The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office announced the beginning of the transition this week.
On Jan. 1, the National Emergency Response Information System, or NERIS, will replace the 50-year-old National Fire Incident Reporting System, or NFIRS, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, one of the federal agencies overseeing the change.
NERIS offers free cloud-based tools to collect data and analyze emergency incidents. Features include local ownership of data, GIS-based reporting that can provide better location data, dashboards and training tools.
“Modernizing emergency data collection is a critical step toward strengthening public safety,” Illinois State Fire Marshal Michele Pankow said in a statement. “By adopting NERIS, we are giving our departments better tools to protect our communities, manage resources effectively, and make informed decisions backed by current data.”
Firefighting authorities in another big state, California, recently announced their move to NERIS.
Departments in more than 30 states have indicated their own NERIS transitions, with rates of compliance varying widely according to official data, some places as high as 99 percent. A total number of NERIS-ready departments was not immediately available.
State officials in Illinois plan to send NERIS onboarding information via email to departments within the “next few weeks,” according to the statement, though the state also encourages departments to “start the process by visiting the NERIS website.”
NERIS onboarding involves account setup, administrator access, and in some cases, records management system integration, according to the statement.
Much like the ongoing move to Next-Generation 911 services, the expected use of NERIS presents business opportunities for suppliers of government technology.
Earlier this year, for instance, gov tech giant Tyler Technologies bought Ohio-based Emergency Networking, whose reporting and analytical software could help Tyler gain an edge when it comes to NERIS.
