Going Live with NERIS

Do not use existing incidents for NERIS testing. Converting real incidents that have already been documented in NFIRS format may corrupt or interfere with your official incident records. This could result in data loss, reporting inconsistencies, or compliance issues with your current NFIRS submissions.

Overview

Before implementing NERIS for live incident reporting, conduct comprehensive system testing to ensure proper functionality and user familiarity.

1. Create Test Scenarios

Develop realistic, but fictional incident scenarios that cover various incident types (e.g., fire, medical, hazmat, rescue).

Converting Test Incidents to NERIS Format

1. Create a new test incident.

2. The incident will initially appear in NFIRS format. Use the Switch to NERIS button to convert the incident to NERIS format.

   

2. User Training

Conduct hands-on training sessions using these test incidents to familiarize staff with the NERIS interface and workflows.

3. Workflow Validation

Verify that all required fields populate correctly and that data flows properly between systems.

Custom Validation Rules

1. (Optional) Add custom validation rules (Incident Settings > Custom Incident Validation Rules) to match the NERIS schema

2. To activate validation rules for NERIS, use the Is NERIS checkbox to the right of the rule.

   

4. Quality Assurance

Test the authorization and quality control processes before transitioning to live reporting.

5. Incident Cleanup

After completing all testing procedures, ensure to cancel the test incidents to prevent them from counting towards your department's annual incident totals.