FEMA Announces the Completion of an Audit of the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), Version 5.0

Washington, D.C. – In 2001, the United States Fire Administration (USFA) requested the assistance of FEMA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to have an independent party review the acquisition, development, and maintenance of NFIRS with the purpose of providing objective input to USFA’s future decision-making. The recommendations of the audit focus on three areas: Acquisition; Development, Enhancement, and Maintenance; and Systems Controls. The report recommends that USFA conduct a review of alternatives for continued development and maintenance of NFIRS.

“Since NFIRS 5.0 development began in the mid-90s there have been significant changes in the requirements for justifying government IT projects. In addition, today’s fire service software marketplace provides options that simply didn’t exist when we started,” said Alex Furr, Director of USFA’s National Fire Data Center (NFDC). The auditors note that USFA has been proactive in coordinating two independent reviews since 2001 to help assess system strengths and weaknesses, in addition to the audit.

“These reviews and findings are now a part of the full analysis that will guide the future of NFIRS,” adds Furr.

Regarding the acquisition of NFIRS 5.0, the audit considers the use of FEMA’s telecommunications support contract as an overly broad application of the system development clause. By 2002 FEMA’s Financial and Acquisition Management Division had taken steps to compete a separate contract for system development that will more appropriately support FEMA information systems, including NFIRS. In addition, the USFA, in consultation with FEMA’s Chief Information Officer and Senior Procurement Executive, is reconsidering the long-range acquisition strategy for NFIRS services.

In recent interviews with users and vendors, the auditors received generally positive comments about the current state of the system. The independent accounting firm KPMG was selected to conduct the audit.

To access or download the Audit of the National Fire Incident Reporting System (Version 5.0) visit the USFA web site at www.usfa.fema.gov.

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