NFIRS Hazmat Module

The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) is the world's largest, national, annual database of fire incident information. It is also an all-incident reporting system, collecting data beyond fires to include the full range of fire department activity on a national scale. Fire departments may report through NFIRS electronically or by submitting paper forms.

After responding to an incident, fire department personnel complete one or more of the NFIRS "modules" or forms. The information in these modules describes the type of incident; where it occurred; the resources used to mitigate it and how; losses; and other information designed specifically to understand the nature and causes of the incident.

The Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Module is an optional module in NFIRS. It should be used when that option has been chosen by your state or local authorities.

The purpose of the HazMat Module is to document reportable HazMat incidents. Generally speaking, a reportable HazMat incident is when either:

  1. Specialized HazMat resources were dispatched or used, or should have been dispatched or used, for assessing, mitigating, or managing the situation.
    OR
  2. Releases or spills of hazardous materials that exceed 55 gallons occur.
    Nothing in this definition is meant to alter compliance with state or local HazMat reporting requirements.

The HazMat Module permits hazardous materials incidents to be thoroughly profiled for incident management analysis and response strategy development. It collects relevant information on:

In addition, aggregated data on hazardous materials incidents will provide invaluable information that can be used by policy makers who develop regulations for the storage, use, and transportation of hazardous materials. It can also be used to develop recommended guidance for emergency personnel response to HazMat incidents.

For more information on NFIRS and the HazMat Module, please visit the NFIRS Web site.