NFIRS Arson Module

The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) is the world's largest, national, annual database of fire incident information. It is also an all-incident reporting system, collecting data beyond fires to include the full range of fire department activity on a national scale. Fire departments may report through NFIRS electronically or by submitting paper forms.

After responding to an incident, fire department personnel complete one or more of the NFIRS "modules" or forms. The information in these modules describes the type of incident; where it occurred; the resources used to mitigate it and how; losses; and other information designed specifically to understand the nature and causes of the incident.

An indispensable tool in the war against arson is the ability to identify with precision when and where the crime takes place, what form it takes, and the characteristics of its targets and perpetrators. Armed with such information, fire service and law enforcement agencies can develop and implement arson prevention initiatives that will allow them to use their resources in the most efficient and effective manner. The NFIRS 5.0 Arson Module was developed with this goal in mind.

Arson is defined in NFIRS as: To unlawfully and intentionally damage, or attempt to damage, any real or personal property by fire or incendiary device.

This optional Arson Module may be used whenever the Cause of Ignition is coded as Intentional or as Cause Under Investigation without any distinction made as to whether or not a crime has occurred or a determination of criminal intent. The Arson Module may also be used when the fire is coded as Cause Undetermined After Investigation.

The Arson Module may also be used to document juvenile-set fires, whether determined to be intentional, unintentional, or under investigation. This information will permit analysis of juvenile firesetting trends, including intervention strategies and recidivism.

Juvenile-set fires are defined to be those fires where the person involved in the ignition is under the age of 18.

The Arson Module consists of two parts: a local investigation module that permits a fire department or arson investigation unit to document certain details concerning the incident; and a juvenile firesetter section that identifies key items of information that could be used for local, state, and national intervention programs.

Many arson investigation units use an arson information management system to collect and compile information on arson incidents. This module is not intended to replace such systems; instead, it identifies those data elements that could be exported to NFIRS and included as an integral part of the U.S. Fire Administration National Fire Database and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), Arson and Explosives National Repository.

For more information on NFIRS and the Arson Module, please visit the NFIRS Web site.