NERIS builds upon NFIRS:

A firefighter recently joked that NFIRS stood for “Not Functional In Real Situations”, and certainly it does have limitations when it comes to describing incidents. NERIS allows more flexibility in reporting the type of incident, supports capturing important new data, and brings mapping capabilities (like GIS.) Learn more below ...

Keep your questions on NERIS coming, and I'll answer all that I can — Adam.

NERIS Incident Types (Dispatch & Multiple Final)

You are toned to a report of "smoke in the distance", but arrive upon an MVA with a downed power line plus a hazmat spill from the vehicle, and a victim requiring medical attention. With NFIRS you'd have to pick just one incident type losing a lot of detail including the dispatch information, but with NERIS we can report all of that.

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NERIS Incident Extras

NERIS incident reports are closer to real world (and modern world) firefighting by including any impediments that impacted firefighting, including factors such as violence against firefighters or urban conflagrations. Further NERIS captures numbers not names to protect privacy, and avoid personal identifiable information (PII.)

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Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs)

To us they are Dispatch Centers, and to the public they might be "911 call centers", but they are officially known as Public Safety Answering Points. NERIS wants to know your fire department's PSAP, so asks for your dispatch center's PSAP ID.

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Fire Department NERIS Identifiers

We've long known about NFIRS FDIDs, and the NERIS equivalents are NERIS identifiers. Do you know what your departments NERIS identifier is?

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2025 as a Transition Year (for NFIRS/NERIS)

NERIS will roll out across the USA throughout 2025, meaning some fire departments will still be filing NFIRS while others are newly filing NERIS. USFA knows this year will be a transition, and are working to make it easier on all fire departments. Don't worry about getting to NERIS until you hear from your state representative. Keep filing your NFIRS, keep learning about NERIS, and lets work to make 2025 a painless transition.

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