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NFIRS: Documenting Civilian Casualties

Purpose Statement

  1. This article explains how to properly document civilian casualties within a Fire Incident Report using the People Involved section. This process is required for reporting fire-related injuries or deaths to civilians or non-FD/EMS personnel in compliance with NFIRS standards.
     

Background Information

  1. According to the NFIRS Complete Reference Guide:
  1. The Civilian Fire Casualty Module (NFIRS–4) is used to report injuries or deaths to civilians or other emergency personnel (e.g., police officers, non-fire department/EMS personnel) that are related to a fire incident. This module is used in conjunction with the Fire Module and, if applicable, the Structure Fire Module.
     

Video


 

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Navigate to the People Involved Section
 
  1. Open a Fire Incident Report.
  2. Go to the People Involved section.

     
From within a Fire Incident report navigate to the People Involved section.
2. Add a Civilian Record
  • Click the + Add button or use the dropdown to add from occupancy.
     
3.  If Adding from Occupancy
  • A list of people associated with the property will appear.
  • Select the appropriate individual(s) and click Save.
If adding from the occupancy a list of persons who are associated to that property will appear.
4. Edit the Record
  • If you added someone from occupancy, click the pencil icon in the Actions column to open the Person Involved modal.
     
If you selected someone from the occupancy list then you will need to select the pencil icon to bring up the person involved modal.
5.  Select Person Type
  • In the modal, set Person Type to Civilian, EMS Patient
  • Required Fields: When this type is selected, Age and Gender fields in the General Information section are required.
From the person involved modal select Civilian, EMS Patient.
6. Enable the Casualty Tab
  • Go to the Casualty tab.
     
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Info:

This tab is only enabled for fire-related incident types (100–199).

 
To document civilian casualties select on the Casualty tab, this will only be enabled to select for fire-related incident types 100-199.
7. Complete the Civilian Casualty Section
  • Fill out all pertinent fields.
  • Click Save to record the information.
  • Severity is a required field.
Complete the Civilian Casualty section then select Save.

Best Practices

  1. Ensure you have selected a fire-related incident type (100–199) or the Casualty tab will remain disabled.
     
  2. Always confirm that Age, Gender, and Severity are completed to meet NFIRS validation requirements.
     
  3. Use the occupancy list when possible to streamline entry of associated persons.
     
  4. Document all known casualties, including non-fire department personnel like police or bystanders, if related to the fire incident.