You Submit Your NERIS Data… Now What?
October 20, 2025 by Kate Nadolski
When a firefighter hits ‘submit’ on a NERIS report, that simple action is a tiny piece of a bigger puzzle, aimed at shaping safer and stronger communities across the country. You’ve probably heard the latest buzz about the transition from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) to the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS).
Most of the focus right now is on how agencies can streamline this process and make compliance reporting as easy as possible, but have you ever wondered exactly what happens after you hit submit?
Where Does the NERIS Data go?
When a firefighter finishes their incident report and officially submits it, that data goes directly into a secure online system managed by the U.S. Fire Administration. These reports are safely stored in the cloud, utilizing advanced encryption and data standards determined by the federal government. Each fire department remains in ownership of its own reports, allowing the details to be accessible when needed, but only to authorized users within the department.
Following the submission, NERIS organizes and stores the reports so the data can be shared and analyzed at various levels. The individual fire department who entered the report has access to see all details recorded, but others such as state fire marshals, researchers, or federal agencies can only view summaries or versions of the report with all personal details removed.
This occurs to maintain privacy while still giving public safety and government leaders a big-picture view of what’s happening across the nation in the realm of fire and EMS emergencies. In turn, allowing them to collect actionable insights and make suggestions and changes based on trends that are identified. Agencies can also use this data to support mapping, research, and emergency planning efforts.
How NERIS Delivers Lessons Learned
While every emergency call tells a story, collecting NERIS data and turning it into actionable insights ensures that first responders learn from it. The consistent stream of information being collected and submitted across the country has a monumental impact on communities, big and small.
Local fire departments can use data to identify trends, like specific areas that are more susceptible to fires or what types of emergencies are increasing. These insights can then be used to gear things like training efforts and response plans towards combatting the pain points the data has exposed.
From a state and national level, public safety leaders can work to identify broader safety issues across the board, allocate funding more efficiently, and even shape policies that make both first responders and the community safer.
NERIS is the system that transforms data into actionable insights, which can protect lives and property, strengthen preparedness, and continue to make communities more resilient.