Texas Forest Service has developed and launched a new online fire reporting system for fire departments which can me found at http://tfsfrp.tamu.edu/firereporting/vfd/. The system with the built-in potential to be of great benefit to fire departments; county governments; local officials; predictive services; prevention; and coordination of state mobilizations.

Most of wild land fires in Texas go unreported at the state and national levels, resulting in missed opportunities for significant federal funding. Everyone loses when fires are unreported-fire departments, the state and Texans. Additionally, without complete fire reporting, it is difficult to accurately express wild land fire issues at the state level.

The TFS Online Fire Department Fire Reporting System is useful in a number of ways such as:

o Reported wildfire causes can be used to develop focused prevention programs
o Documented costs per reported fire are recognized by FEMA for required cost documentation.
o Queries can access useful maps, data lists and daily fire statistics.

The Texas Forest Service has taken extra steps to ensure the reporting system is as easy to use as possible:

o Only a computer and an Internet connection is required
o No additional software is needed
o Immediate access to all reported information
o No cost to fire departments within the state of Texas

Quick References Facts Sheet can be found at http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/shared/article.asp?DocumentID=1205

Web site to enter a new account with the TFS Fire Department Reporting System

http://tfsfrp.tamu.edu/firereporting/vfd/app.asp