North Carolina
Chief 101
NFIRS 5.0
Chief 101 Class
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This class consists of several
programs that together will satisfy the
9s inspection criteria as specified by
the North Carolina Administrative
Code. The primary objective of the
course is to inform current and future
chief officers of the various aspects
and complexities surrounding the
operations and organization of North
Carolina fire departments.
Program Objectives
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Identify different sources of
information that pertain to NFIRS.
Describe the various parts of
NFIRS and how to obtain free
access.
Describe the requirements to use
NFIRS under N.C. Administrative
Code.
N.C. G.S. 58-79-45 (a)
■ (a) Whenever a fire department
responds to a fire, the chief of that
department shall complete or cause
to be completed a fire incident
report, which report shall be on a
form prescribed by the Department
of Insurance. (continue)
N.C. G.S. 58-79-45 (b)
■ (b) The fire department shall forward a
copy of the completed form to the fire
marshal of the county in which the fire
occurred. If there is no fire marshal in
that county, the fire department shall
forward a copy of the report to the
county commissioners. The fire
department and the fire marshal or
county commissioners to whom reports
are sent shall retain the reports for a
period of five years.
(continue)
N.C. G.S. 58-79-45 (c)
■ (c) At the request of any person, the
county fire marshal, or county
commissioners shall provide such
person, for a reasonable copying
charge, a certified copy of the report.
[1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1054, s,
7.]
NC AC 05A.0507

OSFM has now implemented a
requirement for incident reporting for
rating purposes which requires a fire
department to report on the National
Fire Incident Reporting System
(NFIRS) to the N.C. Office of State
Fire Marshal.
History
■ In 1972, America Burning was published
and brought attention to the nation’s fire
problem and led to the development of the
U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).
■ In 1974, the USFA was authorized to
gather and analyze data about the nation’s
fire problem.
■ An agreement was made between USFA
and National Fire Information Council
(NFIC) to maintain the National Fire
Incident Reporting System.
NFIRS 5.0 All-Incident
Reporting System
NFIRS Handbook
■ A complete reference guide for the
system is available through the
NFIRS website: www.nfirs.fema.gov.
■ Contains definitions, purpose, entry,
and examples for all fields.
NFIRS 5.0 Required
Modules
Module Use Primarily Driven By Incident Type….
A ll In c id e n ts
F ire In c id e n ts
M o d u le 1
M o d u le s
EMS
H azM at
W ild la n d
ARSON
M o d u le
M o d u le
M o d u le
M o d u le
Module 1 Basic (All Incidents)
REQ’D
LO CAL
Module 2 Fire
Module 3 Structure
Module 4 Civilian Casualty
Module 5 Fire Service Casualty
NFIRS 1 - Basic Module
Completed for every incident.
NFIRS 1 - Basic Module
■ For many incident types, the Basic
Module is the ONLY report that must
be completed. It meets the need for
an abbreviated form of incident
reporting for some fires.
NFIRS 2 - Fire Module
Required for all fires that extend
beyond container.
NFIRS 2 - Fire Module
■ The Fire Module is used for any fire
that extends beyond a
non-combustible container.
■ It is applicable for a vehicle fire,
building fire, or vegetation (grass) fire
unless the Wildland Fire Module is
used.
NFIRS 3 - Structure Fire
Module
Used for fires involving buildings.
NFIRS 3 - Structure Fire
Module
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The Structure Fire Module is used
along with the Fire Module to gather
detailed information about larger fire
incidents that involve buildings or
portable/mobile structures.
NFIRS 4 - Civilian Casualty
Module
Captures data regarding civilian
casualties resulting from a fire.
NFIRS 4 - Civilian Casualty
Module
The Civilian Fire Casualty Module
captures the data regarding any
civilian (NON-FIRE service) casualty
associated with fire-related incidents.
NFIRS 5 - Fire Service
Casualty
Used to report injuries, deaths or
exposures to fire service personnel.
NFIRS 5.0 Optional
Modules
■ Module Use Primarily Driven By
Incident Type:
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Module 6
Module 7
Module 8
Module 9
Module 10
EMS
HazMat
Wildland
Apparatus Personnel
Arson
NFIRS 6 - EMS Module
Gathers data relating to provision
of emergency medical care.
NFIRS 7 - HazMat Module
Used to document REPORTABLE
Hazardous Materials Incidents.
NFIRS 8 - Wildland Fire
Module
Used to document reportable
wildland fires.
NFIRS 9 Apparatus/Resources
Used as a local option to identify
the apparatus sent to an incident.
NFIRS 10 - Personnel
Module
Used as a local option to help
track and manage personnel
utilized on incidents.
NFIRS 11 - Arson &
Juvenile Firesetter
Used whenever the Cause of Ignition
is coded as “intentional” or
“under investigation.”
Codes
Header series codes:
100
400
700
200
500
800
300
600
900
Be code specific.
Module Rules
■
Use your Module Rules:
 Errors
 Document in a narrative
NFIRS HELP
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Kim Williams
1-800-634-7854 ext 321
Kim.Williams@ncdoi.gov
www.nfirs.fema.gov