NFIRS January, 2010 Change Cycle Update

To All Users and Fire Software Vendors:

Due to major infrastructure upgrades, changes to maintenance procedures, and an upcoming relocation of the NFIRS production site, the January 2010 NFIRS change cycle will be deferred until January 2011. There will be no NFIRS specification changes this year. All planned 2010 cycle changes will be deferred until January 2011.

This information was posted on October 15, 2009

Release of NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation for 2009 Specification Cycle

To All NFIRS Vendors:

The NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation for the 2009 Specification Cycle has been posted on the Design Documentation page and is now available for download. This NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation reflects the specification changes that were incorporated into the releases of the NFIRS 5.0 client software and Vendor Validation Tool that correspond to the 2009 Specification Cycle (e.g., versions 5.6.0 and 5.7.0 of the client software and version 4.12 of the Vendor Validation Tool.)

This information was posted on February 19, 2009

Release of Vendor Validation Tool 4.12

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:

The Vendor Validation Tool 4.12 is available on the NFIRS web site after successful login on the Vendor Section login. Instructions are available on the Vendor Downloads page.

The following rule and edit changes were incorporated into the Vendor Validation Tool in accordance with the January 2009 Specification Cycle:

• NFIRS 4.1 formatted incidents (4.1 transaction file format and 4.1 master file format) with an incident date later than 12/31/2008 are rejected from conversion/import with a critical error. Any converted 4.1 incidents with an incident date later than 12/31/2008 are rejected from import with a critical error.
• If the J2 Fire Spread Code in an incident with a Structure Fire Module is set to '1' then Confined to Object of Origin in the Fire Module is unselectable and will be unset. If the J2 Fire Spread Code in an incident with a Structure Fire Module is set to '2', '3', '4', or '5', then Confined to Object of Origin in the Fire Module is unselectable and will be set to '1'. If an incident does not have a Structure Fire Module or its J2 Fire Spread Code is not set then Confined to Object of Origin in the Fire Module is selectable and setable by the user.
• Since there are separate arrival times captured for each piece of apparatus on the Apparatus/Personnel module, the Cleared Time of any unit/apparatus can no longer be earlier than the Arrival Time entered on the Basic Module unless the unit/apparatus was canceled en-route.
• The 4.1 incident conversion mechanism was converting all incidents with a 4.1 Property Use of 933 (Mailbox) to 5.0 Incident Type of 164 (Mailbox Fire) without taking into consideration whether the incident was actually a fire incident. The conversion mechanism has been changed to only make the Mailbox Fire conversion for incidents with a 4.0 Incident Type indicating that a fire was involved.
• Fire Module Section H2 Detector Alerted Occupants is no longer required for incident of Incident Type 100 Fire, Other.

This information was posted on January 13, 2009

January 2009 Specification Cycle - Documentation Corrections

A number of corrections have been made to the preliminary Specification Cycle documents were released on Monday September the 29th. Preliminary Change #324 had an error where the Cleared Time and the Arrival Time were transposed in the second section of the two referenced edits. In addition, some of the "Change Dates" erroneously showed a year of 2007 instead of 2008. These issues have been corrected and the preliminary specification files have been reposted for download.

The new files have been given unique names (NFIRS_Spec_Changes_History_2009_R1.pdf and NFIRS_Spec_Tables_2009_R1.xls) so that they can be easily differentiated from the originals.

This information was posted on October 1, 2008

January 2009 Specification Cycle - Documentation Release

To assist Vendors in preparing for the January 2009 Specification Cycle Release, the Preliminary Specification Changes and Corrections Log (filename: NFIRS_Spec_Changes_History_2009.pdf) and the Specification Tables (filename: NFIRS_Spec_Tables_2009.xls) have been updated to include the changes that will be implemented in the January 2009 Specification Cycle.

The updated documents are posted in a separate section on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page.

The changes identified in the January 2009 Preliminary Changes and Corrections Log and Spec Tables will not be implemented in the live system until January 1, 2009.

This information was posted on September 29, 2008

Release of Vendor Validation Tool 4.11

The Vendor Validation Tool 4.11 is available on the NFIRS web site after successful login on the Vendor Section login. Instructions are available on the Vendor Downloads page.

The following rule and edit changes were incorporated into the Vendor Validation Tool in accordance with the January 2008 Specification Cycle:

• The Fire Module is now required for Incident Type "100" (Fire, other.)
• If any Age field value in any module < 0, a critical error is generated.
• If Incident Type is "112" (Fires in structures other than in a building), the Structure Type field entry on the Structure Fire module cannot be 1 or 2.
• If Property Use is "464" (Barracks, dormitory) then the Mixed Use Property field is required.
• If Arrival Time is 20 minutes or more after the Alarm Time then a warning is generated.
• The Time Arrived at Patient on EMS module may now be earlier than the Basic Module Arrival Date and Time to support situations where non-department care is provided.
• Upper entry range of the following fields are limited to the current year + 1: the "Mobile Property Year" and" Equipment Year" of the Fire Module and the "Mobile Property Involved in Release Year" and "Equipment Involved in Release Year" of the Hazmat Module.
• The amount of loss that triggers an "excessive losses" warning for Property Loss or Contents Loss has been increased from $500,000 to $2,000,000.
• The code "87" (Investigate fire out on arrival) has been added to Action Taken codes.
• The code "V" (the fifth) has been added to Name Suffix codes.
• The code "28" (Ethanol) has been added to the Fire Module's Type of Material First Ignited codes.
• The code "49" (Criminal Activity) has been added to the HazMat Module's Factors Contributing to Release codes.
• The code "877" (Novelty lighter) has been added to the Fire Module's Equipment Involved in Ignition codes.

Additionally the following bug fixes were instituted:

• To bring the Vendor Validation Tool into compliance with the existing NFIRS Design Documentation the Vendor Validation Tool now requires that the Controlled Date and Time on the Basic Module be filled out when the Wildland Module is used.
  
  Note: Although the above rule should have been active in previous releases the requirement takes effect for all incidents that have alarm dates on or after 01/01/2008. The change is not retroactive in the Vendor Validation Tool because the tool shares its incident validation logic with the Data Entry Tool. If the change was retroactive to all incidents it would have invalidated previously valid incidents. Vendor software should continue to interpret the rule correctly as of the time it was first incorporated into the NFIRS Design Document.
• The "Database Mode" in the validation report now reads "Not Applicable" instead of "On-Line".

This information was posted on January 7, 2008

Clarification of 2008 NFIRS Specification Cycle Edit #319

For clarity sake, the 'Description of Problem' for change #319 within the Change Log of the upcoming 2008 specification cycle has been modified to reflect that the updated relational edit will now check to see if either the Property Loss or the Contents Loss is $2 > million or greater. Previously, the Description of problem area for change #319 only mentioned Property Loss./p>

A version of the Change Log with the above update can be found on the Design Documentation page in the Preparation for January 2008 Specification section.

This information was posted on December 11, 2007

Update for Testing 2008 Specification Cycle Changes

To assist Vendors in testing the rules and edits that have been posted in the January 2008 specification release documentation, an update has been posted to the Vendor Validation Tool download web page which may be applied to the Vendor Validation Tool 4.10.

The Vendor Validation Tool 4.10 must be installed on the PC to run the update. Complete instructions on installation are available after successful login in the Vendor section.

Due to the holiday and support staffing, the changes incorporated in the 2008 Specification Cycle will not take effect in the NFIRS On-line system until January 2, 2008.

Documentation which outlines the changes for the 2008 Specification Cycle is posted on the Design Documentation page in the Preparation for January 2008 Specification section.

This information was posted on December 6, 2007

Change to 2008 NFIRS Specification Cycle Edit #316

Please note that change #316 of the upcoming 2008 specification cycle has been appended to include all 'Year' fields captured by the NFIRS system. As such the following fields will now have an upper limit of current year + 1: the Mobile Property Year and Equipment Year fields on the Fire Module and the Mobile Property Involved in Release and Equipment Involved in Release fields on the HazMat module.

The documents that describe the 2008 specification cycle changes have been updated to reflect this change. These documents can be found on the Design Documentation page in the Preparation for January 2008 Specification section.

This information was posted on November 28, 2007

January 2008 Specification Cycle - Documentation Release

To assist Vendors in preparing for the January 2008 Specification Cycle Release, the Preliminary Specification Changes and Corrections Log (filename: Jan2008spec_changes_table.pdf) and the Specification Tables (filename: spectables_01012008.xls) have been updated to include the changes that will be implemented in the January 2008 Specification Cycle.

The updated documents are posted in a separate section on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page.

The changes identified in the January 2008 Preliminary Changes and Corrections Log and Spec Tables will not be implemented in the live system until January 1, 2008.

This information was posted on September 17, 2007

January 2007 NFIRS Change Cycle Notice

There will be no changes to the NFIRS system for the upcoming NFIRS specification change cycle release scheduled for January of 2007. The January 2007 cycle release will instead consist entirely of documentation corrections and updates.

This information was posted on Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Release of Vendor Validation Tool 4.10 and Clarification on 2006 Edits

The Vendor Validation Tool 4.10 is available on the NFIRS web site after successful login on the Vendor Section login. Instructions are available on the Vendor Downloads page.

Clarifications

• Specification Changes and Corrections Log item # 284: Apparatus/Personnel Number of People Field:
  
  A Warning level error, not a Critical level error, will be generated for 2006 incidents in which the value in the Apparatus/Personnel Module's Number of People field does not equal the number of Personnel records (1810) contained in the incident.



• Validation of Fire Module's Cause of Ignition Code: 0, Other:
  
  As stated in the Specification Corrections and Changes Log, item #7, the Cause of Ignition code 0, Other may only be used for conversion or when the incident is an Exposure fire. In the 2007 Specification Cycle, an edit will be implemented that does not allow base incidents to have Cause of Ignition 0, Other.
  
  Relational Edit # 51 that references the Cause of ignition field has not changed: If Exposure Number > zero (0) this element should be set to Other.



• Currently, no Warning validation error is being generated for Relational Edit #160: If Incident Type = 1xx (fire) then generate a validation warning if either the Property or the Contents Dollar Loss value is greater than $500,000. In the 2007 Specification Cycle, a Warning will be implemented if Property or Contents losses exceed $500,000.

This information was posted on March 30, 2006

Validation Error Associated with Apparatus/Personnel Module�s Number of People Field

To All NFIRS 5.0 Users and Vendors:

A Critical validation error was associated with the 2006 Specification Change Number 284, which states:

Added a new system validation edit to ensure that the number of persons entered on the Apparatus module matched the number of Personnel module records entered for the incident (if the personnel module is used).

An adjustment has been made in the validation process to generate a Warning level error instead of a Critical level error for Change Number 284.

Warning level errors do not make an incident's status "Invalid."

On-line Users of the USFA NFIRS 5.0 Version 5.4.0 Software:
No action is necessary. The change of the error level from Critical to Warning for the Number of People field will be reflected when incidents are saved or imported to the On-line database.

Off-line Users of the USFA Software:
To update the local NFIRS 5.0 Version 5.4.0 database validation process, perform User Injection or Remote Synchronization. A connection to the Internet is necessary.

Note:Users of previous versions must update to Version 5.4.0 to access the On-line database. To download the most current version from the NFIRS 5.0 website, after login at the Users Section click on the sidebar link for Download Software.

NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
The update for the Warning level of error in change Number 284 will be included in the Vendor Validation Tool 4.10, which will be released shortly.

This information was posted on February 8, 2006

On-line System Availability - January 2, 2006 - Implementation of 2006 Specification Cycle

The January 2006 Specification Cycle Rules have been implemented in the On-line system. Version 5.0 Incidents with an Incident Date of January 1, 2006 or later will be validated under the 2006 cycle rules.

Notice to Vendors: Correction Necessary for Vendor Validation Tool Update

Two issues were identified in the current Vendor Validation Tool Update. Both involve the Fire Module.

When the On-site Materials field is NNN, and the Storage Use field is blank, the Vendor Tool Update was throwing a critical error and it should allow the blank field.

The Vendor Update was not catching the Relational Edits 55:
If Exposure Number > zero (0) then Factor Contributing #1 will be set to 71, Factor #2 will be blank

and 58:
If Exposure Number > zero (0) this element is not available.
Instead, when the exposure is 1 (001) or greater it was requiring a value in both fields.

A new file has been posted on the NFIRS Vendor Downloads page, which is available after login in the Vendor Section.

This information was posted on December 23, 2005

On-line System Availability on January 2, 2006

On Monday, January 2, 2006 from 8:00 a.m. to approximately 12:00 p.m. (EST), the NFIRS On-line system will be unavailable. This maintenance window is necessary to implement the January 2006 Specification Cycle changes.

After the maintenance window, Version 5.0 Incidents with an Incident Date of January 1, 2006 or later will be validated under the 2006 cycle rules. All other incidents will be validated according to their Incident Date.

Implementation of 2006 NFIRS 5.0 Specification Changes

Some of the changes in the January 2006 Specification include:

• A more robust rules engine which enables validation accroding to Incident Date.
• Some rules and edits have been modified in effort to capture more detail of fire incidents.
• Several clarifications for edit and field requirements.
• The Structure Fire Paper form has been modified to reflect updates.

Several new codes have been made available:

• New Mobile Property Make codes for Farm Vehicles
• Hazmat Units of Measure and Units Released
• A new code for the Structure Fire Module's Presence of AES (Partial system present).

The list of changes incorporated in the 2006 cycle are outlined in the Specification Changes and Corrections Log, posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page. The changes identified in the January 2006 Specification Cycle will not be implemented in the live system until January 2, 2006 due to the holiday weekend and related support staffing.

Monitor this page for more information on the release of the USFA Client software. The release is scheduled for January 2006, and will require all users to upgrade to the new version.

This information was posted on December 22, 2005

Notice for NFIRS 5.0 Vendors

There was a duplicate code discovered in the Data Dictionary of the specification Spec_Tables.xls file. The new 2006 Farm Vehicles' MP Make listed the duplicates as HS � Hesston and HS �Husky. The correct codes are HE � Hesston and HS � Husky. The Data Dictionary has been updated and posted.

This information was posted on November 11, 2005

Notice for All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors

An error has been discovered in the Edits Requirements section of the preliminary specification Spec_Tables.xls file. The Edit Requirements should list (new) code 2 in the "valid code" column under section M1 not under section L1 where it was listed in error. Section L1 is for the Presence of Detectors and the change is actually to the Presence of AES field (M1 section). Other areas of the documentation and the paper structure fire form do correctly list the change under Section M1.

This information was posted on October 20, 2005

Preparation for 2006 NFIRS 5.0 Specification Changes

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:

To assist Vendors in preparing for the January 2006 Specification Cycle Release, the Specification Changes and Corrections Log (filename: jan2006spec_changes_table.pdf) and the Specification Tables (filename: spectables01012006.xls) have been updated to include the changes that will be implemented in the January 2006 Specification Cycle.

Some of the changes in the January 2006 Specification include:

• Some rules and edits have been modified in effort to capture more detail of fire incidents.
• Several new codes, including new Mobile Property Make codes for Farm Vehicles
• Several clarifications for edit and field requirements.
• The Structure Fire Paper form has been modified to reflect updates.

The changes identified in the January 2006 Changes and Corrections Log and the Specification Tables will not be implemented in the live system until January 1, 2006.

The updated documents are posted in a separate section on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page so vendors may preview and prepare for the changes. A Vendor Validation Tool will be made available shortly to test flat files in accordance with the upcoming January 2006 changes. When it is released, a list message will be sent to all Active and Registered status Vendors.

This information was posted on September 30, 2005

Release of USFA NFIRS 5.0 Vendor Validation Tool Version 4.09

The USFA Vendor Validation Tool which incorporates the edits, rules and code changes identified in the July 2002 - January 2005 specification cycle, is available on the NFIRS Vendor Downloads page.

To access and download the USFA Vendor Validation Tool Version 4.09, login to the NFIRS Vendor Login page, and locate the click on the link: NFIRS Vendor Validation Tool.

The complete NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation is available on the Design Documentation page.

This notice was posted on January 26, 2005

Clarification for Vendor 4.08 Validation Tool with January 2005 Update

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:

Vendors who applied the January 2005 Update to the existing Vendor Validation Tool 4.08 to test the 2005 rules and edits will encounter a critical error involving the Basic Module's Location Type = 6 Directions.

The relational edit involving Location Type 6 Directions has not been changed for the January 2005 specification cycle. The existing rule is: If the "Directions" location type is checked then the Street Name field is not required and the "Cross Street or Directions" field is required.

A Vendor Validation Tool version 4.09 that will contain the corrected rule and encompass the rules and edits for the January 2005 cycle is planned for release this week.

This message was posted on January 24, 2005

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors: January 2005 Design Documentation

The January 2005 NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation has been posted on the Design Documentation page. This release incorporates all rule changes, system relational edits, and transaction file record layouts which had been identified since the January 2004 documentation release.

The Specification Changes and Corrections log has been updated to incorporate the January 2005 release items and is posted with the corresponding revision date.

USFA encourages vendors to review the documentation completely for changes.

This notice was posted on January 7, 2005

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
Identification of Software Versions in NFIRS 5.0 Flat Files

Several vendors have asked if it is possible to include their software's version number in the flat file. At this time, no change to support an additional field for version number is planned for NFIRS 5.0 the flat file specification.

The Software ID contained in the flat file may be used to distinguish third party software versions. If a vendor wishes to differentiate their product's version in the flat file, Active vendors may login to the NFIRS 5.0 Vendor web site and submit a registration for a new Software ID. The vendor must contact the USFA to request Active status for the new software ID.

If the vendor wishes to prevent files created by one of their product's versions from being validated by the NFIRS 5.0 National database, a request can be submitted to have the original or old Software ID "de-activated." Files containing the old Software ID will be rejected upon import to the National Database.

This notice was posted on November 30, 2004

Testing For January 2005 Edits and Rules
Using the Update for the Vendor Validation Tool 4.08

To assist Vendors who wish to test the rules and edits that will be included in the January 2005 specification release, an update that may be applied to the Vendor Validation Tool Version 4.08 has been made available on the NFIRS 5.0 Vendor Downloads Page.

The Vendor Validation Tool 4.08 must be installed on the PC to apply and run the Update. Complete information for installing the Update's files and information for testing the January 2005 Specification Release Rules and Edits is posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Vendor Downloads page, which becomes available after successful login to the Vendor Section

The changes incorporated in this update will not take effect in the NFIRS 5.0 On-line system until January 1, 2005. Documentation which outlines the changes for the January 2005 cycle is posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page, in the January 2005 Specification Cycle Preparation section.

This notice was posted on November 18, 2004

Minor Specification Documentation Correction

A minor correction has been made to January 2005 Specification Tables. The following "conversion only" code was added to the Data Dictionary:

Primary Part of Body Injured field:
code 70, Lower extremities, other (conversion only)

The Specification Changes and Corrections Log item number 274 was updated to include the reference to the conversion only code being added to the documentation.

The updated documents are posted in the January 2005 section on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page.

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:

To assist Vendors in preparing for the January 2005 Specification Cycle Release, the Specification Changes and Corrections Log (filename: Jan2005spec_changes_table.pdf) and the Specification Tables (filename: spectables_01012005.xls) have been updated to include the changes that will be implemented in the January 2005 Specification Cycle.

Some of the changes in the January 2005 Specification include:

• An additional Address Location Type to support National Grid information
• Some fields that are optional at present will become required in effort to capture more detail of fire incidents.
• A new state code for reporting Native American Tribes
• Several clarifications for edit and field requirements.

The changes identified in the January 2005 Changes and Corrections Log and Spec Tables will not be implemented in the live system until January 1, 2005.

The updated documents are posted in a separate section on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page. The Paper Forms that will be affected by the changes have been updated and posted in the January 2005 Documentation section for vendors to preview the changes. A Vendor Validation Tool will be made available shortly to test flat files in accordance with the upcoming January 2005 changes. When it is released, a list message will be sent to all Active and Registered status Vendors.

This message was posted on September 20, 2004

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors

A minor correction has been made to January 2005 Specification Tables. The following "conversion only" code was added to the Data Dictionary:

• Primary Part of Body Injured field:
  code 70, Lower extremities, other (conversion only)

The Specification Changes and Corrections Log item number 274 was updated to include the reference to the conversion only code being added to the documentation.

The updated documents are posted in the January 2005 section on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page.

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:

To assist Vendors in preparing for the January 2005 Specification Cycle Release, the Specification Changes and Corrections Log (filename: Jan2005spec_changes_table.pdf) and the Specification Tables (filename: spectables_01012005.xls) have been updated to include the changes that will be implemented in the January 2005 Specification Cycle.

Some of the changes in the January 2005 Specification include:

• An additional Address Location Type to support National Grid information
• Some fields that are optional at present will become required in effort to capture more detail of fire incidents.
• A new state code for reporting Native American Tribes
• Several clarifications for edit and field requirements.

The changes identified in the January 2005 Changes and Corrections Log and Spec Tables will not be implemented in the live system until January 1, 2005.

The updated documents are posted in a separate section on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page. The Paper Forms that will be affected by the changes have been updated and posted in the January 2005 Documentation section for vendors to preview the changes. A Vendor Validation Tool will be made available shortly to test flat files in accordance with the upcoming January 2005 changes. When it is released, a list message will be sent to all Active and Registered status Vendors.

This notice was posted on September 20, 2004

Release of USFA NFIRS 5.0 Vendor Validation Tool Version 4.08

The USFA Vendor Validation Tool which incorporates the edits, rules and code changes identifed in the July 2002 - January 2004 specification cycle, is available on the NFIRS Vendor Downloads page.

To access and download the USFA Vendor Validation Tool Version 4.08, login to the NFIRS Vendor Login page, and locate the link: NFIRS Vendor Validation Tool.

The complete NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation is available on the Design Documentation Page.

This notice was posted on January 19, 2004

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
Important Information About January 2004 Specification

An error has been reported in the recently released January 2004 NFIRS Design Documentation. Change #257 in the change log says: "Changed the Name Prefix and Name Suffix fields from Type X to Type C in the Incident Flat File Transfer format. Also changed the Name Suffix field length from 4 to 3 there."

In the Spec-Tables spreadsheets and in the Design Documentation, these changes were made to the 'Incident Persons Involved' transaction but not to the other transactions involved. In addition, these changes were not made in the Edits Requirements section as they should have been for consistency.

All 'Name Prefix' and 'Name Suffix' fields in NFIRS are coded fields with a length of 3.

The Name Prefix field exists in the Basic Incident Person/Entity Involved (1050) and Basic Incident Owner transactions (1055).

The Name Suffix field exists in these transactions:

• Basic Incident Person/Entity Involved (1050)
• Basic Incident Owner (1055)
• Civilian Casualty (1400)
• Fire Service (1500)
• FD Information Personnel transactions (2010)

The Design Documentation and spreadsheets will be updated and will reflect these corrections in the next release.

This notice was posted on January 14, 2004

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation Page Updated

The NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page has been updated for the January 2004 Specification Release. The Specification Changes and Corrections log has been updated to incorporate the January 2004 release items and is posted with the corresponding revision date.

A Vendor Validation Tool that will encompass the January 2004 edits and rules is planned for release next week. An email message will be sent and a News item will be posted to notify vendors of its availability.

This notice was posted on January 9, 2004

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
Cause Categories Methodology Matrix

There were two errors found in the Cause Category Methodology Matrix spreadsheet. The document has been corrected and posted. The following are the two corrections.

Change #1

Equipment Involved In Ignition code 600 was moved to the Priority Cause Code 15 (Appliances), Cause Code 07 (Appliances) row, which is matrix row #16. It was previously in the Priority Cause Code 13 (Air Conditioning), Cause Code 07 (Appliances) row (matrix row #14).

Change #2

Equipment Involved In Ignition code 700 was missing from the matrix. It has been added in the matrix hierarchy to the Priority Cause Code 16 (Special Equipment), Cause Code 10 (Other Equipment) row (matrix row #18).

This notice was posted on December 23, 2003

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
Cause Categories Methodology Matrix

The USFA fire cause methodology consists of using a set of hierarchical sorting rules based primarily on the Ignition Cause and Factors, Equipment Involved in Ignition, and Heat Source (plus Exposure Number) to create a hierarchical sorting of all fires into 35 priority (hierarchical) cause codes. These priority cause codes are then regrouped into 12 major cause categories plus a residual unknown-cause group. This framework has proved enormously useful to analysts over the years and is continued under NFIRS version 5.0.

Fires are assigned to a cause category based on a set of rules. Fires that do not meet the criteria are then available for cause assignment from the next rule. Anything left at the end is declared "Unknown". These hierarchical groups are then grouped together to form the 13 major cause groups that fire analysts currently use.

A table containing the new hierarchical grouping rules is available by clicking the following url: NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page.

Note: As was the cause in previous versions, these cause category groupings are intended for use with structure fires only. They will not accurately portray causes for Outside or Vehicle fires and they were not designed for that purpose.

This notice was posted on December 16, 2003

To All NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
Update to January 2004 Documentation

The January 2004 Conversion Tables and Specification Changes documents have been updated and posted to reflect the below change:

Conversions for Type Material First Ignited code 61 and 62 were not properly capturing Christmas trees when the trees were cut trees or growing trees. In order to correct this, the following two changes to the conversion table for Type Material First Ignited were made:

• If 4.1 Type Material Ignited = 61 then blank the Type Material field and set On-Site Material field #1 to 312.
• If 4.1 Type Material Ignited = 62 then blank the Type Material field and set On-Site Material field #1 to 310.

Also, Change #260 has been updated to document that the change has been postponed until the 2005 specification cycle.

The changes incorporated in this update will not take effect in the NFIRS 5.0 On-line system until January 1, 2004. Documentation which outlines the changes for the January 2004 cycle is posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page, in the January 2004 Specification Cycle Preparation section.

This notice was posted on December 9, 2003

November 21, 2003 - Correction for the Specification Tables Spreadsheet

In the January 2004 Specification Tables spreadsheet posted on November 12, 2003, an error was identified in the Wildland Federal Agency Codes.

The descriptors for the codes NCCHP and OKCHP were transposed. The correct entries for these two items should be:

NCCHP     USDI - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (Cape Hatteras NS)

OKCHP     USDI - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (Chickasaw NRA OK)

The January Specification Tables Excel file has been corrected and posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation page.

This notice was posted onNovember 21, 2003

November 12, 2003 - Additional Corrections for the Specification Tables Spreadsheet

In the January 2004 Specification Tables spreadsheet posted on November 5, 2003, the following errors have been identified:

• Item First Ignited for the Fire Module had a duplicate code 12 and a duplicate code 18 listed, each set with different descriptors. In both cases the second duplicate code and descriptor is the correct one and the first code and descriptor have been deleted.
• Factors Affecting Mitigation for the HazMat Module had an error in the descriptor for code 37, "HazMat-trained crew unavailable of delayed." It has been corrected to: "HazMat-trained crew unavailable or delayed."

For the Wildland Federal Codes, the following corrections were made:

CAKNP     USDI-National Park Service (Sequoia & Kings nyon NP) has been corrected to: Sequoia & Kings Canyon

VISRP     "Eocological" was misspelled

MSMNF     "Mississipp" was misspelled

PADWP     "Delawareter" should have been "Delaware Water"

• The heading: "Fire Supression Factors" in the Fire Module of the Data Dictionary is corrected to: "Fire Suppression Factors"
• When the errors above were corrected, some parentheses and spacing were also adjusted.

The corrected Specification Tables spreadsheet file is posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation Page.

This message was posted on November 12, 2003

November 5, 2003 - Corrected Wildland Federal Agency Codes

An error which appeared as a duplicate code was identified in the Wildland Federal Agency codes list included in the January 2004 Specification Table spreadsheet. The codes involved were:

HIPUP     USDI-NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (Puuohonua O Honaunau NHP)

HIPUP     USDI-NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (U.S.S. Arizona Memorial )

The codes above contain a typo. The two code entries should instead read:

HIPUP     USDI-NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (Puuohonua O Honaunau NHP)

HIUSP     USDI-NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (U.S.S. Arizona Memorial)

The January 2004 Specification Tables spreadsheet, which includes the complete list of Federal Agency Codes, has been corrected to include the correction noted above and is posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation Page.

This notice was posted on November 5, 2003

Corrected Wildland Federal Agency Codes and
NFIRS Paper Forms Revised for the January 2004 Cycle

Listed below are Wildland Federal Agency Codes that were identified as incorrect in the Janaury 2004 documentation. The corrected codes are as follows:

• ARNAR - change "Northeastkansas Refuges" to "Northeast Arkansas Refuges"
• Change NVV to NVSAR
• Change NCCHP to OKCHP
• Change NVFNAQ to NVFNA
• Change AKROPG to AKROP
• Change AKEAPG to AKEAP
• Change AKWEPG to AKWEP

The January 2004 Specification Tables spreadsheet, which includes the complete list of Federal Agency Codes, has been corrected to include the changes listed above and is posted on the NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation Page.

NFIRS Paper Forms for the January 2004 Cycle

The NFIRS Paper Forms have been revised for the January 2004 cycle and are posted on the Design Documentation Page in the January 2004 Specification Cycle Preparation section.

This notice was posted on October 31, 2003

Name Suffix Field Clarification in January 2004 Specification

An error has been identified in the Spreadsheet Tables posted on 09/08/2003 on the Design Documentation page in the January 2004 Documentation section.

Specifically, the corrected field length described in Change Item # 257 was inadvertantly omitted.

Change # 257 states: The Name Prefix and Name Suffix fields were both incorrectly shown in the Incident Flat File Transfer format as Type X (text) fields when they are actually Type C (coded) fields as listed in the Data Dictionary. Name Suffix was incorrectly listed as a length of 4 rather than 3.

The Excel Spreadsheet Tables have been updated to show the correct length of 3 for the Name Suffix field. The corrected file is posted on the Design Documentation page in the January 2004 Documentation section.

This notice was posted on October 2, 2003

OMB Required Changes to NFIRS Race and Ethnicity Codes

The Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs stated in its revision of "Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting" that "new standards will be used by the Bureau of the Census in the 2000 decennial census. Other Federal programs should adopt the standards as soon as possible, but not later than January 1, 2003, for use in household surveys, administrative forms and records, and other data collections."

Because of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) commitment to a set cycle of system updates, USFA has been granted an extension in order to adopt the new standard within NFIRS during the next scheduled change cycle release.

To that end, in order to comply with the new federal standard as directed by OMB, the United States Fire Administration will revise the NFIRS Race and Ethnicity fields' codes during the next specification change cycle scheduled for release on January 1, 2004. The code changes to be implemented at that time are as follows:

Race:

1 White

2 Black or African American

3 American Indian or Alaska Native

4 Asian

5 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

0 Other, Includes multi-racial U Undetermined

Ethnicity:

1 Hispanic or Latino

0 Not Hispanic or Latino

This notice was posted on April 14, 2003

Clarification for all NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:

The correct sequence for processing multiple transaction codes contained in a single file is:

1. Process the Delete transactions
2. Process the Add transactions
3. Process the Change transactions

This order was posted on this NFIRS 5.0 News page on October 23, 2001, but was not updated in the Design Documentation dated July 2002.

The Design Documentation and its supporting documents will be updated to correspond with the next NFIRS 5.0 Specification Cycle release, scheduled for January 2004.

Vendors must use the Design Documentation and related documentation posted on the Design Documentation web page, to design their software and check relational edits.

This notice was posted on April 9, 2003

New Schedule for Changes to
The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Design Specification

The United States Fire Administration's National Fire Data Center (NFDC) will be adopting a new schedule for changes to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) design specification. The current bi-annual change schedule will be modified in favor of a schedule that will allow for changes on an annual basis. The new schedule will better align with the calendar year data collection cycle adopted by most states and is a direct result of a resolution passed by the National Fire Information Council's (NFIC) general membership at their Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 21, 2002.

The resolution passed by NFIC reads as follows:

• "To recommend to the US Fire Administration a one-year cycle for any changes to the NFIRS system.

Additionally:

• The annual changes would correspond with the calendar year (would be effective on January 1 of any given year); and
• The change process would be managed so that everyone affected would have the changes prior to their effective date (to allow time for them to be incorporated into software.
• The adopted resolution also requested that the USFA implement a means to ensure that incidents that have been validated by the federal client tool would remain valid regardless of subsequent changes in the rules."

Changes to the NFIRS specifications will now be released on the first business day in September of each year with those changes taking effect on January 1. This schedule will give vendors three (3) months to make the necessary changes and distribute software updates. The next scheduled release for changes to the NFIRS specifications will be September 3, 2003. These changes will be implemented on January 1, 2004.

The NFDC will also be working to find the best technical solution to accommodate the request that incidents that have been validated by the federal client tool would remain valid regardless of subsequent changes in the rules.

This notice was posted on November 22, 2002

Assistance for NFIRS 5.0 Vendors:
Software Version Numbers: Third Party Vendors' Products

The NFIRS 5.0 Flat File specification includes a field in the 1000 record to identify the system or Data Version, 5.0, but does not include a field for Software Version in any fire department or incident transaction record. Several users and vendors have asked how this issue can be addressed to enable identification of the software version that created the transaction file.

A specification change would be required to include the software version number in a transaction record. At this time, no such change has been requested by vendors in the NFIRS community or the USFA, although a few vendors have expressed in future releases this may be a feasible change to the NFIRS 5.0 Specification.

As an alternative to changing to the flat file specification, the USFA would like to offer to third party NFIRS vendors the opportunity to post their product's current version number on the Active Vendor page to assist their clients in verifying they are using the most current version of their product. It would be the sole responsibility of the vendor to notify the NFIRS web support team or the NSC when their software's version number needs to be updated, as is the case when vendor company information needs to be updated.

Vendors who wish to participate may send an email with their company name, Active Vendor ID, Software ID and their NFIRS 5.0 reporting software's current Version number and send to the NFIRS Service Center. The Version release date of the software is optional. This information will be added to the Active Vendors Page.

This notice was posted November 20, 2002

To All State Program Managers, Vendors
and Third-Party Software Users

Add and Delete Transaction Types

The following information is provided for State Program Managers, Vendors and Third Party Software Users in reference to the processing of Add and Delete Transaction Type codes.

In a 5.0 Transaction file, each record contains an element named the Transaction Type. The Transaction Type indicates whether the incident is an Add, Change, Delete, or No Activity transaction. The Transaction Type codes are: blank for Add, 1 for Change, 2 for Delete and 3 for No Activity. The Transaction Type element is positioned in the 7th field in each record.

The October Update enables processing of files that contain both Delete and Add Transaction Types, according to the processing order below:

1. Process the Delete transactions
2. Process the Add transactions
3. Process the Change transactions

No specifications for data elements or flat file format have been changed to implement the modifications in the October Update.

Users should refer to the .log file to verify the number of incidents deleted during the import process. The .log file is found in the out folder after import of a transaction file.

Questions can be directed to the NFIRS Service Center.

This notice was posted on October 23, 2001

Vendor Software Development Procedures

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) will no longer certify vendor transaction files for the NFIRS 5.0. The USFA will instead maintain a list of fire software vendors that have registered with the USFA to obtain NFIRS 5.0 development materials and the vendor validation tool. We will also maintain vendors' readiness status' on a list based on their reports to us on their status.

The new procedure has 5 steps:

1. Vendors will register their company/organization and their software to receive a vendor ID and a software ID. This step is the same as in the previous certification procedure. All transaction files processed at the national level are required to have these two IDs embedded in the transaction file as specified in the design documentation.
2. Vendors will be requested to develop software using the NFIRS 5.0 design documentation and then test their output transaction files using the validation tool the USFA provides for those purposes. NFIRS design documentation and other information may be downloaded from the Design Documentation page. The Validation Tool can be downloaded after successful login (using the credentials entered during registration) at the NFIRS Vendor Login page.
3. Vendors are requested to notify USFA when their product development is completed and tested to be compatible with the national NFIRS 5.0 database standard.
4. Vendors who have notified USFA in step 3 above will be marked as "active" vendors on Active Vendor list. This new status will supercede the previous two status categories of ''conditionally certified" and "fully certified".
5. Fire Departments and states may use the USFA maintained list of vendors as a resource when shopping for a software product.

Because the USFA will no longer nationally certify vendor's NFIRS 5.0 transaction file formats, it will be extremely important for state agencies, fire departments and vendors to continue monitoring data quality issues.

State agencies are the authority for state reporting compliance. Issues with NFIRS vendor files should be addressed by the fire department, the vendor and the state involved. The USFA will continue to act as a resource for states to identify data problems at the national level.

Vendors should retest their software after software revisions or version changes.

In order to maintain a uniform National reporting standard:

• Fire departments should make sure they have the most current version of the vendor software installed.
• States and fire departments need to ensure that their vendor's data files remain compatible with the national system.

Vendors testing their files using the Vendor Validation Tool should review the log files that are generated by the program for validation errors and/or rejected transaction information. The files generated are:

Output file (filename.out)

Log file of exported records (filename.log)

Validation error file (filename.err)

Rejected transactions file (filename.bad)>

This notice was posted on June 28, 2001

Vendors

Fire Department Header Transactions (Record Types 2000 through 2020) and Incident File Transactions must be contained in separate files. These records can not be transmitted as part of the incident flat file.

This notice was posted on August 17, 2000

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR NFIRS 5.0 STATE PROGRAM MANAGERS

USFA NATIONAL FIRE DATA CENTER NFIRS 5.0 INFORMATION BULLETIN:

For those states that are considering using 3rd party vendor software at the state level, the following guidelines and information should be considered before purchasing a product:

No specifications are currently documented for NFIRS 5.0 state level software specifically. There are some functions beyond those contained in the USFA Data Entry Tool that should also be included in state level NFIRS 5.0 software. Beyond these functions, all states should be aware that all conversions of NFIRS 4.1 to 5.0 data MUST be done using the USFA conversion tool. States opting for 3rd party software at the state level will also, at a minimum, need to use the USFA data conversion tool at the state level if they wish to convert and merge NFIRS 4.1 and 5.0 data in a single state level database.

Some of the functions that vendor state level software should include are:

• Individual Field Security: Software should be able to configure sensitive data fields for transmission to and from the department, state and federal levels.
• State Plus One Codes: State software should be able to define and configure state level plus one codes and accept them from departments.
• State Special Studies: State software should be able to define and configure state wide special studies fields.
• State Defined Fields: State software should be able to accommodate additional state defined and collected fields.
• State Level Edits: State software should be able to define edits more rigid than the national standard that do not conflict with the NFIRS 5.0 standard edits.
• Standard File Export: State software should be able to produce a standard NFIRS 5.0 compatible transaction file containing data from all participating state departments.
• Standard Reporting: State level NFIRS reports should follow standard NFIRS incident and casualty count rules.

In addition to the above functionality, the following points should be noted and considered by state NFIRS program managers:

• NFIRS 5.0 Files sent to USFA from state vendor software are considered "released" data.
• Data contained in vendor software generated files sent to the USFA is considered "non sensitive" data.
• Using vendor state software means a state can not participate in national level special studies.
• Using vendor state software means a state can not participate in the national level use of plus one codes.

Finally, it should be noted that those using state level vendor software may opt not to include the functionality for field security, additional edits, plus one codes, special studies or state defined fields listed above without any impact at all beyond that felt at the state level.

National Fire Data Center
United States Fire Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency

This notice was posted on June 6, 2000

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR NFIRS 5.0 STATES AND FIRE SOFTWARE VENDORS:

USFA has discovered that some transactions are being sent up to states from fire departments that were converted by vendors from 4.1 to 5.0. Vendors should not send 4.1 to 5.0 converted data to the state or the federal level.

USFA has been advising vendors that they should not send converted records to the state, but instead just keep vendor converted records locally. The rule on this is for the department to send the incident (s) to the state in the format that it was originally reported. The NFIRS 4.1 to 5.0 conversion will be made at the state or the federal levels using the USFA conversion tool.

Why? The USFA software does not edit converted 4.1 to 5.0 data by 5.0 rules. When it converts records they are first edited by 4.1 rules and then converted. Also, 4.1 converted records are flagged as "converted" records by our software and treated as a special case. One reason for this is because it carries forward the 4.1 specific fields that were dropped in NFIRS 5.0. Another is that it uses the "conversion codes" for the converted 4.1 incidents only. In addition, it handles change transaction conversions in a special way.

That is why USFA is asking vendors to not send converted records up to the state or to USFA since USFA would have no way of flagging them and we would lose the 4.1 specific fields that are carried forward in the conversion. USFA asks that all vendors and states be aware of this issue. It is a potential data quality nightmare if vendors send up converted data based on their own interpretations of how it should be done.

National Fire Data Center
United States Fire Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency

This notice was posted on October 14, 1999