If your agency already has a property roster in a spreadsheet, you can import it into Fire in one upload. The importer reads the CSV, creates the property, the building, and the occupancy in a single transaction per row, and reports any rows that could not be imported.

Step by step

  1. From the menu, click Properties.
  2. Click Import.
  3. Click Choose file and select your CSV.
  4. Click Upload.
  5. The status page shows progress as the import runs. When it finishes, the page shows the count of properties, buildings, and occupancies imported, plus any errors.

What the CSV should contain

The importer is set up for the column layout used by most county property rosters. The typical columns are:

  • Address parts -- street, city, state, ZIP.
  • Parcel number and station or dispatch identifiers.
  • Building details -- year built, floors, basement, height, width, length, square feet, construction type, roof type.
  • Utility shutoff locations -- Knox box, FDC, sprinkler room, alarm panel, gas, electrical.
  • Info fields -- water supply, exposure, access problems, ventilation problems, time normally occupied, pre-plan notes.
  • Hazmat present, critical infrastructure, NERIS location use.
  • Latitude and longitude.

What to know

  • Empty rows are skipped.
  • If a row has no latitude or longitude, the property is still created but it will not appear on the map until you add coordinates.
  • The importer does not deduplicate against existing properties. If you upload the same file twice, you get two records. Review the import results before deciding whether to re-run.
  • The progress page polls automatically, so you can leave it open and come back when the import is done.
Tip: Start with a small CSV (10 to 20 rows) to confirm the column mapping looks right. Once you are happy with the results, upload the full file.