National Fire Incident Reporting System

The National Fire Incident Reporting System, or NFIRS, is the legacy national system used to collect fire-department incident information. Its records remain important for historical analysis. For calendar-year 2026 incidents, the U.S. Fire Administration directed reporting into NERIS, the successor system, rather than NFIRS.

A historical reporting framework

NFIRS provided a common structure for departments to record incident details. Its name can be misleading to readers: fire-service records include more than confirmed fires, so a file's incident count must not be treated automatically as a count of buildings or other property burning. USFA historical system overview.

USFA's NFIRS documentation includes the historical coding and reference materials needed to interpret fields and incident types. A code's meaning comes from that framework and its applicable version, not from a similarly named category in a newer system. USFA NFIRS documentation.

A department's local report, the record submitted nationally, and a public statistical file can also differ in detail. A national data extract does not necessarily contain the narrative, attachments, or every locally collected field.

The transition to NERIS

USFA identifies 2025 as a hybrid reporting year in which incidents could be submitted through either system as departments transitioned. Its sunset notice states that 2026 incident submissions belong exclusively in NERIS, that January 31, 2026 was the final date for edits to 2025 NFIRS records, and that NFIRS became unavailable to users beginning in February 2026. USFA NFIRS sunset notice.

These dates distinguish the year of an incident from the period during which an older record could be edited. They also explain why finding an NFIRS file online in 2026 does not mean the system is still the reporting destination for new 2026 incidents.

Example

Hypothetical example: A department has a public NFIRS export covering 2024 and part of 2025, followed by a NERIS export covering its later reporting. A resident wants to compare annual structure-fire activity.

Adding the files without checking their date ranges could duplicate an overlapping transition period or omit months. Matching categories solely by their displayed names could also combine unlike definitions. The analyst first identifies the system, incident dates, department coverage, and category mapping for each file.

The older NFIRS records remain useful historical evidence. The transition does not erase them, but it requires a documented comparison rather than an assumption that the two systems are interchangeable.

Common confusion

NFIRS versus a dispatch log: Dispatch records describe requests and response coordination. Incident reporting can reflect information gathered after responders assess the event. Initial and reported incident types can differ.

NFIRS versus NERIS: NERIS succeeds NFIRS for current incident reporting; it is not simply the same file with a different name. Identifiers and classifications need their own documentation.

Incident count versus fire count: A dataset can contain nonfire service activity. Select the appropriate documented incident categories before describing a total as fires.

Reading a historical NFIRS result

Preserve the data year, release version, department identifier, and counting rule. Determine whether the analysis counts unique incidents, responding departments, or particular report modules. Aid responses and additional records should not automatically be treated as new underlying events.

For a trend crossing into NERIS, explain any changes in categories or coverage and identify how overlaps were handled. A discontinuity at the transition may reflect reporting changes as well as real changes in activity. Historical source context is part of the result, not an optional footnote.

Related terms

• National Emergency Response Information System
• NFIRS incident type
• Fire Department Identification Number
• Fire report

Sources

• U.S. Fire Administration — NFIRS Sunset, checked November 2, 2026. Supports the hybrid year and precise transition/edit/access dates.
• U.S. Fire Administration — NFIRS Documentation. Provides historical reference and coding documentation; no unverified current NFIRS submission capability is claimed.
• U.S. Fire Administration — About NFIRS, reviewed April 20, 2026. Describes the range of historical activity and confirms retirement.