Fire Investigations Release Notes - September 2025

Fire Investigations Release Notes - September 2025

Video

Coming Soon

New Features

1. Add Incident Date & Time to Investigations
  • What - A new Incident Date & Time field has been added to the Investigations form as part of the Fire Incident Data section, complementing existing Arrival and Departure fields under Scene Information. The enhancement includes form layout reorganization with Investigation Type and Investigation Number moved below Scene Type, manual entry support with a "Now" button for current timestamp population, and integration with Import Fire Report Data tool mapping from NFIRS and NERIS systems.
  • Why - This enhancement was implemented due to customer request to capture the specific incident occurrence time separately from investigator arrival and departure times, providing complete temporal documentation for fire investigations and ensuring accurate timeline establishment for analysis and reporting purposes.
  • How - The Incident Date & Time field is automatically integrated into the enhanced Investigations form layout:
    • Incident dttm appears in Fire Incident Data section on the first line by itself
    • Second line displays Investigation Type, Investigation Number, and Incident dttm in sequential order
    • Use "Now" button to populate field with current date and time for immediate entry
    • Import Fire Report Data tool automatically maps incident time from NFIRS clients (PSAP Call alarm_date/alarm_time) and NERIS clients (Dispatch Call Created field)
    • Field appears in Print reports via form builder integration
    • Note: Field becomes read-only in Authorized state consistent with other form fields
    • Note: Manual entry support accommodates investigations initiated at different times than incident occurrence
    • Note: Integration ensures consistent data mapping across different reporting systems
  • Use Case - A fire investigator responding to a structure fire that occurred at 2:30 AM can document the actual incident time using the new Incident Date & Time field, while separately recording their arrival time at 4:15 AM and departure time at 8:45 AM in the existing Scene Information fields. When importing fire report data from their department's NFIRS system, the incident time automatically populates from the original alarm time, ensuring accurate temporal documentation that distinguishes between when the fire actually occurred versus when the investigation activities took place for comprehensive case analysis and reporting.

Enhancements

1. Add Missing Fields to Field Management
  • What - Field Management capabilities have been expanded to include previously unavailable fields from the Fire Investigation module, enabling consistent customization across Investigation Resources, Persons Involved, Analysis Evidence, and Scene Information sections. The enhancement adds configuration control for phone numbers, examination dates, property status questions, and alarm system details while maintaining existing data and field identifiers to preserve reporting integrity.
  • Why - This enhancement was implemented due to customer request to provide comprehensive field customization capabilities across all Fire Investigation module sections, eliminating inconsistencies where some fields could not be configured through Field Management and ensuring uniform administrative control over field behavior and visibility.
  • How - Enhanced Field Management now includes comprehensive field coverage across investigation sections:
    • Investigation Resources → Other Agencies Involved: configure Incident #, Phone #1, and Phone #2 fields
    • Persons Involved sections: manage Next Of Kin Phone #2 and Personal Information Phone #2 fields
    • Analysis → Evidence: control "Removed from scene by investigator", "Received by investigator from", and examination date fields in Internal Examination and Examination By Others modals
    • Scene Information → Structure Fire: customize "Was the building occupied at the time of the fire", "Were batteries in place?", and "Obstacles to extinguishment?" fields
    • Note: No data migration required as existing records retain previously entered values
    • Note: Field identifiers remain unchanged to preserve reporting functionality
    • Note: Ad Hoc reporting and print templates updated to reflect Field Management configuration
  • Use Case - A fire investigation unit can now use Field Management to mark the "Were batteries in place?" field as required for all structure fire investigations and hide the "Phone #2" fields for Other Agencies Involved if they only need primary contact information. Previously, these fields had fixed behavior that couldn't be adjusted, but now investigators can customize their forms to match departmental protocols, such as requiring building occupancy documentation for all structure fires while making evidence examination dates optional based on their specific investigation procedures.






2. Add Ability to Upload More Than 10 Files
  • What - The file upload system has been enhanced with JavaScript Dropzone library implementation to eliminate the 10-file batch limitation, enabling users to select and upload unlimited files in a single session while maintaining backend performance optimization through continued batch processing. The enhancement streamlines the attachment workflow by requiring only one "Finish Upload" action regardless of file quantity and provides clear upload status messaging during processing.
  • Why - This enhancement was implemented due to customer request to eliminate the cumbersome workflow where users had to repeatedly click "Finish Upload" when attaching more than 10 files, significantly improving user experience for investigations requiring extensive documentation with multiple evidence files, photos, and supporting documents.
  • How - Enhanced file upload functionality provides streamlined attachment management:
    • Navigate to Attachments tab and select multiple files for upload without quantity restrictions
    • Click "Finish Upload" once to initiate processing for any number of selected files
    • System displays "Attachments are being uploaded. Please wait..." message during processing
    • Files are processed in background batches of 10 to maintain performance stability
    • Add Attachment button reappears after all uploads complete, allowing additional file additions
    • Note: JavaScript Dropzone library provides enhanced upload interface and management
    • Note: Backend continues batch processing for performance optimization while frontend removes user limitations
    • Note: Single upload session accommodates unlimited files while maintaining system stability
  • Use Case - A fire investigator documenting a complex arson case with 25 evidence photos, 8 witness statements, 12 insurance documents, and 5 expert reports can now select all 50 files at once and click "Finish Upload" one time, then wait for the system to process all attachments in the background. Previously, this would have required clicking "Finish Upload" five separate times to handle the files in 10-file batches, creating workflow interruption and potential confusion about which files had been successfully uploaded during the multi-step process.







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