Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Reporting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State fire marshal to adopt federal NERIS reporting and require immediate fatality notice
Summary
The State Fire Marshal told the committee Kansas will move from NFIRS to the federal NERIS reporting system and adopt immediate reporting for fire deaths; the office reported roughly 68,000 incidents entered so far from 313 departments and estimated about $2,500 in local man-hours for onboarding per local government unit.
Mark Engholm, Kansas State Fire Marshal, told the committee the state is adopting the National Emergency Reporting Information System (NERIS) to replace the older NFIRS platform and is updating regulations to reflect that change. "They were creating a new system called the National Emergency Reporting Information System or NERIS," Engholm said, noting the federal system provides improved analytical tools and is free to departments. He said more than 68,000 incidents from 313 departments have been entered in Kansas so far.
Engholm also explained an amendment requiring immediate reporting of suspected fire deaths to the State Fire Marshal's office (rather than a 72-hour window) so investigators can respond while evidence is fresh. In response to cost questions from Representative Wasser, Engholm estimated local-government costs would be largely personnel time for data entry (roughly $2,500 in man-hours per local unit for onboarding) rather than license fees for the reporting system itself.
