Hickory has developed a multi-disaster plan that assigns certain duties to various departments. This plan assists staff with the decision-making process when confronted with a major emergency. One of the duties assigned to the Hickory Fire Department (HFD) is to identify and record the types and amounts of hazardous materials located in facilities within the city. The problem is the HFD does not maintain inventory records on hazardous materials used or stored at facilities within the city. The purpose of this study was to identify record management systems that allow access to information and supporting data on hazardous materials used or stored at facilities located within the city.Evaluative research was used to answer the following: 1) what federal and state requirements are placed on the owners of facilities to report hazardous materials information, 2) what record management systems are available to the fire service, 3) what record management systems are being used by other fire departments. To answer the first question, a review of regulatory reporting requirements that pertained to hazardous materials was conducted. To answer the second question, five record management systems capable of recording hazardous materials information were selected for evaluation. Convenience samples were designed and utilized as feedback forms to answer the third question. The results revealed there are reporting requirements for owners of facilities to provide hazardous materials information to fire departments. Two programs, E-plan and CAMEO, were found to be suitable for further consideration.The majority of departments that returned the convenience sample maintained their hazardous material records electronically and on paper. Accessing information from electronic records was faster than paper records. Those using the information should ultimately choose the system. If those making the final choice do not find either of the two programs suitable, others should be evaluated.