Purpose Statement

The Fire Service Casualty Module (NFIRS-5) enables accurate documentation of firefighter injuries, deaths, and exposures within fire incident reports. This critical feature ensures compliance with national reporting standards and provides essential data for safety analysis and trend identification.

According to the NFIRS Complete Reference Guide: "The Fire Service Casualty Module (NFIRS–5) is used to report injuries and deaths of firefighters. The module can also be used to report the exposure of a firefighter to chemicals or biological agents at an incident where that exposure does not result in any symptoms at that time but that manifest themselves at a later date."

This module integrates with any other NFIRS module and supports documentation for both department personnel and mutual aid firefighters.

Background Information

Firefighter casualty documentation is a fundamental component of incident reporting that serves multiple critical purposes:

• Safety Analysis: Provides data for identifying trends and preventing future injuries
• Compliance Requirements: Meets federal and state reporting mandates for firefighter injuries and deaths
• Workers' Compensation: Creates official documentation supporting injury claims
• Operational Review: Enables post-incident analysis and safety improvements
• Chemical/Biological Exposure Tracking: Documents exposures that may result in delayed symptoms

Common Use Cases:

• Line-of-duty injuries during fire suppression
• Medical emergencies at incident scenes
• Vehicle accidents responding to or returning from incidents
• Chemical or smoke exposure requiring medical attention
• Training-related injuries during live fire exercises
• Mutual aid firefighter casualties

Prerequisites:

• Active fire incident report in progress or available for editing
• Knowledge of casualty details and circumstances
• Access to Personnel List (for department members)
• PPE information (if applicable to the casualty)

Required Permissions

To document firefighter casualties in fire incident reports, users must have:

• Fire Incident Documentation: Permission to create and edit fire incident reports
• Size-up Section Access: Ability to access and modify the Size-up section of reports
• People Involved Management: Permission to add and edit person records within incidents
• Personnel List Access: View access to the organization's personnel roster (for importing firefighter information)

Administrators can configure these permissions in the User Management section under Settings.

Video

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Navigate to the Fire Incident List

Access your Fire Incident List from the main navigation menu or dashboard.

Step 2: Begin or Edit a Fire Report

1. Select an existing fire incident report that requires casualty documentation using the Edit Pencil or Play Button
   
2. Create a new fire incident report by selecting Add New if the appropriate incident does not appear in the Fire Incident List
   

Step 3: Navigate to People Involved

Locate and click on the "People Involved" section within the fire incident report.

Step 4: Click on Add

Click the "Add" button within the People Involved section to create a new person record.

Step 5: Select the Injured Firefighter Tile

Select the Injured Firefighter toggle to designate this person as a firefighter casualty.

Step 6: Import or Enter Firefighter Information

For Department Members:

• Click "Search Personnel" to search and select the firefighter from your Personnel List
• Demographic information will auto-populate from the personnel record

For Mutual Aid Firefighters:

• Manually enter all required demographic information including:
  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Department affiliation
  • Contact information

Step 7: Complete the EMS Section

Fill out the EMS section with patient care information. Complete all required fields marked with an asterisk (*), including Number of Patients, Patient Number, Provider Impression/Assessment, and Initial Level of Provider. Add treatments, procedures, medications, vital signs, and signatures as applicable by clicking the corresponding "Add" buttons. Document any cardiac arrest information, safety equipment used, and patient transfer details. Include a narrative description of the incident and patient care provided.

Step 8: Enter Fire Service Casualty Information

Complete the Fire Service Casualty Module (NFIRS-5) with detailed information including:

• Nature of injury/illness
• Body part affected
• Primary cause of injury
• Activity at time of injury
• Location where injury occurred
• Severity of injury
• Treatment provided

Step 9: Select Did Protective Equip Fail and/or Cont. to Injury?

If the firefighter's Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) failed or contributed to the injury at the time of the casualty, select "Yes" for the question "Did Protective Equip fail and/or cont. to injury?" to document equipment details.

Step 10: Add PPE Information

Click the "Add" button within the PPE section to document specific protective equipment. Enter all relevant PPE information including type of protective equipment worn, equipment condition, whether equipment failed or was compromised, and specific PPE items (helmet, coat, pants, gloves, SCBA, etc.).

Step 12: Click on Save

Save the firefighter casualty record to complete the documentation process.

Best Practices

Do:

• Document casualties as soon as possible after the incident while details are fresh
• Include specific, detailed descriptions of injuries and circumstances
• Verify firefighter demographic information for accuracy before saving
• Document all PPE worn, even if it functioned properly
• Complete chemical exposure documentation even if no immediate symptoms present
• Review casualty reports with officers involved in the incident for accuracy
• Use consistent terminology aligned with NFIRS standards

Don't:

• Delay casualty documentation until the entire report is complete
• Make assumptions about injury details—verify with the injured firefighter or witnesses
• Skip PPE documentation when applicable
• Use vague descriptions like "minor injury" without specific details
• Forget to document mutual aid firefighter casualties
• Leave required fields incomplete

Tips for Optimal Use:

• Keep a printed NFIRS casualty coding reference guide accessible during documentation
• Cross-reference casualty information with crew accountability records
• Document exposure incidents even without immediate symptoms for future medical reference
• Coordinate with EMS personnel who treated the firefighter for accurate medical information
• Consider taking photos of compromised PPE for training and documentation purposes

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Q: The red Maltese cross icon isn't appearing after I save the firefighter record. What should I do? A: Verify that you activated the "Injured FF" toggle before saving. If the toggle wasn't selected, edit the person record, enable the toggle, and save again.

Q: Can I document multiple casualties in the same incident? A: Yes. Repeat the process for each injured firefighter by clicking "Add" in the People Involved section and creating separate casualty records.

Q: What if the firefighter was injured responding to or returning from an incident? A: Document these casualties in the Fire Service Casualty Module and specify the activity and location details in the appropriate fields. These are still reportable firefighter casualties.

Q: How do I document a delayed chemical exposure that didn't cause immediate symptoms? A: Create the casualty record at the time of the incident and document the exposure details. Note in the narrative that symptoms were not present at the time of exposure.

Q: Should I document near-miss incidents where no injury occurred? A: The Fire Service Casualty Module is specifically for injuries, deaths, and exposures. Near-miss incidents should be documented through your department's safety reporting procedures, not in NFIRS-5.

Q: Can I import firefighter information from another department's personnel list? A: No. You can only import from your own organization's Personnel List. For mutual aid firefighters, you must manually enter their demographic information.

Q: What if PPE equipment failed or was compromised during the incident? A: Activate the PPE toggle and document all equipment details, specifically noting equipment failure or compromise in the appropriate fields. This information is critical for safety analysis.

Q: The casualty occurred during training, not an actual emergency. Should I still use this module? A: Yes. Firefighter casualties during training exercises should be documented using the Fire Service Casualty Module if the training involved live fire or other reportable activities.