The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has launched NERIS Public, a new open data resource designed to give communities, researchers, fire departments and public safety leaders access to near real-time national fire incident data.
The platform marks a major shift from the previous annual release model, under which fire incident data was typically collected, processed and published months or more than a year after incidents occurred. Through the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS), USFA said selected incident-level data will now be refreshed several times per week.
NERIS Public provides a curated release of records reported through NERIS, including information such as incident type, date, location and actions taken. The data is intended to support call type and frequency analysis, high-level policy work, strategic planning, code enforcement, pre-planning and community risk reduction.
USFA said the public dataset excludes sensitive information, including casualty and rescue details, medical specifics, detailed unit response data and operational information. The agency emphasized that NERIS Public is not intended for tactical or operational decision-making.
Each record represents a single incident submitted through NERIS, with a status of approved or pending approval. The resource includes approximately 40 data fields covering incident identifiers, department information, timing, location, incident types, aid, displacement, fire cause and damage, alarm and suppression systems, and emerging hazards.
NERIS Public is delivered through Esri’s ArcGIS Online as a hosted feature layer, allowing users to view data in a browser without GIS software or an account, integrate it into maps and dashboards, or export it in open formats for static analysis.
According to USFA, the approach is intended to make publicly funded fire incident data more accessible while protecting sensitive incident information. The agency having jurisdiction continues to maintain ownership of the official incident record.
The launch comes as NERIS replaces the legacy National Fire Incident Reporting System with a modernized fire and emergency response data platform. USFA said the new public release model is designed to support transparency, accountability and better-informed fire prevention efforts nationwide.
NERIS Public can be accessed at neris.fsri.org/public.
