Choose a source, find a department, then explore its reported records.
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Inside The Analysis
Choose a reporting source, dates and area, then explore the records that match your question.
Reporting Department uses the selected source's identity. A department's registered location is not its service boundary. Census context needs an area selection.
National figures are loaded from the current sources when Help opens.
Unusable means missing or unsuitable coordinates excluded by our mapping checks. These records remain in national totals. Passing the checks does not guarantee an accurate incident location. This is separate from the map's limit on displayed dots.
NERIS non-fire figures equal all NERIS responses minus NERIS fires in the same snapshot. The All NERIS row includes the two rows above it; do not add all three. Rates are unusable locations divided by total records, rounded to two decimal places.
NERIS includes all response types. Both Sources combines only fire records. Historical NFIRS remains NFIRS. Reporting periods and location methods differ; these counts do not establish complete reporting or unique physical incidents.
Usable locations are eligible for mapping, not independently verified incident addresses. Unlocated records have missing, too-coarse or otherwise unusable locations. We do not invent coordinates. They remain in national totals, but cannot be placed reliably inside a selected county, tract or drawn area. A usable point may also lack a county or tract assignment.
Usable locations are not the number of dots currently displayed. The map separately limits its point preview to the latest 2,000 locations for one source, or 1,000 per source when both are selected. Filters can reduce these counts further. Read the map legend for displayed and omitted locations; the full data export is not capped by this preview limit.
Reporting varies by department and year; these are reported records, not estimates of every fire. These dated figures describe location availability and do not establish complete reporting or a published ArcGIS layer.
Show/Hide Incidents and Show/Hide Table are independent controls in the top map toolbar. You can display either, both or neither. These controls do not change matching totals. Panning and zooming change the view, not the query geography.
The map shows up to 2,000 qualifying points for one source, or up to 1,000 per source when both are selected. National views do not plot all incident points. The table shows one page at a time. Reports, summaries and the full CSV use all matching records.
Response records are not necessarily unique fires. The NERIS viewer does not remove Aid Given records. The NFIRS extract excludes mutual/automatic aid-given codes 3 and 4, additional exposure records and identified annual errata. Those exclusions do not guarantee one report per physical fire, and reports may overlap across sources.
The year table separates NERIS and NFIRS. A dash (-) means no loaded coverage; 0 means no matching records within loaded coverage. A superscript asterisk (*) marks a partial calendar year. Loaded dates are not proof of complete reporting.
NERIS supports UTC or available local-time analysis. NFIRS retains recorded local dates. Both-source selections use NERIS UTC and NFIRS local dates. Their definitions and exclusions differ, and combined records are not deduplicated unique fires.
Check Source Information and Data Notes for the snapshot in this view. This local prototype may use an older NERIS snapshot than the public site. Fewer records can reflect reporting gaps or an older snapshot.
Departments uses one reporting source at a time. Search a name or source ID, choose a department, then select available years. Records, map and Create Report use the same selection. Back To Departments retains your dates and other filters. A department list contains departments with matching records; it does not measure registration or reporting completeness.
Source Information links to the separately dated NERIS Registration Reference. NERIS and NFIRS identities are not merged.
Planned: match departments across NERIS and NFIRS using verified identifiers. Until that work is complete, department names and counts remain separate by source. Similar names are not automatically merged.
The public NERIS directory includes a legacy NFIRS department-ID field. On September 25, 2026, it was filled for 4,307 of 30,728 entries (about 14%). These are field-presence counts, not verified department matches or incident coverage. Future work will validate these links and research missing ones; departments remain separate by source today.
For a Red Cross overview, use Incident Explorer → Both Sources → Fire → Residential Fires, choose your years and place, then Create Report. Residential includes one- and two-family homes, multifamily homes and other reported residential uses; it is not limited to single-family homes. The source-year table keeps NERIS and NFIRS counts separate.
Applying a residential search turns incident dots on. You can hide them afterward; saved views preserve that choice. Reports include available dots while preserving your live map controls and camera. Dots are limited to the latest 2,000 qualified locations for one source, or 1,000 per source when both are selected. When the limit is exceeded, the oldest locations are omitted first. The map states the locations included, any omitted older locations, and records without usable locations. Overlapping dots do not mean records were removed. A capped dot preview is not the full geographic distribution; area shading uses every record assigned to each area, while totals and Download Data are not limited by the dot cap.
For a department, choose one source in Departments. For detailed incident subtypes, use one source at a time; Optional Fire Type contains that source’s supported choices. Both Sources does not crosswalk native subtypes.
NERIS and NFIRS use different detailed classifications. With Both Sources selected, broad fire, residential and multifamily searches use each source’s own codes; their definitions are not identical. Select one source for its detailed fire types. Multiple incident types can be selected within one source; property use is currently a single choice. A future reviewed mapping may support additional combined filters.
Residential and Multifamily are shared broad filters that use each source’s own definition. Unknown Property Use means missing or unclassified evidence, not a building category. Single-family, manufactured-home and other-residential definitions differ, so they are available only with one source. Original source codes stay in the data.
NFIRS Residential uses reported residential property codes, including one- and two-family dwellings. NERIS uses reported residential classifications. A fire on residential property can be a vehicle, vegetation or outside fire; this selection does not mean every record is a dwelling structure fire.
Check Loaded Source Coverage and release dates in each report. A partial-year mark identifies incomplete calendar coverage; a dash means no loaded coverage, while zero means no matching records within coverage. Low counts can also reflect incomplete department reporting. Both-source totals may include overlapping reports and are not deduplicated distinct incidents.
Download Data contains every matching record. The map and on-screen table are limited previews; missing locations remain in totals where the geographic filter allows them.
Create Report opens a readable report of the completed selection, with the current map view and full filtered totals. An unfinished query must complete first.
Inside the report, Print / Save PDF opens your browser's print dialog. Download Data saves every matching record, beyond the map cap and table page. Smaller selections save as ordinary CSV; large selections use compressed CSV. Close Report returns to your map.
The page address retains your sources, dates, selected years, area, camera and independent Incidents/Table state. Local links require this prototype's local service; snapshot changes can affect reproducibility.
County means the incident's assigned county, not the responding department's home county. Chapter, region and division searches use county assignments. Spatial selections need qualifying locations; national totals retain records without county assignment. Reported coordinates are not verified incident addresses.
Census estimates describe the selected area during their published survey period. They do not change with incident dates or types. Missing measures remain unavailable, and tract median incomes are not added or averaged. A blank map is not proof that no incidents occurred.