NERIS: A Reference Guide for Fire Departments
NERIS — the National Emergency Response Information System — replaced NFIRS in January 2026. This resource covers everything fire departments need to understand about the transition.
What Is NERIS?
NERIS — the National Emergency Response Information System — is the national standard for incident data collection and reporting for fire and emergency medical services departments in the United States. It is managed by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) in coordination with the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI). Station Draft is not affiliated with either organization.
NERIS became mandatory for all incident data submission on January 1, 2026, replacing the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), which was permanently sunset in February 2026. There is no rollback to NFIRS.
The system uses a three-schema data model — Entity, Dispatch, and Incident — with module-specific reporting requirements for Fire, EMS, HazMat, and other incident types. Each module defines a set of Minimum Essential Information fields that must be present in every incident record.
NERIS Reference Pages
What Is NERIS?
Definition, purpose, and who manages it
NERIS vs. NFIRS
How the data models compare
Incident Schema
The per-record data structure
Dispatch Schema
CAD and RMS data elements
Entity Schema
Department resources and capabilities
Minimum Essential Information
Required fields per incident
Fire Module
Fire incident-specific fields
EMS Module
Medical incident-specific fields
HazMat Module
Hazardous materials incident fields
NERIS Adoption Timeline
Mandatory dates and rollout
State Requirements
State-specific NERIS guidance
Navigating NERIS With Your Department?
Station Draft helps officers produce NERIS-aware drafts from short narratives. Draft-first, human-approved.