What Is NERIS?
Today's firefighters do much more than fight fires. NERIS is their new tool for gathering, reporting, and analyzing all-hazards incident data that focuses on risk, deployment, and performance.
NERIS was designed to provide fire service users with incident response data in near real-time, allowing them to make informed decisions that will enhance safety for firefighters, residents, and communities. As a flexible, scalable, interoperable tool that can adapt to reflect emerging issues, NERIS will integrate information from CAD systems, GIS, and other sources to provide detailed analytics anywhere, anytime, on smartphones, tablets, and desktops.
When Will NERIS Be Implemented?
NERIS is already being rolled out regionally in the United States. Fire Departments in Massachusetts and New England will come onboard beginning in June 2025 and continuing through October 2025, with a small group of early adopters starting earlier. The full transition from NFIRS to NERIS is expected to be complete by December 31, 2025.
Recommended for All Fire Departments
- Important: Please notify us when your department transitions to submitting live data to NERIS. Email Derryl.Dion@mass.gov with the actual date of the transition. If possible, please try to schedule that transition for the first day of a month. (This will help ensure data continuity for your department.)
- All chiefs should select one or two additional department members to act as NERIS administrators, including a lead who will oversee NERIS onboarding and implementation. Unlike MFIRS, NERIS will not grant DFS direct access to departments' profiles, so it's important to have at least one non-chief department member on the NERIS team for continuity of operations (in the event of retirements, etc).
- Gather demographic information related to your department, including:
- Basic information such as phone number, headquarters address, population currently protected, shift information, staffing levels, PSAP information, Automatic Vehicle Location usage, and dispatch protocols;
- Geographic service boundaries such as first-due boundaries and districts within a department's service area;
- Unit and apparatus inventory, including apparatus types
- Services your department provides, including fire suppression, EMS, fire investigation, Hazmat response, technical rescue, etc.
- Interdepartmental relationships, including mutual, automatic, and contract aid, as well as specific services if applicable
- Decide if you want to share dispatch data with NERIS. If you use Computer Aided Dispatch, ask your vendor if they have built a NERIS-compatible API and when it will be ready to start submitting data. Remember that you may have to work with another department/agency if dispatch doesn't report directly to your fire department.
- Bear in mind that the Massachusetts Municipal Record Retention Schedule requires local fire departments to retain their reports to the State Fire Marshal for 10 years. If your department enters incident reports directly into MFIRS and does not have your own Record Management System to store them, you will need to retrieve them from NFIRS. DFS may be able to assist with this process or provide past MFIRS reports.
Recommended for Departments Using Third-Party Data-Reporting Software
- Departments currently using third-party reporting software should also select one or two additional NERIS leads/administrators. They will be important if you need to change your vendor, add or delete personnel, update your GIS boundaries, or update your department dashboard.
- These departments should also discuss NERIS compatibility with their vendors. Vendors that have successfully tested their Application Programming Interface (API) with NERIS will receive a NERIS Compatibility Badge. MFIRS software will not be compatible with NERIS, and on January 1, 2026, your MFIRS reporting will not carry over!
- These departments should consult with their vendors about access to past MFIRS reports and historical MFIRS aggregate data after they transition to NERIS.
NERIS General User Quick Start Video
Video: NERIS General User Quick Start Video
Skip this video NERIS General User Quick Start Video.NERIS Site Administrator Quick Start Video
Video: NERIS Site Administrator Quick Start Video
Skip this video NERIS Site Administrator Quick Start Video.Troubleshooting
DFS will update this section periodically as we become aware of bugs and fixes.
- NERIS uses Multi-Factor Authentication to ensure data security. This will require users to enter a time-limited access code emailed to them during login. Users on a small number of email platforms have reported that these emails arrive after the time limit expires. The NERIS team is working on this issue, and DFS expects that it will be corrected by the time Massachusetts fire departments are being brought onboard.
Additional NERIS Resources and Assistance
NERIS Educational Briefing (Added 4/18/25): A PowerPoint presentation that gives an overview of the National Emergency Response Information System, its key features, and the onboarding process
NERIS 2025 Rollout: What You Need to Know (Added 4/18/25): A two-sided info sheet on the National Emergency Response Information System's 2025 rollout process
NERIS Fact Sheet (Updated 3/25/25): A summary of the NERIS platform from the US Fire Administration and UL Fire Safety research Institute
Preparing for NERIS Onboarding: A checklist to help chiefs prepare for NERIS onboarding and implementation later this year
NERIS Rollout in 2025: A summary of the NERIS nationwide rollout and implementation
NERIS Briefing Slide Deck: A PowerPoint presentation that defines what NERIS will do, how it will benefit local departments and their communities, the rollout process, and the improvements it offers over NFIRS