By Marcy Ost
The annual Certificate of Existence (CoE) process is just around the corner!
The CoE program is fairly simple: each department completes an online form once a year, which triggers eligibility for a distribution from the insurance tax fund.
How to Prepare
Of course, we understand that “simple” doesn’t always mean “easy.” Online reporting can be challenging for many departments, especially with limited time and resources. Please know—we’re here to help every step of the way.
First things first - If your incident reporting has fallen behind, now is a great time to get caught up. We have a year-to-date incident report for all reporting departments here. Check it out and make sure it’s correct. Keep in mind the report is YTD for the previous month. For example, in mid-June, we pulled the numbers for the year up until the end of May.
If you find a problem or you’re not reporting for any reason, give me a call and we’ll figure it out!
Do you know your ISO rating? If not, get in touch with the ND Field Representative, Dave Schneibel. 701-681-9428 or dschneibel@iso.com.
What to Expect
On the first weekday of August, we’ll send an email announcing that the CoE system is officially open for submissions. That said, the system is always open, so you can log in anytime to review or update your department’s information, especially if you’ve had a change in leadership, phone numbers, or email addresses.
You’ll receive detailed instructions on how to log in, reset passwords, and complete your submission. North Dakota Century Code requires two signatures on each CoE submission, which means two separate users from your department or city must have CoE accounts. This is the most common point of confusion: each account must have a unique login. Typically, one user is the Fire Chief and the other is the secretary or treasurer, but this can vary depending on your department’s structure.
Need Help Logging In?
If you have ever logged in, you don’t need to request access again. If you’ve lost track of who has access or forgotten your login details, don’t worry—we can look that up for you.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute
We’ll send several reminders leading up to the deadline, which is October 31st. While that may seem like plenty of time, it’s a busy time of year for everyone, and it comes up fast.
Remember: you don’t have to do this alone. If you run into a roadblock, call us. We’re happy to walk you through it.
Mark Your Calendar!
We’ll be offering a Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, July 8th, at noon CT to walk through the CoE process, introduce a couple of updates, and answer your questions. Invitations have been sent out to the emails on record, but if you haven’t seen yours, we’ll list the link to register below. We hope to see you there!
To find more information on this or other trainings and conversations, check out our calendar here.
What’s Coming Up?
ND Injury Prevention Coalition meeting – Tuesday, July 15
ND CRR Kitchen Table – Friday, July 18
We’ll be meeting our new NFPA regional rep and discovering how she and the NFPA can help us in our work.
If you’re interested in this meeting or being on the regular meeting (third Friday of the month), let me know – malost@nd.gov.
NFPA Kitchen Table – Thursday, July 24
Orange County Fire will be there to talk about their “beyond the schoolhouse” outreach and education.
If you’re interested in being on the invitation list for the NFPA Kitchen Table meetings, send an email to crr@nfpa.org
Fast Facts
- Fireworks-related injuries and incidents remain steady, with each year showing significant activity, particularly in July, when we average 38 fires every year.
- July 4th and 5th are consistently the most dangerous days. ND averages 15 fires every 4th of July and another 11 on the 5th due to fireworks.
- Fireworks explosions without fire are also a consistent risk, averaging five a year.
- While July is the clear hot zone, fireworks incidents occurred in at least 5 to 7 months each year, including:
- Spring (March–May)
- Fall/Winter (October, November, December)
- Fireworks aren’t just a summer issue.
National Statistics:
- Fireworks started an estimated 31,302 fires in 2022, including 3,504 structure fires, 887 vehicle fires, 26,492 outside fires, and 418 unclassified fires. These fires caused an estimated six civilian deaths, 44 civilian injuries, and $109M in direct property damage. (Note: Total may not equal sum because of rounding error.)
- In 2022, U.S hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 10,200 people for fireworks-related injuries; Over half of those injuries were to the extremities (29% hands and fingers, 19% legs, 5% arms), and 35% were to the eyes or other parts of the head.
- Children younger than 15 years of age accounted for 28% of the estimated 2022 injuries. These injury estimates were obtained or derived from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2022 Fireworks Annual Report.
Source: NFPA Research Division