NFIRS Data Quality

What is as true in a fire department as in a Fortune 500 corporation? Data drives decision-making.

For the fire service, this data is collected in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). It’s critical to make sure the data collected is complete and accurate because this information is used at all levels — from local budget development to the identification of national preparedness initiatives.

Announcement

Notice of enforcement: NFIRS 2015 specification cycle

To improve data quality and consistency, we are enforcing several 2015 specification cycle rules previously not enforced by the NFIRS validation process.

Learn about 2015 specification cycle enforcement

Publication

Review and Assessment of Data Quality in the National Fire Incident Reporting System

This report provides an assessment of NFIRS data quality, both at the state and data element levels, and highlights data quality checks and mechanisms available within the system.

Download the report

National Fire Data Center internal data quality checks

The National Fire Data Center (NFDC) works to identify NFIRS data errors and to assist states and fire departments in fixing them.

Accurate fire incident reports are important. They can impact your department just as much as the entire United States. When incidents are documented for the NFIRS, there is the potential for data entry errors — mistakes that can alter the intended meaning of the information.

Several mistakes across a region may not be significant, but many mistakes in the same region — or worse, across the entire country — can dramatically affect the meaning of the data. The same result occurs when data is generalized, such as the overuse of the codes for unknown, none or other. Below are 3 identified mistake trends in the data, along with a brief discussion of each.

Section G2 of the Basic Module collects information about the estimated dollar losses and values of property and contents. This is a crucial component of data collection since it is an indicator of fire impact within the U.S. It is important to note that these are only estimations, and the best estimate of the fire department is acceptable. Each field allows a dollar value up to $999,999,999.

What the NFDC looks for: Every incident with a dollar loss value greater than $10,000,000.

Issues identified: Extremely high values and negative dollar values.

How to resolve: Data entry should be made carefully and checked to ensure accuracy.

Plus-one codes are codes that fire departments and states can use to record incident information in regionally-specific detail. Since the plus-one (extra character) is not used in national level analyses, it can appear as if there is a duplicate Actions Taken code (Section F) in the Basic Module.

What the NFDC looks for: Plus-one codes that duplicate the NFIRS code or base code. In this case, the base code length for Actions Taken is 2 characters, e.g., 86 (investigate). This occurs in multiple-coded fields, most often in the Actions Taken section (since up to 3 actions can be added per incident).

Issues identified: Nearly every example of a duplicate Actions Taken code was due to using a base code and a plus-one code based on the same NFIRS or base code.

Example: The first Actions Taken code is 11 (extinguishment by fire service personnel) and the second Actions Taken code is 112 (extinguishment with Compressed Air Foam System). This will be viewed at the national level as Actions Taken codes 11 and 11.

How to resolve: Refrain from using a plus-one code in the same field along with its base code.

Section I3 of the Structure Fire Module looks at building height (i.e., the number of stories above and below grade). This data element is required within the Structure Fire Module.

What the NFDC looks for: Stories greater than 30 above grade and greater than 5 below grade.

Issues identified: Unusually high values for both above grade and below grade stories.

How to resolve: Data entry should be made carefully and checked to ensure accuracy.

Data quality check reports

Since the goal is to provide the best data possible, the NFDC developed a series of internal data quality reports in 2021 to identify some of these data errors and assist states and fire departments in resolving them. The reports are all scheduled in the NFIRS Data Warehouse and run automatically each month to provide states with updated reports on their fire departments' incidents. They are automatically emailed to the NFIRS state program managers.

High Dollar Loss: This report shows all fire incidents with a Total Loss value >= $10 million.
High Response or Duration Times: This report looks at incidents with a Response Time >= 24 hours or a Duration Time >= 120 hours.
Large Civilian Casualties: This report identifies those incidents with Civilian Injuries >=5 or Civilian Fatalities >=5.
Monthly Participation Report: This report shows fire department reporting by month. If a fire department had no incidents for the month but has reported a No Activity report, then the month will show “NA” for No Activity. Months highlighted in blue are missing incident reports for those months.
Departments Not Reporting: This report identifies fire departments that reported incidents in the previous year but have not reported any incidents for the current year.
Invalid Incidents Report: This report shows fire department-reported incidents by incident status and shows the percent of their incidents that are invalid. Invalid incidents with departments are highlighted in blue.

Please email the NFIRS Help Desk at FEMA-NFIRSHELP@fema.dhs.gov with any questions.

Coding guidelines to improve data quality

Nov. 29, 2023

How to document wildfires

Coding, Data Quality, Other Modules

It is important to document wildfires in NFIRS completely and accurately to better understand the impacts they have in our country. Tips on how to code wildfires.

Nov. 29, 2023