Basic Annual Report Information NFIC Training December 2007.pptm

National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Version 5.0

Basic Annual Report Information NFIC Training December 2007.pptm

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Basic Annual Report Information from NFIRS:

A National Perspective

December 6, 2007

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.”

Annual Reports
in the Fire Service

No standard format
Captures the essence of a multi-tasking, complex operation
Varying Audiences
Each report is unique

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

Major Analysis Areas

Fires
Civilian and firefighter deaths
Civilian and firefighter injuries
Dollar loss (property loss + contents loss)

In the Beginning….

As you prepare your Annual Report:

Decide focus
Identify audience
Determine data needs
Determine appropriate analysis tools
Determine appropriate data presentation

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.)

Analytic Topics
Not Addressed Today
continued

Trend analysis – comparison of percentage change indicators
Statistical significance
Computation of Rates

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

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

Data Analysis

With the audience identified and the focus of the report established:

 Choose analysis tools
 Determine NFIRS data elements to use

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

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

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

Data Interpretation
and Presentation

Tables
Graphs

- –Appropriate scales
- –Bar
- –Histogram
- –Line
- –Pie
Source
Appropriate Titling
Proper Labeling

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

What types of fires occur?

Structure

Vehicle

Outside

Other

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)

Examples: Distribution of Fires
by General Incident Type

Graphically:

Temporal Analyses:
When Do Fires Occur?

Month/Season

Day of Week

Year

Time of Day

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

Examples: When Fires Occur

Where do fires occur?

Property Use

Area of Fire Origin

Geographic Location

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)

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

Examples: Where Fires Occur
Property Types

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

Examples: Where Fires Occur
Area of Fire Origin

Example: Where Fires Occur
Geographic Location
(Spatial Analyses)

How Much Loss Occurs?

Deaths

Injuries

Contents Loss

Property Loss

Fire Spread

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)

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

Examples: Fire Spread

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.

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

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

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)

Hierarchy Matrix

Cause Category Methodology Matrix:

http://www.nfirs.fema.gov/jsps/nfirsdownload.jsp?url=

/_download/50causematrix01012004.xls

Examples: Fire Cause

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

Summary

Decide focus
Identify audience
Determine data needs
Determine appropriate analysis tools
Determine appropriate data presentation
Write clearly, keep focused

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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