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Planned station-ID return in FEMs will break some Power Query spreadsheets; users urge delayed rollout

Interagency NFDRS/FEMs Transition Webinar · August 12, 2025

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Summary

Presenters said FEMs will add station IDs to metadata and CSV downloads; participants warned existing Excel Power Query headers and queries will break and asked for delayed release, staging URLs, and clear communication about timing.

Officials running the FEMs transition explained they will restore station IDs in station metadata and CSV downloads so users can search by station. The presenter said the station ID is a FEMs-generated identifier and "is not representative of any" systemic mapping to county or legacy WIMS IDs.

Participants responded that adding station IDs to CSV headers will change column headers and break many existing Power Query spreadsheets. "It will break everyone's queries in Excel," one participant warned, urging the team to delay implementation or provide a staging URL so units can update their spreadsheets in advance.

The presenter said the development team could delay or stage the rollout; they discussed possible target windows (early September, mid-September, November/December) and agreed to continue the conversation next week. The team also said a forthcoming change to the copy-data-link will point to a read-only database to allow larger pulls (presenter cited tests up to 50 stations, with practical limits near 10 stations for faster performance).

The presenter committed to notify units when a release date is set and to explore sending the query URL in advance so teams can prepare spreadsheets and queries that will work when the production change is made.