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Illinois transitioning to new emergency fire information system

Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 12:36 PM

By Steve Anderson

The Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office (ISFMO) announced this week that fire departments across the state are beginning the transition to the new National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS)- a secure, cloud-based platform built to modernize how local emergency incidents are reported and analyzed.

The move to NERIS is part of a phased national rollout of the system by the U.S. Fire Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and the Fire Safety Research Institute.

NERIS is replacing the 40-year-old National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and will provide Lawrence County and other local and area firefighting agencies with data tools, location-based analytics and flexible options for incident reporting----at no cost to departments.

The ISFMO says that all departments need to complete onboarding to NERIS as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition. The existing NFIRS will be formally decommissioned on Thursday, January 1st, 2026.

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