Maryland - The U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy announce the availability of the new National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) 5.0 Self Study (Q494) online course. Serving as an introduction to NFIRS 5.0, this self-study course provides an overview of the data collection system, its modules, and data conversion issues.

"We are pleased to make this important course available online to all USA fire departments," said U.S. Fire Administrator Greg Cade. "Accurate and complete NFIRS data is critical for use at the local, state, and federal levels and this course is the starting place for building the core competencies key to creating quality data and making available the quality information needed by the American fire service."

NFIRS is the comprehensive method for detailed tracking of fire, emergency, and related incident responses. The information recorded in NFIRS can be used by emergency services organizations to track current workloads, develop response metrics and statistics, and help with current asset management. More information and access to this course is available on NFA Online. Additional NFIRS-related training can be found on the USFA Web site.

More than a dozen courses are available through NFA Online in the following curriculum areas: Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Response to Terrorism, Fire Prevention, Incident Management, Management Science, and Public Education.