The U.S. Fire Administration has released the new E-NFIRS. It is now available for users to begin (or continue) entering incidents manually. Users who are using a third party vendor software can now use the Bulk Import Utility. If you have any questions, please contact the NFIRS Support Center. NFIRS Support Center (888) 382-3827 FEMA-NFIRSHELP@fema.dhs.gov Below you will find the following information. VFIRS Account Reset                     E-NFIRS Username and Password Requirements                     Additional NFIRS Accounts                    Report Incidents Using NFIRS Systems                     Incident Data Submissions Using Vendor Software                    No Activity Reporting                    Running NFIRS Web-Based Reports                    Additional Assistance VFIRS Account Reset NFIRS accounts go inactive every 90 days and users can get locked out if they mistype or forget their password. Also, users can be locked out of their account if they try to change their password to a password that is not acceptable to the NFIRS password requirements. If you need your account reset, please utilize the forgot password link or the forgot username link. New passwords must not be the same as the previous eight (8) passwords. If you need further assistance, please use the VFIRS Account Reset form at the following link: VFIRS Account Reset Form VFIRS Account Reset Form E-NFIRS Username and Password Requirements Username Requirements: Must be between 7 and 14 alphanumeric characters Cannot contain the following special characters apostrophe (‘), quote (“), space ( ), or pound sign (#) E-NFIRS Password Requirements: Must be between 8 and 14 alphanumeric characters Contain at least one number Contain at least one special character Contain a combination of alphabetic, numeric, AND special characters Cannot contain the following special characters apostrophe (‘), quote (“), space ( ), or pound sign (#) Cannot start with a number Special characters allowed: ~ ! $ % * ( ) – _ = + [ ] ; : . < > *Password must be changed every 90 days and are case-sensitive. Additional NFIRS Accounts To add additional NFIRS accounts in the system for members of your fire department, please fill out the self-registration form. New user accounts will be processed within 24 to 48 hours. Once approved each member will be sent a confirmation email with their account information. Report Incidents Using E-NFIRS System To report your incidents to NFIRS, you will use E-NFIRS on the NFIRS website. Here are the steps for accessing the wed based program. To report your incidents using the NFIRS website, go to https://nfirs.fema.gov/NFIRSWeb/login. Login using your NFIRS account information If prompted, select which profile you want to use. On the left, click on ‘Incidents’. Click on ‘Create Incident’ to add an incident for your fire department. Red asterisk(*)indicates a field is required. Incident Data Submissions Using Vendor Software If your fire department is using vendor software such as Firehouse or ImageTrend to enter your incidents, you need to send VDFP a data file so that our staff can manually import your incidents into the national NFIRS database. Reports are due on the 15 th of every month for the month prior. Export all of your incidents from your system to a data file and then email the file to vfirsreports@vdfp.virginia.gov. After your file has been imported, you will receive a validation summary report back by email. No Activity Reporting When you have no incidents for a month, you still need to report to NFIRS. To report that you have no incidents, go into the NFIRS reporting system and start a new incident. For the incident date, enter the last day of the month for the month with no calls, ex. 1/31/2014, for Jan 2014. For the incident number, enter ‘0000000’. Then, check the box for no activity. Then, click on ‘OK’ and then click on ‘Save’ to save the incident. Incident date: 1/31/2014 (for ex. Jan 2014) Incident number: 0000000 Check box for No Activity Running NFIRS Web-Based Reports To access the web-based reports website, go to E-NFIRS. When prompted select your profile. On the right, click on ‘Software”, Then click on “Summary Output Reports Tool (SORT)”. You should see a list of reports that you can run on the page. The  ‘Summary by Incident Type’ report is a good report to run. It provides a breakout of calls by incident type, as well as, total fire dollar loss and the number of civilian and fire service casualties. The ‘Residential Structure Fire Causes’ report is another good report to run that shows fire cause information. Click on a report title to run a report. Enter a date range for the report. Enter dates in the date range fields such as 01/01/2019 for the From Date, and 12/31/2019 for the To Date. There is a calendar dropdown menu that you can also use to select the dates. For the dropdown boxes, select ‘All’ for Incident Status, ‘All’ for Version, and ‘All’ for Release Status. This ensures that you are getting all of your incidents in the report. In the ‘FDID Selection’ window, click the folder next to NFIRS – NFDC, then the folder next to Virginia, and then continue to expand out to your division, locality, and fire department. Click the box next to your fire department to select. You should see a check in the box. Then click the ‘Generate Report’ button at the bottom of the page to submit the report to run on the server. On the top left of the page, click on ‘My Recent Reports’. Your report should be listed on the page. The status for the report will show ‘In Progress’. Keep clicking on ‘My Recent Reports’ to refresh the page. Once your report is finished, the status will show ‘Completed’. The time that it takes to run a report varies based on the total number of reports being requested. To view and save your report, click on one of the available report formats; PDF, Excel, Word, or HTML to download. PDF is the best format to select. When prompted ‘Do you want to open or save this file?’, select ‘Save’. Change the ‘Save In’ location to your Desktop and enter a filename for the report. Then, click ‘Save’. When the download is complete, click ‘Close’. Locate the file on your Desktop to open. You now have a file that you can print and save for future reference. The first page is a cover page that shows the criteria that you entered for the report. The second page shows the actual report. For the ‘Summary by Incident Type’ report, the frequency column shows the number of incidents. If you add the numbers for frequency, mutual aid given and exposures, you will get the grand total number of emergency responses handled by your department or locality. Click on ‘Available Reports’ at the top left of the webpage to go back to the list of available reports if you want to run another report. Additional Assistance If you need any additional assistance, please contact VDFP (toll-free) at 1-866-4VAFIRE (866-482-3473).

National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) U. S. Fire Administration USFA Fire Statistics USFA Firefighter Fatalities National Fire Department Census Database NFPA Research NFIC – The National Fire Information Council Below are reference materials to aid your fire department with reporting your incidents to VFIRS. NFIRS Guides/Manuals NFIRS Complete Reference Guide NFIRS Coding Q & A NFIRS Incident Field Notes NFIRS Design Documentation NFIRS Federal Client Tool Users Guides NFIRS Configuration Tool Users Guide NFIRS Data Entry / Validation Tool Users Guide NFIRS System Administration Tool Users Guide NFIRS Web-Based Reports Summary Output Reports Tool Dollar Loss Estimation Building Valuation Data

2008 Virginia Fire Service Needs Assessment Needs Assessment Results View or print the document (in pdf format) on-line. Virginia-Fire-Service-Needs-Assessment-2008 2007 Virginia Fire Service Needs Assessment Needs Assessment Results View or print the document (in pdf format) on-line. Virginia Fire Service Needs Assessment 2007 2006 Virginia Fire Service Needs Assessment Virginia Fire Service Needs Assessment Results View or print the document (in pdf format) on-line. Virginia Fire Service Needs Assessment 2006

The Fire Service Needs Assessment is an annual survey conducted by the Virginia Department of Fire Programs.   Fire departments complete a survey questionnaire designed to identify the needs of Virginia’s Fire Service.  Results are then compiled and published in a comprehensive report available each year in January in time for the General Assembly. 2014 Needs Assessment 2013 Needs Assessment 2012 Needs Assessment 2011 Needs Assessment 2010 Needs Assessment 2009 Needs Assessment

Virginia Fire Incident Reporting System (VFIRS) The Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP) manages the reporting of incidents to the Virginia Fire Incident Reporting System (VFIRS). VFIRS is the statewide system for tracking all emergency responses with fire departments in Virginia. Any time fire department resources (personnel/apparatus) leave the station to respond to an incident, then the call should be reported. By reporting their incidents to VFIRS, fire departments document the details of their incidents for legal purposes and also document the overall activity with their fire department. Once incidents are reported, then summary statistical reports can be produced for use at their fire department. By reporting their incidents, fire departments get credit for all of the emergency responses that they handle in their area and also help show the value of their public service to their community. VFIRS is an all-type incident reporting system. Fire departments should be reporting all their emergency responses to VFIRS. All types of calls such as fires, EMS, rescue, hazmat, etc. should be reported to reflect all incidents being handled. Participation in VFIRS is essential, since important decisions, such as decisions with grant funding, are made at the fire department, local, state and federal levels using the incident data reported to the system. Incident reports submitted to VFIRS are released to the national level to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). That information is available when making important decisions that may impact grant funding. When you apply for federal grants, the NFIRS database is reviewed. If there is no information available for your department, then they have no data to support a decision. By using and analyzing the incident data, information on the frequency of call types, the causes of fires, the amount of loss from fires can easily be identified to help develop appropriate fire prevention plans, to essentially help “Fight Fires with Facts”.

Contact Information Main VDFP Headquarters 1001 Technology Park Drive Glen Allen, Virginia 23059-4500 Telephone: 804.371.0220 Agency Duty Officer Telephone: 804-612-7273 In the event of a fire, medical, or police emergency dial 911. Get Driving Directions:

Virginia’s current performance management system is comprised of four, linked processes: strategic planning, performance measurement, program evaluation, and performance budgeting. Because the processes are designed to work together to manage the performance of state government, this system is referred to as the Virginia’s “performance management” system. Additional information on Virginia’s performance management system can be found on the Department of Planning and Budget’s website. Under Virginia’s performance management system, Strategic Planning is defined as a systematic clarification and documentation of what an organization wishes to achieve and how to achieve it. Over the last several years, building the Virginia Department of Fire Programs’ (VDFP) Strategic Plan has been a multi-faceted process and our goal each year is to create a living document to serve as our guide for each biennium. Our plan is continuously reviewed and updated to ensure we are staying up-to-date with our internal and external customers’ needs. You can also access the Agency’s Strategic plans using the Virginia Performs – Department of Fire Programs (960) link. 2018-2020 Strategic Plan 2016-2018 Strategic Plan 2014-2016 Strategic Plan 2012-2014 Strategic Plan  2010-2012 Strategic Plan  2008-2010 Strategic Plan 2007 Strategic Plan and Service Area Strategic Plan Agency Plan Master Fire Service Management Coordination Service Area Plans Virginia Fire Service Research Fire Service Training and Professional Development Technical Assistance and Consultation Services Emergency Operational Response Services Public Fire and Life Safety Education Services Fire Programs Fund Distribution Burn Building Grants Categorical Grants  

Public Affairs The VDFP Marketing and Communications Office is responsible for effectively communicating fire and emergency services information to the general population, members of the fire and emergency services community, the media and local governments in a timely, accurate and consistent manner. Keeping the public informed is a critical component of fire prevention. Through news releases, public service announcements and radio and television interviews, the Public Affairs Office ensures that the latest information is released to the appropriate target audience. As an additional responsibility of this office, VDFP produces a variety of informational pieces in an attempt to keep citizens informed as to operations and available programs and services. These include regular newsletters, brochures, annual report, and course catalog, among other informational outlets. Click here to access our publication library. If you are a media representative, please contact: Will Merritt Marketing & Communications Manager