Document ID: FEMA-2019-0026-0003
Agency: fema
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) v5.0
Posted Date: 2021-03-19T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 52 (Friday, March 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14941-14942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05648]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID: FEMA-2019-0026; OMB No. 1660-0069]

Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) v5.0

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

ACTION: 30-Day reinstatement notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
the general public to take this opportunity to comment on a 
reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved information 
collection for which approval has expired. 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 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 April 19, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the Desk 
Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, and sent via electronic mail to 
dhsdeskofficer@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection should be made to Director, 
Information Management Division, 500 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20472, 
email address FEMA-Information-Collections-Management@fema.dhs.gov or 
William Troup, Chief, United States Fire Administration-National Fire 
Data Center, (301) 447-1231.

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, the 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 System (NFIRS) was established 
in the mid-1970s and is mandated by the Federal Fire Prevention and 
Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-498, as amended) 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 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. This information collection expired on April 30, 2019. FEMA is 
requesting a reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved 
information collection for which approval has expired. 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.
    This proposed information collection previously published in the 
Federal Register on November 27, 2019, at 84 FR 65401 with a 60 day 
public comment period. One comment related to barns and their potential 
to catch fire due to poor building materials was received. This program 
office's response to the comment was that they received this comment in 
2019 and that the comment is irrelevant as barn fires already can be 
currently reported through NFIRS by system users which are local fire 
departments. Changing building codes is not a direct purpose of this 
system.

Collection of Information

    Title: National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) v5.0.
    Type of information collection: Reinstatement, without change, of a 
previously approved information collection for which approval has 
expired.
    OMB Number: OMB No. 1660-0069.
    Form Titles and Numbers: The National Fire Incident Reporting 
System (NFIRS) v5.0 Modules 1-11.
    Abstract: NFIRS provides a mechanism using standardized reporting 
methods to collect and analyze fire incident data at the Federal, 
state, and local levels. Data analysis helps local fire departments and 
states to focus on current problems, predict future problems in their 
communities, and measure whether their programs are working.
    Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal, and Federal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 23,500.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 28,059,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,626,550.
    Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost: $530,693,897.
    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: $3,386,107.

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

[[Page 14942]]

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 L. Brown,
Senior Manager, Records Management Branch, Office of the Chief 
Administrative Officer, Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2021-05648 Filed 3-18-21; 8:45 am]
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