This fire incident report form template can be used as documentation and notification of any fire-related incidents. It aims to provide a narrative around the cause of a fire incident, damage or injuries caused, and lives lost, if any. With this fire department incident report template, you can:
A fire incident report is a document used by fire department personnel or fire safety officers to provide a narrative around the cause of a fire incident, damage or injuries caused, and lives lost, if any. Fire incident reports are also required by law as a means to obtain crucial fire safety information and help improve fire prevention initiatives.
Fire incident reports are not just mere documentation of fire-related incidents; they help fire service units build on their baseline of fire safety data, make analyses of circumstances and trends, and improve fire safety strategies to help reduce loss of life and property caused by fire incidents.
Further, fire incident reports provide value by:
While the fire incident requires basic information about the fire incident location, the potential cause, properties damaged, people injured and/or lives lost, the fire investigation report dives deeper into details surrounding the fire incident.
The fire investigation report is used, in collaboration with an investigative team, to help determine whether the event is accidental or criminal and document extensive analysis of contributing factors and statements made by witnesses.
To write a good report on a fire incident, the fire safety personnel should ensure that the fire incident report:
Further, firefighting personnel can adopt the F.I.R.E.S. method of fire incident and investigation report writing to help effectively meet these characteristics of a good report.
What information was given at dispatch? What was the weather like? What was the brief on the initial report? Which commands were given? These types of questions help form the report and help remind you of important details down the road.
What directions were given to responding units? Was forced entry needed to address the emergency? How was care delivered to occupants who were injured? Recording accurate details of these actions in your incident report will prove to be important in defending a fire emergency response when being questioned years later.
Did you make a rescue or lead occupants to safety? Was suppression of the fire achieved with the handline selected? What happened to the smoke once ventilation was established? These are sample questions that the fire incident report should answer in summary. If questions arise at a later time, the details of the responses may be the only requisite to get accurate information about the incident.
An evaluation of the incident scene and the end result is the next step. Did you encounter a hydrant that failed to function (severe weather or damage)? Were there parking or access issues, crowd control, hydrants across six lanes of busy traffic? Taking note of the external factors that affected the fire incident response not only describes the incident but also produces a historical reference for fire safety issues encountered that require code or legislative changes.
Last but certainly not least is the section on special statements. What was done prior to leaving? To whom was the scene turned over to? Was it the police, the homeowner, or the fire investigation unit? This is also a good avenue to list any issues that played a role in the fire incident.
This example of a fire incident report can be viewed as a PDF and web report . It includes details such as the incident location, problems identified, evidence found, people involved, and other important information. This uses a pre-existing template that can be modified according to the investigation team’s needs.
Fire Incident Report Sample
Documents such as fire incident reports provide investigation teams and the people or property owners involved in the incident with a comprehensive and data-backed reference. This is also used as documentation that can be cited and reviewed in the future as needed.
In the United States, fire incident reports are required to be submitted to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) , the largest database of fire incidents in the world. Managed by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), NFIRS allows 23,000 fire departments in the US to use a uniformed way of fire incident reporting .
To write a comprehensive and reliable fire incident report, you should make sure to include the following information:
The full effect of firefighting response efforts can only be reaped if fire incident data are correct, well-documented, shared, and analyzed. With SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor), fire service units can have a reliable tool that they can use on the go to quickly produce complete and quality fire incident reports. With the SafetyCulture reporting app, firefighting personnel can:
Use this fire investigation report to create a summary of a fire incident. This template can be used through collaboration with the investigative team to know the root cause of the fire, describe factors and problems that may have contributed to it, document interviews from the witnesses, and write recommendations for which actions to take.
Inspection template Powered byThis fire and incident report template is ideal for fire incidents that call for a comprehensive investigation report. Additionally, this template allows you to do the following:
This simple fire investigation checklist can be used as an aid in conducting fire incident investigations in a straightforward and uncomplicated manner. It allows users to choose between potential fire reasons such as arson, cooking, smoking, etc., and enables investigators to take note of other possible indicators that can help in deducing the case. Use this template in SafetyCulture to document the report along with its conclusion.
Jona Tarlengco is a content writer and researcher for SafetyCulture since 2018. She usually writes about safety and quality topics, contributing to the creation of well-researched articles. Her years of experience in one of the world’s leading business news organisations helps enrich the quality of the information in her work.
Use this fire investigation report to create a summary of a fire incident. This template can be used through collaboration with the investigative team to know the root cause of the fire, describe factors and problems that may have contributed to it, document interviews from the witnesses, and write recommendations for which actions to take.
This fire and incident report template is ideal for fire incidents that call for a comprehensive investigation report. Additionally, this template allows you to do the following: Divide reports into parts via report header, protected premises, hazardous materials, and civilian information. Specify the incident type, occupant type, and what is the property used for. Confirm the presence of other agencies that responded to the incident. Add owner/occupier details and indicate if there is known insurance information. State estimated property damage or loss because of the incident.
This simple fire investigation checklist can be used as an aid in conducting fire incident investigations in a straightforward and uncomplicated manner. It allows users to choose between potential fire reasons such as arson, cooking, smoking, etc., and enables investigators to take note of other possible indicators that can help in deducing the case. Use this template in SafetyCulture to document the report along with its conclusion.
