Document ID: FEMA-2022-0052-0002
Agency: fema
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review, Comment Request; National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Version 5.0
Posted Date: 2023-02-22T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10913-10914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03617]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID FEMA-2022-0052; OMB No. 1660-0069]

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review, Comment Request; National Fire Incident Reporting System 
(NFIRS) Version 5.0

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: 30-Day notice of revision and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will submit the 
information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and 
Budget for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission will describe the 
nature of the information collection, the categories of the 
respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources 
used by respondents to respond) and cost, and the actual data 
collection instruments FEMA will use.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection should be made to Director, 
Information Management Division, 500 C St. SW, Washington, DC 20472, 
email address: [email protected] or 
David Millstein, Branch Chief National Fire Data Center, (301) 447-1841 
or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Commission on Fire Prevention 
and Control conducted a comprehensive study of the Nation's fire 
problem and recommended to Congress actions to mitigate the fire 
problem, reduce loss of life and property, and educate the public on 
fire protection and prevention. As a result of the study, Congress 
enacted Public Law 93-498, Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
1974, which establishes the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to 
administer fire prevention and control programs, supplement existing 
programs of research, training, and education, and encourage new and 
improved programs and activities by state and local governments. 
Section 9(a) of the Act authorizes the USFA Administrator to operate 
directly or through contracts or grants an integrated, comprehensive 
method to select, analyze, publish, and disseminate information related 
to prevention, occurrence, control, and results of fires of all types. 
The National Fire Incident Reporting Systems (NFIRS) was established in 
the mid-1970s and is mandated by the Federal Fire Prevention and 
Control Act of 1974 which authorizes the National Fire Data Center to 
gather and analyze information such as: (1) the frequency, causes, 
spread, and extinguishment of fires; (2) injuries and deaths resulting 
from fires; (3) information on injuries sustained by a firefighter; and 
(4) information on firefighting activities. The act further authorizes 
USFA to develop uniform data reporting methods, and to encourage and 
assist Federal, state, local and other agencies in developing and 
reporting

[[Page 10914]]

information. NFIRS is a reporting standard that fire departments use to 
uniformly report on the full range of their activities, from fire to 
emergency medical services to severe weather and natural disasters. 
This reporting allows fire departments, as well as many other 
government and non-government agencies, to quantify their actions and 
identify incident and response trends. Recent modernization to the data 
collection improved and therefore reduced the burden hours for 
reporting data to NFIRS. FEMA is requesting a revision of this 
information collection.
    This proposed information collection previously published in the 
Federal Register on December 9, 2022, at 87 FR 75642 with a 60-day 
public comment period. No comments were received. The purpose of this 
notice is to notify the public that FEMA will submit the information 
collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for 
review and clearance.

Collection of Information

    Title: National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Version 5.0.
    Type of Information Collection: Extension, with change, of a 
currently approved information collection.
    OMB Number: 1660-0069.
    FEMA Forms: FEMA Form FF-USFA-FY-21-109, National Fire Incident 
Reporting System (NFIRS) Version 5.0.
    Abstract: The purpose of this revision is to provide the reduction 
of burden hours recently achieved by modernizing and improving the 
application's interface. NFIRS is the USFA's system authorized under 
Public Law 93-498 to collect fire related data to identify and define 
the fire problem in the U.S., and to reduce fire related casualties and 
losses. Operating since 1999, the system provides an electronic, web-
based application for users to input their incident response 
information in a uniform manner.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; State, local or Tribal 
government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 23,500.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 28,059,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 9,820,650.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost: $420,225,614.
    Estimated Respondents' Operation and Maintenance Costs: $1,974,000.
    Estimated Respondents' Capital and Start-Up Costs: $1,128,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to the Federal Government: $3,436,118.

Comments

    Comments may be submitted as indicated in the ADDRESSES caption 
above. Comments are solicited to (a) evaluate whether the proposed data 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) 
evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Millicent Brown Wilson,
Records Management Branch Chief, Office of the Chief Administrative 
Officer, Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2023-03617 Filed 2-21-23; 8:45 am]
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