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17 July 2026
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Technology: CAL FIRE launches First Due as state-wide incident reporting platform
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) recently announced the official launch of First Due as CAL FIRE’s state-wide incident reporting platform, marking a major milestone in the agency’s ongoing effort to modernise emergency response documentation, improve data quality, and support the future of fire service reporting in California. Beginning 1 July 2026, First Due becomes the official platform for the CAL FIRE Incident Reporting System, known as CALFIRS, replacing ImageTrend as the department’s incident reporting system.
This transition represents a significant step forward for CAL FIRE, providing a modern, cloud-based reporting platform designed to support fire, rescue, EMS, hazardous materials and other emergency incident documentation. First Due will also support CAL FIRE’s continued transition to the National Emergency Response Information System or NERIS, the new national standard for emergency response data collection and reporting.
“Accurate, timely, and complete incident reporting is essential to understanding the work our firefighters perform every day and to ensuring California’s emergency response data is captured in a meaningful way,” said Mike Morlan, Deputy Chief, California Incident Data and Statistics Programme. “The transition to First Due gives CAL FIRE a more modern platform to support our personnel in the field, strengthen data consistency and better position the department for the future of emergency response reporting.”
CALFIRS is administered by the California Incident Data and Statistics Programme, known as CalStats, within CAL FIRE’s Office of the State Fire Marshal. The system serves as the department’s official record for documenting emergency incidents and supports state-wide reporting, analysis, compliance, prevention review, operational awareness and national data submission requirements.
The launch of First Due follows months of system configuration, data preparation, testing, training and coordination between CAL FIRE, First Due, and key programme stakeholders. CAL FIRE personnel across the state participated in training sessions throughout June to prepare for the transition, with additional training and support planned as the department continues refining workflows and incorporating future reporting enhancements.
“First Due gives us the opportunity to move beyond basic compliance and toward better incident intelligence,” said Deputy Chief Mike Morlan. “This transition is about more than changing platforms. It is about improving the way we capture, review and use emergency response data so we can better support our firefighters, our cooperators and the communities we serve.”
Under the new platform, CAL FIRE personnel will complete incident reports directly in First Due. Supervisors, prevention staff and programme administrators will continue to play an important role in reviewing reports for completeness, accuracy, fire cause information, acres burned, incident location and other critical data elements.
The department will continue to phase in additional workflows, reports, quality control tools and NERIS-related enhancements as national schemas and vendor capabilities continue to evolve. CAL FIRE will also continue working with First Due to improve mapping, incident location accuracy, perimeter and acreage documentation and other geospatial data tools that are increasingly important to fire reporting and prevention analysis.
“The goal is to make the reporting process more efficient for the field while improving the quality and usefulness of the data we collect,” Morlan said. “Our personnel do an incredible amount of work every day. CALFIRS helps ensure that work is accurately documented, understood, and represented at the local, state and national levels.”
CAL FIRE’s transition to First Due does not change emergency response operations, dispatch procedures or the department’s commitment to serving the people of California. It strengthens the system used to document those responses and provides a foundation for more consistent, timely and actionable emergency incident data state-wide.
About CALFIRS
The CAL FIRE Incident Reporting System, known as CALFIRS, is CAL FIRE’s official incident reporting platform. CALFIRS supports emergency incident documentation, data review, prevention analysis, state-wide reporting, and national emergency response data submission requirements for more than 650 000 incidents annually.
About First Due
First Due provides fire and EMS records management software designed to support emergency response agencies through incident reporting, pre-planning, community risk reduction, scheduling, asset management and other public safety workflows.
Source: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
This transition represents a significant step forward for CAL FIRE, providing a modern, cloud-based reporting platform designed to support fire, rescue, EMS, hazardous materials and other emergency incident documentation. First Due will also support CAL FIRE’s continued transition to the National Emergency Response Information System or NERIS, the new national standard for emergency response data collection and reporting.
“Accurate, timely, and complete incident reporting is essential to understanding the work our firefighters perform every day and to ensuring California’s emergency response data is captured in a meaningful way,” said Mike Morlan, Deputy Chief, California Incident Data and Statistics Programme. “The transition to First Due gives CAL FIRE a more modern platform to support our personnel in the field, strengthen data consistency and better position the department for the future of emergency response reporting.”
CALFIRS is administered by the California Incident Data and Statistics Programme, known as CalStats, within CAL FIRE’s Office of the State Fire Marshal. The system serves as the department’s official record for documenting emergency incidents and supports state-wide reporting, analysis, compliance, prevention review, operational awareness and national data submission requirements.
The launch of First Due follows months of system configuration, data preparation, testing, training and coordination between CAL FIRE, First Due, and key programme stakeholders. CAL FIRE personnel across the state participated in training sessions throughout June to prepare for the transition, with additional training and support planned as the department continues refining workflows and incorporating future reporting enhancements.
“First Due gives us the opportunity to move beyond basic compliance and toward better incident intelligence,” said Deputy Chief Mike Morlan. “This transition is about more than changing platforms. It is about improving the way we capture, review and use emergency response data so we can better support our firefighters, our cooperators and the communities we serve.”
Under the new platform, CAL FIRE personnel will complete incident reports directly in First Due. Supervisors, prevention staff and programme administrators will continue to play an important role in reviewing reports for completeness, accuracy, fire cause information, acres burned, incident location and other critical data elements.
The department will continue to phase in additional workflows, reports, quality control tools and NERIS-related enhancements as national schemas and vendor capabilities continue to evolve. CAL FIRE will also continue working with First Due to improve mapping, incident location accuracy, perimeter and acreage documentation and other geospatial data tools that are increasingly important to fire reporting and prevention analysis.
“The goal is to make the reporting process more efficient for the field while improving the quality and usefulness of the data we collect,” Morlan said. “Our personnel do an incredible amount of work every day. CALFIRS helps ensure that work is accurately documented, understood, and represented at the local, state and national levels.”
CAL FIRE’s transition to First Due does not change emergency response operations, dispatch procedures or the department’s commitment to serving the people of California. It strengthens the system used to document those responses and provides a foundation for more consistent, timely and actionable emergency incident data state-wide.
About CALFIRS
The CAL FIRE Incident Reporting System, known as CALFIRS, is CAL FIRE’s official incident reporting platform. CALFIRS supports emergency incident documentation, data review, prevention analysis, state-wide reporting, and national emergency response data submission requirements for more than 650 000 incidents annually.
About First Due
First Due provides fire and EMS records management software designed to support emergency response agencies through incident reporting, pre-planning, community risk reduction, scheduling, asset management and other public safety workflows.
Source: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)