name..
• Street or Highway Name - The street or highway name where the incident occurred..
• 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 - 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:.
• Township Direction - North/South
• 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 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, flammable 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 - This block provides for the broadest classification of ignition causes consistent with the ‘General Fire Causes’ adopted by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)..
• 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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