Incident Reporting

The State Fire Marshal’s Office adopted the National Emergency Reporting Incident Report (NERIS) as the standard for Georgia Fire Incident Reporting (GFIRS). The GFIRS gathers comprehensive information on various fire department activities, including data on types of fires, injuries and fatalities affecting both civilians and fire service personnel, as well as details concerning EMS, hazardous materials, wildland fires, and the apparatus and personnel involved.

All civilian and firefighter fire fatalities must be reported to the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Reports must be submitted within 72 hours using the State’s required method, and as of March 15, 2026, all fatalities are to be entered through the National Fire Marshal’s Association’s Fire Fatality Data Collection Hub, which provides a centralized system for states to analyze fatal fire information. This reporting requirement is supported by Georgia Code Title 25, Chapter 2, Section 25‑2‑32, which mandates formal reporting of all fire incidents—including those involving fatalities—through approved state processes.

Only designated burn centers are required to report burn injuries, and must submit cases that meet state reporting criteria. Reportable burn injuries include second‑ or third‑degree burns covering five percent or more of the body, burns involving the upper respiratory tract, laryngeal edema caused by inhaling superheated air, and any burn injury or wound that may result in the victim’s death. These reports ensure consistent statewide data collection and support injury‑prevention efforts.

If you suspect that a recent fire may have been intentionally caused, call Georgia Arson Control (GAC) at 800-282-5804 or visit the GAC website. 

Any information you provide will be kept confidential

Through an annual contract between the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner and the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the Office of the State Fire Marshal carries out federally required Life Safety Code (LSC) inspections for Non‑JCAH hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgical centers, hospice facilities, and intermediate care facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid. These inspections include initial certifications, recertifications, complaint investigations, monitoring visits, follow‑ups, validation surveys, and critical access hospital reviews. The Health and Human Services Section manages the administrative responsibilities of the program and oversees the submission of all survey reports to federal databases. Inspections are conducted statewide in nearly all 159 counties, totaling approximately 956 annual surveys performed by Fire Safety Compliance Officers. The contract period runs from July 1 each year through June 30 of the following year.