Basic Annual Report Information from NFIRS:
A National Perspective
December 6, 2007
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What is an
Annual Report?
“A document that summarizes the results of operations and financial status of a company for the past year and outlines plans for the future.”
“A report card.”
“An annual performance review, without a raise.”
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Annual Reports
in the Fire Service
No standard format
Captures the essence of a multi-tasking, complex operation
Varying Audiences
Each report is unique
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National vs Local
Perspective
Annual Report (Fire in the United States) at the National level:
–Presents overview of the size and scope of the U.S. fire problem and its components
–Provides detailed information on the components
–Seeks to mitigate the fire problem by understanding it
The overall USFA format may not apply, but the components of the report are useful for other Annual Reports
Commonalities in analysis and presentation
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Major Analysis Areas
Fires
Civilian and firefighter deaths
Civilian and firefighter injuries
Dollar loss (property loss + contents loss)
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In the Beginning….
As you prepare your Annual Report:
Decide focus
Identify audience
Determine data needs
Determine appropriate analysis tools
Determine appropriate data presentation
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Data Topics
Not Addressed Today
Non-NFIRS related data:
–Outreach (public education and other)
–Data on inspections
–Arson and arson investigations
NFIRS related data:
–Overall run distributions; fires only
(which excludes mutual aid)
–Dollar loss (missing values)
–Multiple entry data elements (e.g., human factors contributing to ignition, etc.)
–Complex analytic issues
(e.g., combining data from multiple elements, etc.)
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Analytic Topics
Not Addressed Today
continued
Trend analysis – comparison of percentage change indicators
Statistical significance
Computation of Rates
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Topics to Consider
NFIRS “unknown” codes (U, UU, UUU) and missing data (blanks or null values)
Data interpretation and presentation – is it more effective to present the data in a graph or table?
Confined fires
Mutual aid
NFIRS version 5.0 vs. 4.1
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What is it that we
want to know?
For the fire portion of a typical Annual Report:
–Types of fires
–When fires occur
–Where fires occur
–How much loss
–Cause of fire
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Data Analysis
With the audience identified and the focus of the report established:
Choose analysis tools
Determine NFIRS data elements to use
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Analysis Tools
Software (e.g., Excel, SAS, SQL Server)
NFIRS 5.0 Complete Reference Guide: http://www.nfirs.fema.gov/documentation/reference/
NFIRS Training Courses: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/nfirs/training/index.shtm
Fire Data Analysis Handbook, Second Edition, January 2004: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/
fa-266.pdf
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NFIRS Training Courses:
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/nfirs/training/index.shtm
Fire Data Analysis Handbook, Second Edition, January 2004:
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/
fa-266.pdf
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Determine Which NFIRS
Data Elements to Use
Data element(s) appropriate for the information presented
Decide which specific NFIRS codes apply
If NFIRS 4.1 is used, be aware of the differences from NFIRS 5.0
Exclude mutual aid incidents (i.e., where AID ≠ 3
and AID ≠ 4) to avoid double counting fires
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Data Interpretation
and Presentation
Tables
Graphs
–Appropriate scales
–Bar
–Histogram
–Line
–Pie
Source
Appropriate Titling
Proper Labeling
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How to Define
Fire Using NFIRS
From the NFIRS basic module
–Version = 5.0
–Exclude mutual aid incidents
(i.e., where AID ≠ 3 and AID ≠ 4)
–Incident type (INC_TYPE) 100, 111-173
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What types of fires occur?
Structure
Vehicle
Outside
Other
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How to Define
Types of Fires Using NFIRS
General incident types
–Structures
○Incident type: 111-123
–Vehicles
○Incident type: 130-139
–Outside
○Incident type: 140-162, 164-173 (note, excludes 163)
–Other
○Incident type: 100-109, 163 (outside gas/vapor combustion/explosion)
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Examples: Distribution of Fires
by General Incident Type
Graphically:
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Temporal Analyses:
When Do Fires Occur?
Month/Season
Day of Week
Year
Time of Day
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How to Define
When Fires Occur Using NFIRS
From the NFIRS basic module
–Version = 5.0
–Exclude mutual aid incidents
(i.e., where AID ≠ 3 and AID ≠ 4)
–Define fires (based on INC_TYPE)
–Incident date (INC_DATE)
–Alarm time (ALARM)
Month: Characters 1-2 of the incident date field
Day: Characters 3-4 of the incident date field
Year: Characters 5-8 of the incident date field
Time: Characters 9-12 of the alarm time field
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Examples: When Fires Occur
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Where do fires occur?
Property Use
Area of Fire Origin
Geographic Location
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How to Define
Where Fires Occur Using NFIRS
From the NFIRS basic module
–Version = 5.0
–Exclude mutual aid incidents
(i.e., where AID ≠ 3 and AID ≠ 4)
–Define fires (based on INC_TYPE)
–Property use (PROP_USE)
–State (STATE)
From the NFIRS header module
–County (FD_FIP_CTY)
From the NFIRS fire module
–Area of fire origin (AREA_ORIG)
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Property Use
Assembly
–PROP_USE: 100-199
Educational
–PROP_USE: 200-299
Health Care, Detention and Correction
–PROP_USE: 300-399
Residential
–PROP_USE: 400-499
Mercantile, Business
–PROP_USE: 500-599
Industry
–PROP_USE: 600-699
Manufacturing
–PROP_USE: 700
Storage
–PROP_USE: 800-899
Outside or Special Property
–PROP_USE: 900-999
Property Use, Other
–PROP_USE: 000
None
–PROP_USE: NNN
Undetermined
–PROP_USE: UUU
Null or Missing Values
–PROP_USE: blank
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Examples: Where Fires Occur
Property Types
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Area of Fire Origin
Means of Egress
–AREA_ORIG: 01-09
Assembly or Sales Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 10-17
Function Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 20-28
Technical Processing Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 30-38
Storage Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 40-47
Service Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 50-58
Service or Equipment Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 60-68
Structural Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 70-78
Transportation, Vehicle Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 80-86
Outside Areas
–AREA_ORIG: 90-98
Area of Fire Origin, Other
–AREA_ORIG: 00
Undetermined
–AREA_ORIG: UU
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Examples: Where Fires Occur
Area of Fire Origin
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Example: Where Fires Occur
Geographic Location
(Spatial Analyses)
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How Much Loss Occurs?
Deaths
Injuries
Contents Loss
Property Loss
Fire Spread
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How to Define
Losses Using NFIRS
From the NFIRS basic module
–Version = 5.0
–Exclude mutual aid incidents
(i.e., where AID ≠ 3 and AID ≠ 4)
–Define fires (based on INC_TYPE)
–Deaths (OTH_DEATH)
–Injuries (OTH_INJ)
–Total dollar loss = Contents loss (CONT_LOSS) + Property loss (PROP_LOSS)
From the NFIRS structure fire module
–Fire Spread (FIRE_SPRD)
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Fire Spread and
Confined Fires
Confined fires, by definition, are confined to the object of origin (FIRE_SPRD=1)
–Confined Fires = INC_TYPE 113 to 118
Abbreviated reporting may limit the number of confined fires with fire spread entries
Confined fires with no (or NULL) fire spread entries then need to be counted in with FIRE_SPRD=1
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Examples: Fire Spread
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What causes the fire?
At USFA, fire cause for structures is determined by information gathered from several data fields from different NFIRS modules.
Cause is mutually exclusive – one and only one cause is assigned to each incident
The cause hierarchy is designed for structure fires, but currently is applied to all fires.
Separate cause hierarchies are under development for vehicles and outside/other fires.
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How to Define
Cause Using NFIRS
Option: Implement USFA cause methodology
Option: Cause-related fields from the NFIRS fire module
–Cause of ignition (CAUSE_IGN)
–Equipment involved in ignition (EQUIP_INV)
–Factors contributing to ignition (FACT_IGN_1, FACT_IGN_2)
–Human factors contributing to ignition
(HUM_FACT1, … , HUM_FACT8)
–Heat source (HEAT_SOURC)
None of these NFIRS variables individually defines fire cause
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The NFIRS Cause
Methodology
Cause is a complex chain of events
Hierarchy of definitions
–Assign fire to highest category – if it does not fit in the top category, then consider the second; if not that one, then the third, etc.
Three level process
–Priority cause – Initial hierarchy, 34 categories
–Cause – 34 priority groupings condensed into 16 major groups.
–General Cause – 16 causes condensed into 7 general causes
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Cause Hierarchy
Components
Primary Variables Used
–Cause of ignition (CAUSE_IGN)
–Equipment involved in ignition (EQUIP_INV)
–Factors contributing to ignition (FACT_IGN_1, FACT_IGN_2)
–Heat source (HEAT_SOURC)
–Human factors contributing to ignition
(HUM_FACT1, … , HUM_FACT8)
–Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG)
Secondary Variables
–Age, Equipment power source (EQ_POWER), Mobile property involved (MOB_INVOL)
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Hierarchy Matrix
Cause Category Methodology Matrix:
http://www.nfirs.fema.gov/jsps/nfirsdownload.jsp?url=
/_download/50causematrix01012004.xls
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Examples: Fire Cause
53
53
54
54
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A Last Word:
NFIRS Unknown Values
and Missing Data
Unreported data
Data reported as “unknown” or “undetermined”
Adjusting for unknown data – adjusted percentages computed using only those incidents for which data were provided
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Summary
Decide focus
Identify audience
Determine data needs
Determine appropriate analysis tools
Determine appropriate data presentation
Write clearly, keep focused
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Contact Information
Patricia Frazier, Director
Center for Data Analysis and Special Studies
TriData, a Division of
System Planning Corporation
(703) 351-8300
pfrazier@sysplan.com
www.sysplan.com
Gayle Kelch,
Statistician
National Fire Data Center
U.S. Fire Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Department of Homeland Security
(301) 447-1154
gayle.kelch@dhs.gov
www.usfa.fema.gov
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