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SF 451

A bill for an act relating to the duties of fire officials and reports of fires and emergency responses.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Dawn Driscoll

SF 451 standardizes fire/emergency reporting and expands data sharing: fire chiefs gain NCIC and DOT data access during investigations, with thresholds and deadlines.

Subcommittee: Schultz, Blake, and Bousselot.
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Bill Summary · SF 451

Summary of Iowa SF 451 (Introduced Feb. 26, 2025)

SF 451 is a bill addressing coordination between fire officials and law enforcement, and establishing reporting requirements for fires and emergency responses. It includes data-sharing provisions with the Department of Transportation and access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database for fire officials under certain conditions.

Purpose and intent

  • Improve data collection and reporting related to fires and emergency responses.
  • Facilitate information sharing among fire departments, law enforcement, and transportation agencies when fire officials are certified law enforcement officers.
  • Create standardized reporting to the Fire Marshal’s Division for incidents meeting specific criteria.

Key provisions

  • Data sharing with DOT during investigations

    • The Department of Transportation shall provide registration information to the fire department chief (or the chief’s designee) in the course of a required investigation if the fire official is a law enforcement officer certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA).

  • Access to NCIC for fire investigations

    • All law enforcement agencies in the state must authorize access to the NCIC database to the fire department chief (or designee) in the course of a required investigation if the fire official is an ILEA-certified law enforcement officer.

  • Fire and emergency reporting thresholds

    • For fires not involving death, serious bodily injury, property damage over $200,000, or suspected arson—but with an estimated damage of $50 or more or emergency responses by the fire service—the fire official must file a report with the Fire Marshal’s Division.
    • Filing deadline: within seven days after the end of the month, regardless of whether the division participated in or supervised the investigation.
    • Extension: upon written request, an extension of up to 14 days may be granted for compelling reasons.

  • Content of the fire incident report

    • Must indicate all fire incidents with an estimated damage of $50 or more.
    • For each incident: names of property owners and occupants at the time of the fire; property value; estimated total loss; origin of the fire as determined by the investigation; and other facts, statistics, and circumstances.

  • Content of the emergency response report

    • For each emergency response: describe the nature of the incident, plus other facts, statistics, and circumstances concerning the emergency response.

Who is affected

  • Fire chiefs or designated fire department officials (as report submitters).
  • Law enforcement agencies and officers certified by the ILEA (potential NCIC data access).
  • Iowa Department of Transportation (data-sharing trigger).
  • Fire Marshal’s Division (receives and maintains incident and response data).
  • Property owners and occupants (information to be included in fire incident reports).

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Introduction: February 26, 2025.
  • Subcommittee action: March 4, 2025 (Schultz, Blake, Bousselot).
  • Reporting window: seven days after month’s end for eligible fires; extensions up to 14 days possible with written justification.
  • Reports cover incidents with $50+ estimated damage and all associated emergency responses.

Sponsor

  • Primary: DRISCOLL

Notes: The bill centers on enhanced interagency coordination and data transparency for fire-related incidents, with specific thresholds for reporting and explicit data elements. Potential implications include increased reporting requirements, privacy considerations around owner/occupant information, and enhanced data-sharing between transportation, fire, and law enforcement agencies.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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