NFIRS Codes Cheat Sheet
Incident Type Codes
Code # | Fire |
---|---|
111 | Structure Fire – Building Fire Note : excludes confined Fires |
131 | Vehicle Fire – eg. Passenger Vehicles, but not a motorhome |
113 | Cooking Fire – Confined To Container, no extension |
114 | Chimney or Flue Fire – Confined To what holding equipment, no extension |
121 | Fire In Mobile Home – Used As Fixed Residence, eg. fixed motorhome |
651 | Smoke Scare, Odor Of Smoke – excludes gas, and not smoke chases(652) |
141 | Wildland Fire – Forest, Woods or Wildland Fire |
142 | Brush or Brush-and-Grass Mixture Fire |
143 | Grass Fire |
561 | Unauthorized Burning – includes under control / not endangering property but NOT campfires |
652 | Steam, Vapor, Fog or Dust Thought To Be Smoke – not Smoke Scare(651) |
Code # | NOTHING DOING |
---|---|
611 | Dispatched & Cancelled En Route |
622 | Unable to locate (UTL) |
Code # | MEDICAL / RESCUE |
---|---|
321 | EMS Call, excluding Vehicle Accident With Injury |
322 | Motor Vehicle Accident With Injuries |
324 | Motor Vehicle Accident With No Injuries. |
424 | Carbon Monoxide Incident |
352 | Extrication Of Victim(s) from Vehicle |
Code # | SEARCH / RESCUE |
---|---|
341 | Search For Person On Land |
342 | Search For Person In Water |
Code # | MISCELLANEOUS |
---|---|
444 | Power Line Down |
331 | Lock-in note: If locked out use Lock-out (511). |
362 | Ice Rescue |
More Incident Type Codes …
Volunteer Fire Departments typically run these incident types, but if not listed here view the list of all Incident Types:
Canceled / UTL :
Code # | |
---|---|
611 | Canceled En Route – Dispatched and canceled en route. Incident cleared or canceled prior to arrival of the responding unit. If a unit arrives on the scene, fill out the applicable code. Coding a canceled |
622 | Unable to Locate (UTL) – No Incident Found On Arrival At Dispatch Address. Coding a UTL |
Fire – Structure, Indoor, etc. :
Code # | |
---|---|
111 | Structure Fire – Building fire. Excludes confined (to container, e.g. cooking pan/chimney) fires. |
131 | Vehicle Fire – Passenger vehicle fire. Includes any motorized passenger vehicle, other than a motor home. (e.g. pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, buses). |
113 | Cooking Fire, Confined To Container – without fire extension beyond the cooking container/vessel. |
114 | Chimney or Flue Fire, Confined To Chimney or Flue – Excludes fires that extend beyond the chimney (111 or 112). |
121 | Fire In Mobile Home Used As Fixed Residence e.g. a motor home used as a residence. |
651 | Smoke Scare – Smoke scare, odor of smoke, not steam (652). Excludes gas scares or odors of gas (671). Note: Not a “smoke chase”. How to code a Smoke Report (Smoke Chase) |
Outdoor Fire & Smoke:
Code # | |
---|---|
141 | Wildland Fire – Forest, woods, or wildland fire. Includes fires involving vegetative fuels, other than prescribed fire (632), that occur in an area in which development is essentially nonexistent, except for roads, railroads, power lines, and the like. Also includes forests managed for lumber production and fires involving elevated fuels such as tree branches and crowns. Excludes areas in cultivation for agricultural purposes such as tree farms or crops (17x series). |
142 | Brush Fire – Brush or brush-and-grass mixture fire. Includes ground fuels lying on or immediately above the ground such as duff, roots, dead leaves, fine dead wood, and downed logs. |
143 | Grass Fire – Grass fire. Includes fire confined to area characterized by grass ground cover, with little or no involvement of other ground fuels; otherwise, see 142. |
561 | Unauthorized burning – Unauthorized burning. Includes fires that are under control and not endangering property, but note … does NOT include illegal/unattended campfires. |
652 | Smoke Report – How to code a Smoke Report (Smoke Chase) |
Medical & MVA:
Code # | |
---|---|
321 | Medical Call – pretty much used for Emergency Management Service (EMS) call. Includes calls when the patient refuses treatment. Note: Excludes vehicle accident (MVAs) with injury and pedestrian struck. See next. |
322 | Motor Vehicle Accident with Injuries – Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) with injuries. Includes collision with other vehicle, fixed objects, or loss of control resulting in leaving the roadway. |
324 | Motor Vehicle Accident no Injuries – Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) with no injuries. |
424 | Carbon Monoxide Incident – CO incident. |
352 | Extrication Of Victim(s) from Vehicle. Includes rescues from vehicles hanging off a bridge or cliff. |
Search and Rescue (SAR):
Code # | |
---|---|
341 | Search For Person On Land. |
342 | Search For Person In Water. |
Hazardous Materials / Conditions:
Code # | |
---|---|
412 | Gas Leak (Natural Gas or Liquid Petroleum Gas) |
424 | Carbon Monoxide Incident – Caron Monoxide (CO) incident. |
444 | Power Line Down |
736 | Carbon Monoxide Detector Activation Due To Malfunction. |
746 | Carbon Monoxide Detector Activation, No Carbon Monoxide. |
Miscellaneous:
Code # | |
---|---|
444 | Power Line Down |
331 | Lock-in |
511 | Lock-out |
362 | Ice Rescue |
Rules for selecting your incident type:
Pick the best fit Incident Type Code:
rule | logic |
---|---|
#1 | Incident Type defines what was found at the incident scene upon arrival of the fire department. “As Found” – NOT – “As Toned”. If toned to an MVA but are UTL, then code as UTL – Unable to locate, not as MVA. |
#2 | Use the lowest/lower code series for determining the Incident Type when more than one Incident Type is found/applicable. (If 400 and 100, pick 100.) |
NFIRS Incident Type Groups / Code Series
NFIRS 5.0 Incident Codes are grouped together, separated into series (i.e. by hundred):
- 100 – Fire Group
- 110 – Structure Fire Group
- 130 – Vehicle Fire Group
- 140 – Wildland Fire Group
- 200 – Rupture / Explosion
- 300 – Rescue & Emergency Medical Service (EMS)
- 400 – Hazardous Condition (no Fire)
- 500 – Service Call
- 600 – Good Intent
- 700 – False Alarm & False Call
- 800 – Severe Weather & Natural Disaster Group
- 900 – Special Incident
If you don’t see the incident type to match your needs, here is a list of all Incident Types.
Actions Taken Codes
Definition: The duties performed at the incident scene by the responding fire department personnel.
Note: Always pick the lowest numbered value applicable.
These are the more commonly used actions taken (related to the incident types above).
General Actions Taken
Code # | General |
---|---|
81 | Incident Command – Incident Command. Includes providing support to incident command activities. |
86 | Investigate – Investigate. |
93 | Canceled en route – Needed for canceled incidents, since this is a required field. |
Firefighting Actions Taken
Code # | Firefighting |
---|---|
11 | Extinguishment – Extinguishment by fire service personnel. |
12 | Salvage & Overhaul |
87 | Investigate – Fire Out – Investigate – Fire Out on Arrival. |
Medical Actions Taken
Code # | Medical |
---|---|
31 | Provide First Aid & Check For Injuries – medical evaluation of patient. |
32 | Basic Life Support – Provide basic life support (BLS). |
33 | Advanced Life Support – Provide advanced life support (ALS). |
Search / Rescue / MVA Actions Taken
Code # | Search / Rescue |
---|---|
21 | Search – Search for lost or missing person. Includes animals. |
22 | Rescue – Rescue, remove from harm. Excludes vehicle extrication (23). |
23 | Extrication – Extrication or disentangling of a person. Excludes body recovery (24). |
78 | Control Traffic – Control traffic. Includes setting up barricades and directing traffic. |
If you don’t see the action taken to match your needs, here is the list of all Actions Taken.
Property Use Codes
Definition: ‘Property use’ (in NFIRS 5.0) refers to the actual use of the property where the incident occurred, not the overall use of mixed use properties.
These are the more commonly used property uses …
Residential
Code # | Residential |
---|---|
419 | One or Two Family Dwelling – One- or two-family dwelling, detached, manufactured home, mobile home not in transit, duplex |
429 | Multifamily Dwelling – Includes apartments, condos, townhouses, rowhouses, tenements. |
962 | Residential Street, Road or Residential Driveway |
Mercantile Business
Code # | Mercantile Business |
---|---|
571 | Service station, gas station. – IIncludes LP-gas stations with associated convenience stores and boat refueling stations. Excludes vehicle sales (579). |
500 | Mercantile, business – Other. |
Outdoor
Code # | Outdoor |
---|---|
669 | Forest, Timberland, Woodland. Includes standing timber without logging operations; wildlife preserves; timber tracts where planting, replanting, and conservation of forests are conducted; and areas where uncultivated materials such as wild rubber, barks, and roots are gathered. Also includes facilities for extracting, concentrating, and distilling of such materials when the facilities are located within the forest. Excludes grasslands and brush (931). |
946 | Lake, river, stream. |
961 | Highway or Divided Highway |
983 | Pipeline, power line, or other utility right-of-way. |
Assembly
Code # | Assembly |
---|---|
215 | Church, Mosque – Includes synagogues, temples, chapels, religious educational facilities, and church halls. |
151 | Library |
161 | Restaurant or cafeteria – Places specializing in on-premises consumption of food. Includes carryout and drive-through restaurants. |
162 | Bar, nightclub, saloon, tavern, pub. |
Various
Code # | Various |
---|---|
215 | High School, Junior High, Middle School |
213 | Elementary School – Includes Kindergarten. |
888 | Fire Station |
NNN | None – No Use |
Miscellaneous
Code # | General |
---|---|
000 | Property Use – Other |
UUU | Undetermined – This information was not determined |
NNN | None – No Use |
If you don’t see the property use to match your needs, here is the list of all Property Uses and here is a list of all Mixed Use Properties
Last Updated on April 25, 2023