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Fire Zones and Response Zones Explained: How They Differ and How to Enable Them

Purpose Statement 

The purpose of this article is to guide administrators through enabling Fire Zone and Response Zone fields within First Due so these values populate correctly in Fire Reports. Enabling these fields ensures accurate geographic classification of incidents, supports reporting needs, enhances response analysis, and aligns with department mapping workflows.
 

Background Information

Fire Zones and Response Zones help agencies categorize incident locations based on geographical boundaries or operational response areas.
  • Fire Zones
    • Derived from ArcGIS polygons
    • Cannot be manually managed by local admins
    • Updated by First Due Implementation & Client Success teams
  • Response Zones
    • Can be created, edited, and managed directly in Fire Incident Setup
    • May also be populated via CAD integrations
Both fields, when enabled, appear within Fire Reports to support NFIRS compliance, operational analysis, and accurate recordkeeping.
 

Required Permissions

To perform the actions in this article, a user must have the following permissions:
  • Incident Documentation – Fire Incident Setup: Manage

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Step-by-Step Guide


1. Open the Module List
 
  1. Select the First Due logo to open your module list.
     
 
Select the First Due logo to bring up your module list
 
 
 
2. Navigate to Fire Incident Setup
 
  1. Go to Incident Documentation → Fire Incident Setup.
     
Navigate to Incident Documentation and select Fire Incident Setup.
 
 
 
3. Access the Response Section
 
  1. Inside Fire Incident Setup, open the Response section and scroll to the Location subsection.
     
From within the Fire Incident Setup select on the Response section and scroll to the Location subsection.
 
 
 
4. Enable Fire Zone and/or Response Zone Fields
 
  1. Toggle Fire Zone, Response Zone, or both to enable them.
  2. When enabled, the selected fields will appear in Fire Reports.
 
From the Location subsection choose whether to enable the Fire Zone field, Response Zone field or both.
 
 
5. View Example in a Fire Report
 
  1. Once enabled and saved, the selected zone fields will be visible within the Location section of Fire Reports.
     
Example in the Report
 
 
6. Understanding Fire Zones
 
  1. Fire Zones represent GIS-based geographical polygons supplied by ArcGIS.
  •  
    • Managed during implementation
    • Not editable by department admins
    • Auto-populate in Fire Reports based on incident location
 
Fire Zone field is used to define geographical areas (zones) for incident locations.
 
 
7. Understanding Response Zones
 
  1. Response Zones are operational areas used to designate primary response districts.
  •  
    • Created manually by admins
    • Editable in Fire Incident Setup
 
Response Zone field is also used to define geographical areas (zones) for incident locations but can be created within the Fire Incident Setup.
 
 
8. Save Your Changes
 
  1. Always select Save to apply your configuration changes.
     
Remember to always select Save when completed.
 

Best Practices

  • Confirm GIS accuracy: Ensure Fire Zone boundaries are up to date through your GIS/Mapping contact and First Due Implementation.
  • Align Response Zones with CAD: Keep response areas consistent across First Due and CAD to avoid mismatched reporting.
  • Test changes: After enabling zones, create a test Fire Report to confirm fields populate accurately.
  • Avoid duplicates: When creating Response Zones manually, ensure names and boundaries are unique.
     

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Why don’t Fire Zones appear in the picklist?
Fire Zones are GIS-based and cannot be manually created. Contact First Due Support or your Implementation Manager if the polygons need to be added or updated.
 
My Response Zone won't auto-populate — why?
Ensure:
  • The incident address falls within the zone’s mapped boundary
  • The zone is not overlapping with another zone
  • CAD is sending correct data (if CAD-populated)
 
Can I create Fire Zones myself?
No. Fire Zones must be provided via ArcGIS shapefiles and are uploaded by First Due.
 
Do I need both zones enabled?
Not necessarily. Many agencies use only Response Zones unless GIS-based Fire Zones are part of their workflow.