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NFIRS COVID-19 Special Study Dashboard

This page presents a snapshot of statistics reported by U.S. fire departments participating in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) COVID‑19 Special Study.

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, the COVID-19 Special Study collected 5,680,856 responses.

Participation

50 states

9,193 fire departments

1,242,343
fire service personnel responses to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 incidents

Incident types with Special Study code

1	Rescue and EMS	63.61%
2	Good Intent	11.37%
3	False Alarm/Calls	8.00%
4	Service Calls	7.93%
5	Fires	4.46%

Incident type category	Reported responses	% of responses
Rescue and EMS 300-381	3,613,565	63.61%
Good Intent 600-672	646,055	11.37%
False Alarm/Calls 700-751	454,237	8.00%
Service Calls 500-571	450,215	7.93%
Fires 100-173	253,378	4.46%
Hazardous Condition 400-482	216,719	3.81%
Special Incident Type 900-911	20,870	0.37%
Severe Weather and Natural Disaster 800-815	17,886	0.31%
Overpressure Rupture, Explosion, Overheat 200-251	7,931	0.14%
Blank Incident Type	0	0.00%

NFIRS COVID-19 Special Study summary

Special Study code	Reported responses	% of responses
Yes, COVID-19 was suspected	253760	4.47
Yes, COVID-19 was confirmed	87152	1.53
No, COVID-19 was not a factor	3683822	64.85
Unknown	1656122	29.15

Table may not total 100% due to rounding.

Reported responses by month

View data in a table
Download chart

COVID-19 Special Study code	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
Yes, COVID-19 was suspected.	152	231	8919	37551	30234	22679	28996	23777	18269	21221	29121	32610	253760
Yes, COVID-19 was confirmed.	7	13	1010	5940	5661	4687	8502	6643	4610	8148	18559	23372	87152
No, COVID-19 was not a factor.	35914	28838	75701	331340	402799	435566	443825	433773	384593	384625	365266	361582	3683822
Unknown	5682	7804	19899	120536	158642	169708	193283	191956	181233	195450	200046	211883	1656122
Total	41755	36886	105529	495367	597336	632640	674606	656149	588705	609444	612992	629447	5680856

Reported responses by incident type category and Special Study code

Incident type category	Yes, COVID-19 suspected	Yes, COVID-19 confirmed	No, COVID-19 not a factor	Unknown	Total
Fires (100-173)	1,056	319	213,638	38,365	253,378
Overpressure Rupture, Explosion, Overheat Calls (200-251)	43	20	6,509	1,359	7,931
Rescue and EMS Calls (300-381)	230,690	79,187	2,097,118	1,206,570	3,613,565
Hazardous Condition Calls (400-482)	1,735	558	181,117	33,309	216,719
Service Calls (500-571)	5,637	2,744	337,998	103,836	450,215
Good Intent Calls (600-672)	10,337	3,106	447,525	185,087	646,055
False Alarm and False Calls (700-751)	4,015	1,108	367,164	81,950	454,237
Severe Weather and Natural Disaster Calls (800-815)	29	18	16,108	1,731	17,886
Special Incident Type Calls (900-911)	218	92	16,645	3,915	20,870
Total	253,760	87,152	3,683,822	1,656,122	5,680,856

Top 5 incident types
for confirmed or suspected responses

EMS call, excluding vehicle accident with injury.
Medical assist, assist EMS crew.
Dispatched and cancelled en route.
Emergency medical service, other.
Rescue, EMS call, other.

Top 5 property use
for confirmed or suspected responses

1- or 2-family dwelling.
Multifamily dwellings.
24-hour care nursing homes, 4 or more persons.
Residential, other.
Hospital – medical or psychiatric.

About the COVID-19 Special Study

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) is using the NFIRS to conduct a national-level Special Study on fire department responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the study is to determine if COVID-19 was a factor during the response.

Fire departments that report to NFIRS have been asked to use the NFIRS Special Study, “COVID-19 Discovery,” on all incidents. When a member of a department fills out an NFIRS report, the Special Study is a section in which they can answer the question, “Was COVID-19 a factor in this incident?” The available responses are 1-Yes, COVID-19 was suspected; 2-Yes, COVID-19 was confirmed; 3-No, COVID-19 was not a factor; and, 4-Unknown.

USFA is monitoring the COVID-19 Special Study incidents to determine the severity and to bring awareness to the nationwide response from the fire service to COVID-19. The incidents on this page include both released and unreleased incidents. Unreleased incidents may not be complete and are still pending final authorization from the states. Data for 2020 is still pending since some reports are incomplete and since some fire departments do not submit reports on a regular basis. Departments may submit monthly or quarterly and some departments may not report until the end of the year.

Learn more about the COVID-19 Special Study