Mission and Responsibilities
The West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office, Fire Department Services Division is responsible for duties that include administration and oversight for all fire and non-fire data collected through the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and related data analysis and fire department training, evaluation of fire departments and the coordination and issuance of emergency vehicle permits for all West Virginia fire departments and certain other entities.
Beneficiary Designation Form
Beneficiary Designation Form for WV Death Benefit
Emergency Vehicle Permits (EVPS)
Please note:
- No EVPs will be issued without the Fire Chief's approval/signature on the proper application form (see below).
- EVPs for personally owned vehicles (POVs) are for vehicles with Class A plates.
- EVPs that are no longer valid should be listed as "VOID" by the Fire Chief on documents sent to the Fire Department Services Division.
- EVPs that are no longer valid should be returned to this office if possible, along with the form marked and signed by the Chief to "void" that permit.
- All applications for EVPs must include current copies of insurance and registration.
- Temporary registration cards are not acceptable for privately owned vehicles (POVs).
To apply for an EVP for a street legal Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which includes all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain vehicles, minitrucks, and pneumatic-tired military vehicles, the SPV must be agency owned and meet the requirements outlined in West Virginia Code §17A-13-1. You can apply for a Special Purpose Vehicle Certification through the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles. Once that has been obtained, you can fill out the Apparatus Emergency Vehicle Permit Application below.
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
Emergency Vehicle Permit Application - Apparatus (Online and mobile friendly)
Emergency Vehicle Permit Application - Apparatus (Paper form)
Emergency Vehicle Permit Application - Personally Owned Vehicle [POV] (Online and mobile friendly)
Emergency Vehicle Permit Application - Personally Owned Vehicle [POV] (Paper form)
Fire Department List
Fire Service Emergency Response Guides and Tool Kits
2015 Edition Pipeline Emergency Response Guidelines
Fire Department Pipeline Response, Emergency Planning and Preparedness-Toolkit
High Hazard Flammable Trains (HHFT) On-Scene Incident Commander Field Guide
ISO Mitigation Online
Pipeline Information and Free Training Opportunities
Fire Service Codes, Policies, Rules, and Standards
Funding Applications and Department Documentation
Reminder:
The 3rd digit (00000) of your FDID# determines your department type. 1 is volunteer, 2 is career, and 3 is part-paid. Make sure you are filling out the correct application.
As soon as you click Submit, our office is in possession of your application. You will receive a receipt by email, at the fire department's email address, stating that your application was received.
If you do not see the email in your inbox, please check your junk/spam folder. This will save you time from having to email or make a phone call to check the status. 2025 Funding and Certification Applications are due no later than 01/31/2025.
Applications (mobile friendly)
1. 2025 Certification and Disbursement Application for Insurance Premium Tax Money for Volunteer Departments
2. 2025 Certification of Career Departments
3. 2025 Certification and Disbursement Application for Insurance Premium Tax Money for Part-Paid Departments
Department Documentation (mobile friendly)
Department Bylaws (must be signed and dated)
Department ISO Rating (please include letter And report)
Department Maps and Mutual Aid Agreements
Department Meeting Nights
Department Roster (Names, ranks, phone numbers)
Junior Firefighters
Junior Firefighter Dos and Don'ts
Fire Marshal's Memorandum Concerning Child Labor Rules
Approved Training Courses for Junior Firefighters
NERIS
Onboarding into WV NERIS (plugging you into the system) will begin on September 2, 2025. This is a firm date, barring technical difficulties.
What do I need to do to get ready for onboarding?
To prepare for onboarding, please gather all the information outlined in the NERIS - Fire Department Onboarding Prep Instructions document. This document has been distributed and posted multiple times since December, so you should already have the necessary information assembled.
Our office/NERIS will contact you when it is your turn to onboard. We kindly ask for your patience, and request that you refrain from calling or emailing to inquire about your onboarding schedule, as you will be contacted directly when the time comes.
Once you have been onboarded, please review your department's information for accuracy. This especially includes verifying your first due map. If you discover an error, please contact NERIS for instructions and/or corrections.
Please note that reporting into WV NERIS will begin on December 1, 2025 for All departments. This will include logging all run records for all incident types and applies to those departments using third-party software, as well.
Please ensure that all NFIRS reports have been entered/uploaded into the NFIRS system prior to onboarding. They must be Valid! This will establish a clear cutoff point for that software. In other words, January through August will be entered into NFIRS, September through December will be entered into NERIS.
More information will be coming out as it becomes available. Our website (firemarshal.wv.gov) is ground zero for all things NERIS and NFIRS.
Due to ongoing technicalities, I have opted for this method: 1st - Website (ground zero), 2nd - Email to fire department email address from funding applications (courtesy).
It is your responsibility to check the website often for updates, as the opportunity to connect by email may, at times, be unavailable due to technical difficulties.
09/02/2025
Do Not Enter Any Reports Into NFIRS That Are Dated After August 31, 2025!!!
Hold September Reports Until The All-Clear Has Been Given By Our Office! All September Reports Will Be Entered Into NERIS Once The System Has Gone Live. It Will Not Go Live Until All Departments Have Been Processed. Your Patience Is Appreciated!!
09/03/25
NERIS is your tech support for the NERIS program. Unfortunately, the way the NERIS system is set up, our office is unable to assist you with the onboarding process. If you're having trouble logging in to verify your department's information, please contact the NERIS helpdesk at https://neris.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals.
If you do Not have 3rd party software, and are going to enter your reports manually, you must submit a ticket to NERIS to request that permission.
09/05/25
Once you are onboarded into NERIS, please go back into NFIRS to ensure all your department's reports for January through August have been entered and are valid. This step is crucial for proceeding, as all reports for this period must be online and valid.
Also, please add Alice and Malena as admin users in your department. This will allow your reports to be reviewed for funding verification.
Additionally, you can request a training section within NERIS for your department. This will provide your users with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the program before it goes live, without affecting your real data. Please remember that this training section is separate from your department's official NERIS account, and any reports entered there will not count towards your reporting for funding and grants. All reports must be entered into your department's actual section to receive credit for funding and grants.
09/09/25
NERIS Helpdesk Email Address
neris.helpdesk@ul.org If you have any questions or problems, please reach out to NERIS. Our office is unable to assist you with the program.
Regardless of what anyone tells you, you Do Not have to purchase a third-party software in order to use NERIS. You can request to enter manually like you did in NFIRS.
09/10/25
By now, all departments should have created an account in NERIS (sounds like "near us") and verified all documented department information and the 1st due map.
Departments that have:
- entered all valid reports for January through August into NFIRS,
- set up their NERIS account, and have
- added Alice.K.Morrison@wv.gov and Malena.L.Boggess@wv.gov as active users to their department in NERIS,
will be included in Round 1 of approved departments to start reporting September reports into NERIS prior to the December 1st reporting date. Any department that has not done this will have to wait to start reporting into NERIS.
Each department that is granted approval for Round 1 will receive an email at the fire department's email address (the one you put on your funding application) that will say "Your Department Has Been Approved for Early Reporting" in the subject line. This is the only email address we will use to communicate about NERIS, so check it often.
If your department is a high-volume department, you may want to consider fulfilling the criteria above to be able to start reporting early so you don't get overwhelmed.
Why would your department not be on the Round 1 approval list?
- Failure to submit all valid January through August reports into NFIRS (yes, invalid reports will hold you up)
- Failure to set up a NERIS account
- Failure to add Alice and Malena as active users (click inactive and when the dialogue box pops up, activate user) in NERIS (we can't approve your funding if we can't see your reports)
- Reporting anything into NERIS besides the month of September (except for our 4 beta tester departments)
Note: If you are using 3rd party software, you can enter all of your reports into their system, but you will have to wait to upload them into NERIS until your department has been approved. All vendors have been made aware of this restriction.
Register for NERIS here:https://safetyscience.my.site.com/neris/
Once you get in you will have an Invite button on the upper right side. When you click that you can invite Alice.K.Morrison@wv.gov and Malena.L.Boggess@wv.gov to be members of your department so we can view your reports. If you see inactive by our names, just click Inactive and a box will pop up for you to activate our accounts.
Hold off on reporting until I tell you it's time.
09/16/25
09/17/25
NFIRS to NERIS Hybrid Year Photo
09/19/25
If you haven't received an email about registering for NERIS, or you're having issues with your account, please contact NERIS as they are your tech support for this program. > Contact Us | NERIS
A list is being gathered of all departments that have completed the following tasks, to approve them for early reporting prior to December 1st. If you have a high-volume department, you may want to consider completing these tasks asap, so you don't have to wait to enter all those reports:
All reports are in NFIRS for January 1, 2025, through August 31, 2025.
All reports in NFIRS are Valid.
You must register for a NERIS account.
You must add Alice and Malena as Admin users in NERIS and activate those accounts.
You will be contacted when it's time to report into NERIS. It will also be posted here.
09/22/25
For the departments that haven't registered for a NERIS account yet, please use this link https://safetyscience.my.site.com/neris/. This should get you into NERIS. Once you've added Malena and Alice as active Admin Users, you'll be one step closer to being approved for early reporting.
NFIRS
We're onboarding into NERIS, but what about NFIRS?
NFIRS has been around for 50 years and now the entire country is switching over to NERIS. This is a critical time in our reporting history. It is extremely important that you follow the reporting schedule as follows and stay current and valid:
All reports from January 2025 through August 2025 must be entered exclusively into NFIRS. We kindly request that you begin entering these reports as soon as possible to ensure timely completion. Please have them entered into NFIRS prior to December 1st.
It is important that all reports are valid, as we have a very limited timeframe for corrections before NFIRS is completely shut down.
This change in reporting is a result of a mandatory system switch and is not related to your funding. Your cooperation with this transition schedule is greatly appreciated.
Once NERIS goes live there should only be September through December entered into NERIS.
09/02/2025
All Reports for January through August should be entered into NFIRS only and made Valid ASAP!
09/03/2025
Do not apply for a new NFIRS account just because you can't get logged in. Call the office to have your account reset, unless you are part of the problem below. Any new accounts will be rejected if it's for the reason just mentioned.
Several departments have started entering reports into NFIRS for September after being told not to by email and website notifications. Any report mistakenly entered into NFIRS for the month of September will be deleted. All users must stop entering September into NFIRS!! The only months that should be in NFIRS is January through August. This gives us a clean break in between systems. These departments will be set to pending until accounts can be moved to read only access.
09/05/2025
There are 182 departments with invalid reports that need to be corrected. Please search in NFIRS and click the "Invalid" button to filter for these reports.
Once you have corrected them, please let me know so I can confirm them and update my list.
Personnel Certifications
2025 Fire Chief Certification Application (For Chiefs who took office between 01/01/2025 and 12/31/2025)
Items needed for application may be photographed and uploaded into the application above:
1. Letter on official letterhead from the Appointing Authority (FD President, Mayor, etc., it can NOT be the Fire Chief)
Letter must include Chief's full name, the date that he/she officially assumed the responsibilities as Chief, and it must be signed by the Appointing Authority.
2. Fire Officer 1 & 2 Certifications
3. Photograph of the Front of your driver's license
4. Photograph of the Back of your driver's license
5. Fire Chief Affidavit (download, print, fill out in front of notary, photograph, upload into application)
Reciprocity Application (mail to address on bottom of page 1)
Temporary Fire Officer Application
West Virginia Firefighter Certification Repository
West Virginia Firefighter Certification Repository Instructions
West Virginia Approved Fire Service Training Courses and Resources
WV Career Fire Service Approved Training Courses
WV Junior Fire Service Approved Training Courses
WV Volunteer Fire Service Approved Training Courses
Fire Apparatus Driver-Operator Modular Training Enrollment Form - Department
Fire Apparatus Driver-Operator Modular Training Enrollment Form - Individual
Modular Training Enrollment Form - Department
Modular Training Enrollment Form - Individual
Safety Guidelines for Water Rescue Training
Divisional Email Address: sfmfds@wv.gov
(To Fire Departments: The Full name of your fire department is required in the subject line of all emails for identification purposes.
Do Not abbreviate your fire department name. ie: bvfd.)
Staff Listing
Division Director
David "Mark" Stewart, Deputy State Fire Marshal
(304) 558-2191
email David.M.Stewart@wv.gov
Field Personnel
Assistant State Fire Marshal - Bradley Scott
(304) 558-2191, Ext. 20757
email Bradley.R.Scott@wv.gov
Office Personnel
Alice Morrison
Data Analyst I
NFIRS State Program Manager
NERIS State Lead
(304) 558-2191, Ext. 20751
(304) 352-0751 Direct Line
email Alice.K.Morrison@wv.gov
Malena Boggess
Regulatory Licensing Support Specialist II
NFIRS Support Technician
(304) 558-2191, Ext. 20758
email Malena.L.Boggess@wv.gov