NFIRS to NERIS: A New Era of Data for America's Fire Service

Edward Parham writes in FASNY, 'From NFIRS to NERIS: A new Era of Data for America's fire service.' It further elaborates, ' 

Fifty-two years ago, the America Burning report by the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control changed the fire service industry by showing
how important data is for solving fire problems in America.

The report mentioned the word “data” more than 50 times, making a strong case for using information to improve fire safety in the future.

This month, as we celebrate the launch of the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) fire service platform, that message is more important than ever. NERIS is not just a tool; it helps local fire departments turn data into useful insights that support better decisions and improve community safety — one incident report at a time.

In a recent interview, Chief Tom Jenkins, Senior Advisor and Research Manager at the Fire Safety Research Institute, part of UL Research Institutes, and a leader of the NERIS project, explained how the all-hazards platform is designed to give the fire and emergency service community the data and tools they need to make better decisions and be more prepared for incidents.'