NFIRS Reporting Deadlines

Timeliness of reporting is critical to ensure the availability of current incident data. Fire departments should be consistently reporting incidents on a monthly basis.

  • All incidents are due and should be reported (submitted) no later than the 15th of the calendar month for incidents that occurred in the previous month.
    • January incidents are due on February 15th of each year. February incidents are due on March 15th.
  • For incidents that remain open, any necessary update shall be reported no later than the 15th of the following month after it finally closed.
    • For example: A structure fire on March 27th is then/initially deemed to be of suspicious origin. That incident shall initially be reported into the system no later than April 15th. The investigation is not concluded until May 20th and then ‘closed’. If the original report is materially altered by the findings of that investigation – requiring an “update” to the existing record, that ‘change’ shall be reported no later than June 15th.