The Center for Public Safety Excellence® (CPSE®) is excited to share our efforts to align the Commission on Fire Accreditation International® (CFAI®) Model with the new National Emergency Response Information Systems (NERIS). CPSE is in regular communication with both the United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of the UL Research Institutes, on how best to align the CFAI model and NERIS for the benefit of fire departments throughout the United States.

By December 2024, CPSE plans on:

  • Publishing a crosswalk between the 10th Edition CFAI model and NERIS data schemas
  • Publishing policy guidance for CFAI agencies on handling the NERIS transition in their data reporting
  • Updating the CFAI Interpretation Guide related to NERIS
  • Scheduling a Peer Assessor Continuing Education focused on NERIS
  • Scheduling an Accreditation Manager Dayroom discussion focused on NERIS
  • Ensuring NERIS requirements are integrated into the under-development 11th edition

CPSE will engage current NERIS alpha agencies, future NERIS beta agencies, and NERIS technical panel members active with CFAI as well as FSRI and USFA staff to develop the above-listed deliverables. In addition to a crosswalk, we plan on exploring how NERIS will impact CFAI agencies conducting risk assessment, reporting responses, and handling multiple risk responses.

For questions, contact Jim White, CFAI Program Manager, at jwhite@cpse.org.