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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 4,738,093 responses.

Participation

50 states

8,138 fire departments

988,176
fire service personnel responses to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 incidents

Incident types with Special Study code

1	Rescue and EMS	63.36%
2	Good Intent	11.31%
3	False Alarm/Calls	7.93%
4	Service Calls	7.91%
5	Fires	4.87%

Incident type category	Reported responses	% of responses
Rescue and EMS 300-381	3,002,111	63.36%
Good Intent 600-672	535,676	11.31%
False Alarm/Calls 700-751	375,663	7.93%
Service Calls 500-571	374,907	7.91%
Fires 100-173	230,550	4.87%
Hazardous Condition 400-482	179,917	3.80%
Special Incident Type 900-911	17,304	0.37%
Severe Weather and Natural Disaster 800-815	15,070	0.32%
Overpressure Rupture, Explosion, Overheat 200-251	6,627	0.14%
Blank Incident Type	268	0.01%

NFIRS COVID-19 Special Study summary

Special Study code	Reported responses	% of responses
Yes, COVID-19 was suspected	200277	4.23
Yes, COVID-19 was confirmed	68116	1.44
No, COVID-19 was not a factor	3120204	65.85
Unknown	1349496	28.48

Table may not total 100% due to rounding.

Reported responses by month

View data in a table
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COVID-19 Special Study code	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
Yes, COVID-19 was suspected.	153	213	8584	35330	26800	19906	24629	18867	13403	13660	18405	20327	200277
Yes, COVID-19 was confirmed.	5	9	984	5521	5053	4329	7667	5813	3867	5686	13073	16109	68116
No, COVID-19 was not a factor.	23575	25673	71119	308577	378228	403954	397918	375660	324171	295176	272283	243870	3120204
Unknown.	5616	7103	17988	111486	145043	153715	169240	169045	149909	137363	142624	140364	1349496
Total	29349	32998	98675	460914	555124	581904	599454	569385	491350	451885	446385	420670	4738093

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)	686	319	196,172	33,373	230,550
Overpressure Rupture, Explosion, Overheat Calls (200-251)	32	18	5,471	1,106	6,627
Rescue and EMS Calls (300-381)	184,019	62,171	1,770,525	985,396	3,002,111
Hazardous Condition Calls (400-482)	1,247	474	151,957	26,239	179,917
Service Calls (500-571)	3,830	1,709	285,886	83,482	374,907
Good Intent Calls (600-672)	8,013	2,405	374,836	150,422	535,676
False Alarm and False Calls (700-751)	2,282	932	307,708	64,741	375,663
Severe Weather and Natural Disaster Calls (800-815)	17	18	13,624	1,411	15,070
Special Incident Type Calls (900-911)	142	64	13,794	3,304	17,304
Blank Incident Type	9	6	231	22	268
Total	200,277	68,116	3,120,204	1,349,496	4,738,093

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