The County Fire Coordinators Office  coordinates, maintains and administers a number of programs and services for meeting the needs of local fire departments .
New Training Announcements
As schools begin to ramp up I thought it worthwhile to share a couple of things regarding registering for classes in LMS:

If a firefighter has never taken a State Fire class they will not be in the LMS system. Click here for a cheat sheet on how to setup a new account in LMS.   The State is currently 3 weeks behind in processing requests.  Please keep that in mind when interested in taking a class.  I cannot register anyone for a class if they are not active in LMS.

Any firefighter that has taken a State Fire class in the past is in the LMS system.  There is a good chance they are inactive because there is no email address on file for them.  In this case  the easiest thing to do is send me your name (no nicknames) and email address and I can get you activated.  Currently, I can do that in a day or so.  Once activated the State will send you a password.   I cannot register anyone for a class if they are not active in LMS.
NFIRS to NERIS Resources

Important Dates and Deadlines:
April 1st
 2025, CY2024 Data submission deadline for inclusion in NFIRS national statistics
May 1st, 2025, Onboarding with NERIS begins in NYS.
January 1st
, 2026, All incident data to be reported in NERIS
January 15th, 2026, Deadline for NFIRS data CY2025 incidents for inclusion in national statistics
January 31st, 2026, CY2025 data edits/modifications must be completed in NFRIS
February 1st,2026 NFIRS Sunsets and will no longer be accessible.

PDF Files:

Demographics Reporting Form
NERIS Onboarding Checklist
NERIS Rollout Phases
Exporting Files from NFIRS

Emails:
NYS OFPC NERIS Help – [email protected]
NYS OFPC NFIRS Help - [email protected]
Helpful Links:
US Fire Administration: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfirs/neris/
FSRI NERIS: https://neris.fsri.org/
NERIS FAQ - https://neris.fsri.org/faqs
User References: https://neris.fsri.org/user-reference

Registration in LMS is now open for:
​
BEFO - Traditional Classroom (January 2026)
Blended BEFO (February 2026)

Click here to Register

TRAINING OPPORTUNITY

Public Health and Communications Course
March 10-11
State Preparedness Center - Oriskany NY

The goal of this two-day training program is to help improve the ability of NYS local health
officials and first responders to communicate effectively to different audiences and coordinate
with both internal and external stakeholders during infectious disease epidemics or outbreaks,
and natural disasters. The training will cover techniques in risk and crisis communication,
strategies for communicating in a crisis, knowing your audience, message design, using social
media, and controlling misinformation.

Click here for more Information
Virtual Learning Opportunities

The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES), Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC), is happy to announce the launching of our new E-Learning platform. The E-Learning platform allows students to access web-based awareness level courses at their own pace. E-Learning is integral to DHSES Learning Management System (LMS), enabling successful course completions to be recorded on the student’s training record automatically.  
 
Battery Emergencies and Electrical Storage Systems

Disability Awareness for the Fire Service




NATIONAL GRID FIRST RESPONDER UTILITY SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM
  
Teamwork. Trust. Training.
Whether you’re responding to a fire, accident, crime code, or wind and water damage, your crew and your community are counting on you. Knowing how to deal with utility-related hazards is an important part of the job.
National Grid’s First Responder Utility Safety Training is a no-charge, self-paced learning program. It makes sure that you, and everyone you ride with, can quickly, safely and confidently handle any natural gas or electrical-related hazard you might encounter.
Be ready by taking advantage of this fully remote learning opportunity. The course is modular, and can be done a step at a time, as your busy schedule permits.
Get started today!
1.Register at firstresponder.ngridsafety.com Once you create your user ID and password, you’ll be able to access all the e-learning modules and resources.
2.Progress at your own pace, on your own schedule. Begin your utility safety training, one module at a time.
Register now
Be prepared. Register today for your FREE e-learning at firstresponder.ngridsafety.com.

Columbia County Fire Coordinator's Office
50 Grandinetti Drive
Ghent, N.Y. 12075
 Office: (518) 822-8610