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Nebraska State Fire Marshal

Scott Cordes, State Fire Marshal

Reporting Requirements

Why do I have to report? 

It is mandated by State Statute 81-506 that all fires be reported to this office. Because fire departments now do more than extinguish fires and our reporting system is designed to collect additional data on other incident types, we are requesting departments submit a report on all incidents which they respond – haz mat, EMS, false alarms, etc.

 

How do I report?

Departments may purchase compatible vendor software, use the Federal Data Entry Tool software, or send in paper forms if they do not have a computer or access to a computer with an Internet connection. The current version of the reporting system used in the state is NFIRS 5.0. Effective January 1, 2004 only NFIRS 5.0 reports are accepted.

 

Are paper reports still accepted in NFIRS 5.0 or do I have to use a computer? 

Yes, we will still accept paper reports provided they are on the forms provided by this office. The master forms may also be downloaded from this website. If your department is using software, data must be submitted electronically either by attaching the file to an email or copying the file to a floppy disk or CD. We will not accept paper reports printed from software. We have written instructions to help export data from the three most commonly used vendor software programs.

 

How often must I send in reports?

State Statute 81-506 states a report will be submitted to this office within seven days of the fire. We realize that is no longer practical especially for departments using software. Therefore, we ask that data be submitted at least quarterly but preferably monthly (especially for larger departments). If no runs were made during a month, a “No Activity” report should be submitted.