2014-25813. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) v5.0

AGENCY:

Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed revision of a currently approved information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice seeks comments concerning the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) v5.0. The program provides a well established mechanism, using standardized reporting methods, to collect and analyze fire incident data at the Federal, State, and local levels with a myriad of life and property saving uses and benefits.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before December 29, 2014.

ADDRESSES:

To avoid duplicate submissions to the docket, please use only one of the following means to submit comments:

(1) Online. Submit comments at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID FEMA-2014-0031. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

(2) Mail. Submit written comments to Docket Manager, Office of Chief Counsel, DHS/FEMA, 500 C Street SW., Room 8NE, Washington, DC 20472-3100.

(3) Facsimile. Submit comments to [phone].

All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket ID. Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, all submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov,, and will include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy Act notice that is available via the link in the footer of www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Whitney, Fire Program Specialist, United States Fire Administration, National Fire Data Center, [phone] for additional information. You may contact the Records Management Division for copies of the proposed collection of information at facsimile number [phone] or email address: [e-mail].

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 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 Administrator, U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), 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.

Collection of Information

Title: National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) v5.0.

Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved information collection.

OMB Number: OMB No. 1660-0069.

FEMA Forms: The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) v5.0.

Abstract: NFIRS was established in 1975 by the USFA as a cooperative effort of local, State, and Federal authorities to improve uniformity in fire incident reporting and to ensure that data are useable for fire protection planning and management. The program provides a well-established mechanism, using standardized reporting methods, to collect and analyze fire incident data at the Federal, State, and local levels with a myriad of life and property saving uses and benefits.

Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal, and Federal Government.

Number of Respondents: 23,000.

Number of Responses: 29,970,120.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 13,500,230. The annual burden hours has decreased by 204,670 hours from the previous inventory due to discontinuation of use of NFIRS paper forms and a small decrease in the number of students receiving the NFIRS Program Management Training and Orientation.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Type of respondent	Form name/form No.	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total number of responses	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total annual burden (in hours)	Average hourly wage rate	Total annual respondent cost ($)
State, Local, or Tribal Government	NFIRS Version 5.0 Modules 1-12 (Electronic)	23,000	1,303	29,969,000	27 min (0.45 hr)	13,486,050	$32.49	438,161,765
State, Local, or Tribal Government	NFIRS Program Management Training (Training)	26	1	26	50 hours	1,300	32.49	42,237
State, Local, or Tribal Government	NFIRS Program Management Orientation (Training)	30	1	30	16 hours	480	32.49	15,595
State, Local, or Tribal Government	NFIC Training Workshop (Training)	100	1	100	16 hours	1,600	32.49	51,984
State, Local, or Tribal Government	NFIRS CD/on-site Orientation (Training)	200	1	200	4 hours	800	32.49	25,992
State, Local, or Tribal Government	Introduction to NFIRS Distance Learning (Training)	500	1	500	20 hours	10,000	32.49	324,900
Total		23,856		29,969,856		13,500,230		438,622,473

Estimated Cost: The estimated annual operations and maintenance costs to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information is $13,915,000. The estimated annual cost to the Federal Government is $2,416,255.

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.

Dated: October 16, 2014.

Charlene D. Myrthil,

Director, Records Management Division, Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.