Software Vendor Information

Automated Fire Incident Reporting For MFIRS

Many fire departments have automated fire incident reporting and other department functions. Last year, 75% of Massachusetts fire departments sent Mass. Fire Incident Reports to us electronically. Some fire departments send floppy diskettes or CD's, some e-mail them to us as an attached file at MFIRS.Report@state.ma.us . Email is the preferred method of submitting MFIRS reports electronically.

Your software vendor will generate a transaction file for submitting data electronically to the Office of the State Fire Marshal formatted in conformance with the record layout established by the U.S. Fire Administration and our office. The U.S. Fire Administration keeps a list of "active" vendors. To check on the federal "active" status of a software vendor go to http://www.nfirs.fema.gov/system/activevendors.shtm. A vendor must have an "active" status with the USFA before they can begin the process of applying for Massachusetts certification from this office.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal will work with any vendor a fire department selects to ensure satisfactory electronic submission and to attain this Massachusetts certification, but the incident reports must meet certain standards. They must contain all of the data fields, including those unique to Massachusetts, must include definitions of codes. We ask them to first send us test data (at least 50 incidents with every field used at least once) and then to submit data from a Massachusetts customer. We try to iron out any problems in one sitting before they spread. Hard copy reports must satisfy the requirements for public records. They should resemble our forms, have all of our fields and include written english definitions of the codes so that they can be read without consulting a manual. For information, perspective vendors should contact the Fire Data Unit at Derryl.Dion@state.ma.us.

Massachusetts also collects a few fields that are unique to our state. They are captured in what is called the "8000 record". The fields include information on critical incidents, insurance, stolen vehicles, and hazmat information.

Below is a list of vendors that have successfully passed the Massachusetts testing process. If you have any questions, please contact Derryl Dion at (978) 567-3382.

This page is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.