What is an Incident Report?
An Incident Report is completed after every incident that has been attended by at least one Fire Appliance. It contains information such as:
- address/location of incident
- time and date of incident
- type of incident
- type of property
- supposed cause of fire
- damage caused to property
- casualties
Requests are deemed as “normal course of business” and do not fall under Freedom of Information procedures.
What are Incident Reports used for?
We use Incident Reports for statistical trend analysis. They enable us to identify trends and help us plan future safety campaigns and the resources we need to be able to respond effectively to all types of incident.
What are the limitations of an Incident Report?
An Incident Report does not include in-depth descriptions of damage to property and any indication regarding supposed cause of fire is not definitive.
Is there a charge for an Incident Report?
There is a charge of £83.60 which is an administration fee. The fee increases by a small amount each year due to inflation.
A fee is not applicable for requests made by the Police, Coroner, or an Agency requiring the Incident Report for legislative enforcement.
Who is entitled to request an Incident Report?
You are entitled to request an Incident Report if:
- your property has been involved in a fire, or has been damaged by a fire, or you have been directly involved in an incident of another type; or
- you are a solicitor, insurance company or loss adjustor acting on behalf of a client who has been affected by the incident; or
- you are the Police, Coroner, or an Agency requiring an Incident Report for legislative enforcement.
How long does it take for an Incident Report to be released?
An Incident Report can take up to 60 days from the date of the incident to be available for release. It can take longer if there is an ongoing investigation or legal proceedings, depending on the nature of the incident.
If the report is available and subject to having received a valid request, the process for release normally takes a few days.
What is a valid request?
For a request to be valid, the following criteria must be met:
- an Incident Report Request Form must be completed and be submitted by email or by post; and
- the requester must be entitled to receive the information.
If you require a form to be posted to you please contact NIFRS at 028 9266 4221 and ask for Protection Admin Support staff.
What additional information must the requestor provide?
We are only permitted to release reports to those who are entitled to receive them, and therefore:
- individuals must also provide a copy of two forms of ID that links them to the property, such as a passport, driving licence, bank statement, utility bill, rates bill, vehicle log book, etc;
- solicitors, insurance companies, or loss adjustors, must confirm they have been instructed by their client to request the Incident Report on their behalf; and
- agencies must confirm the name of the legislation they are responsible for enforcing.
The additional information is provided using the Incident Report Request Form.
After I submit an Incident Report Request Form what happens next?
The request will be allocated a unique reference code and the details will be assessed to confirm that the request is valid.
If the request is assessed as valid, you will be sent details of how to pay the administrative fee, if applicable. After the fee has been paid, the Incident Report will be sent to you.
If the request is assessed as invalid, you will be informed of the reason.
Are there any circumstances when an Incident Report will not be released?
An Incident Report will not be released if there is an ongoing investigation or legal proceedings.
How do you comply with Data Protection?
To safeguard personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Incident Report may be redacted before release.