The following glossary contains fire terms. The entire glossary is in ABC order and is readable by scrolling down, or by skipping to a particular section by selecting a letter.
A
Aerial Fuels
All live and dead vegetation in the forest canopy or above surface fuels,
including tree branches, twigs and cones, snags, moss, and high brush.
Aerial Ignition
Ignition of fuels by dropping incendiary devices or materials from aircraft.
Air Tanker
A fixed-wing aircraft equipped to drop fire retardants or suppressants.
Agency
Any federal, state, or county government organization participating with jurisdictional
responsibilities.
Anchor Point
An advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread, from which to
start building a fire line. An anchor point is used to reduce the chance of
firefighters being flanked by fire.
Aramid
The generic name for a high-strength, flame-resistant synthetic fabric used
in the shirts and jeans of firefighters. Nomex, a brand name for aramid fabric,
is the term commonly used by firefighters.
Aspect
Direction toward which a slope faces.
B
Backfire
A fire set along the inner edge of a fireline to consume the fuel in the path
of a wildfire and/or change the direction of force of the fire's convection
column.
Backpack Pump
A portable sprayer with hand-pump, fed from a liquid-filled container fitted
with straps, used mainly in fire and pest control. (See also Bladder Bag.)
Bambi Bucket
A collapsible bucket slung below a helicopter. Used to dip water from a variety
of sources for fire suppression.
Behave
A system of interactive computer programs for modeling fuel and fire behavior
that consists of two systems: BURN and FUEL.
Bladder Bag
A collapsible backpack portable sprayer made of neoprene or high-strength
nylon fabric fitted with a pump. (See also Backpack Pump.)
Blow-up: A sudden increase in fire intensity or rate of spread strong enough to prevent direct control or to upset control plans. Blow-ups are often accompanied by violent convection and may have other characteristics of a fire storm. (See Flare-up.)
Brush
A collective term that refers to stands of vegetation dominated by shrubby,
woody plants, or low growing trees, usually of a type undesirable for livestock
or timber management.
Brush Fire
A fire burning in vegetation that is predominantly shrubs, brush and scrub
growth.
Bucket Drops
The dropping of fire retardants or suppressants from specially designed buckets
slung below a helicopter.
Buffer Zones
An area of reduced vegetation that separates wildlands from vulnerable residential
or business developments. This barrier is similar to a greenbelt in that it
is usually used for another purpose such as agriculture, recreation areas,
parks, or golf courses.
Bump-up Method
A progressive method of building a fire line on a wildfire without changing
relative positions in the line. Work is begun with a suitable space between
workers. Whenever one worker overtakes another, all workers ahead move one
space forward and resume work on the uncompleted part of the line. The last
worker does not move ahead until completing his or her space.
Burn Out
Setting fire inside a control line to widen it or consume fuel between the
edge of the fire and the control line.
Burning Ban
A declared ban on open air burning within a specified area, usually due to
sustained high fire danger.
Burning Conditions
The state of the combined factors of the environment that affect fire behavior
in a specified fuel type.
Burning Index
An estimate of the potential difficulty of fire containment as it relates
to the flame length at the most rapidly spreading portion of a fire's perimeter.
Burning Period
That part of each 24-hour period when fires spread most rapidly, typically
from 10:00 a.m. to sundown.
C
Campfire
As used to classify the cause of a wildland fire, a fire that was started
for cooking or warming that spreads sufficiently from its source to require
action by a fire control agency.
Candle or Candling
A single tree or a very small clump of trees which is burning from the bottom
up.
Chain
A unit of linear measurement equal to 66 feet.
Closure
Legal restriction, but not necessarily elimination of specified activities
such as smoking, camping, or entry that might cause fires in a given area.
Cold Front
The leading edge of a relatively cold air mass that displaces warmer air.
The heavier cold air may cause some of the warm air to be lifted. If the lifted
air contains enough moisture, the result may be cloudiness, precipitation,
and thunderstorms. If both air masses are dry, no clouds may form. Following
the passage of a cold front in the Northern Hemisphere, westerly or northwesterly
winds of 15 to 30 or more miles per hour often continue for 12 to 24 hours.
Cold Trailing
A method of controlling a partly dead fire edge by carefully inspecting and
feeling with the hand for heat to detect any fire, digging out every live
spot, and trenching any live edge.
Command Staff
The command staff consists of the information officer, safety officer and
liaison officer. They report directly to the incident commander and may have
assistants.
Complex
Two or more individual incidents located in the same general area which are
assigned to a single incident commander or unified command.
Contain a fire
A fuel break around the fire has been completed. This break may include natural
barriers or manually and/or mechanically constructed line.
Control a fire
The complete extinguishment of a fire, including spot fires. Fireline has
been strengthened so that flare-ups from within the perimeter of the fire
will not break through this line.
Control Line
All built or natural fire barriers and treated fire edge used to control a
fire.
Cooperating Agency
An agency supplying assistance other than direct suppression, rescue, support,
or service functions to the incident control effort; e.g., Red Cross, law
enforcement agency, telephone company, etc.
Coyote Tactics
A progressive line construction duty involving self-sufficient crews that
build fire line until the end of the operational period, remain at or near
the point while off duty, and begin building fire line again the next operational
period where they left off.
Creeping Fire
Fire burning with a low flame and spreading slowly.
Crew Boss
A person in supervisory charge of usually 16 to 21 firefighters and responsible
for their performance, safety, and welfare.
Crown Fire (Crowning)
The movement of fire through the crowns of trees or shrubs more or less independently
of the surface fire.
Curing
Drying and browning of herbaceous vegetation or slash.
D
Dead Fuels
Fuels with no living tissue in which moisture content is governed almost entirely
by atmospheric moisture (relative humidity and precipitation), dry-bulb temperature,
and solar radiation.
Debris Burning
A fire spreading from any fire originally set for the purpose of clearing
land or for rubbish, garbage, range, stubble, or meadow burning.
Defensible Space
An area either natural or manmade where material capable of causing a fire
to spread has been treated, cleared, reduced, or changed to act as a barrier
between an advancing wildland fire and the loss to life, property, or resources.
In practice, "defensible space" is defined as an area a minimum
of 30 feet around a structure that is cleared of flammable brush or vegetation.
Deployment
See Fire Shelter Deployment.
Detection
The act or system of discovering and locating fires.
Direct Attack
Any treatment of burning fuel, such as by wetting, smothering, or chemically
quenching the fire or by physically separating burning from unburned fuel.
Dispatch
The implementation of a command decision to move a resource or resources from
one place to another.
Dispatcher
A person employed who receives reports of discovery and status of fires, confirms
their locations, takes action promptly to provide people and equipment likely
to be needed for control in first attack, and sends them to the proper place.
Dispatch Center
A facility from which resources are directly assigned to an incident.
Division
Divisions are used to divide an incident into geographical areas of operation.
Divisions are established when the number of resources exceeds the span-of-control
of the operations chief. A division is located with the Incident Command System
organization between the branch and the task force/strike team.
Dozer
Any tracked vehicle with a front-mounted blade used for exposing mineral soil.
Dozer Line
Fire line constructed by the front blade of a dozer.
Drip Torch
Hand-held device for igniting fires by dripping flaming liquid fuel on the
materials to be burned; consists of a fuel fount, burner arm, and igniter.
Fuel used is generally a mixture of diesel and gasoline.
Drop Zone
Target area for air tankers, helitankers, and cargo dropping.
Drought Index
A number representing net effect of evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation
in producing cumulative moisture depletion in deep duff or upper soil layers.
Dry Lightning Storm
Thunderstorm in which negligible precipitation reaches the ground. Also called
a dry storm.
Duff
The layer of decomposing organic materials lying below the litter layer of
freshly fallen twigs, needles, and leaves and immediately above the mineral
soil.
E
Energy Release Component (ERC)
The computed total heat released per unit area (British thermal units per
square foot) within the fire front at the head of a moving fire.
Engine
Any ground vehicle providing specified levels of pumping, water and hose capacity.
Engine Crew
Firefighters assigned to an engine. The Fireline Handbook defines the minimum
crew makeup by engine type.
Entrapment
A situation where personnel are unexpectedly caught in a fire behavior-related,
life-threatening position where planned escape routes or safety zones are
absent, inadequate, or compromised. An entrapment may or may not include deployment
of a fire shelter for its intended purpose. These situations may or may not
result in injury. They include "near misses."
Environmental Assessment (EA)
EAs were authorized by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.
They are concise, analytical documents prepared with public participation
that determine if an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is needed for a
particular project or action. If an EA determines an EIS is not needed, the
EA becomes the document allowing agency compliance with NEPA requirements.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
EISs were authorized by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.
Prepared with public participation, they assist decision makers by providing
information, analysis and an array of action alternatives, allowing managers
to see the probable effects of decisions on the environment. Generally, EISs
are written for large-scale actions or geographical areas.
Equilibrium Moisture Content
Moisture content that a fuel particle will attain if exposed for an infinite
period in an environment of specified constant temperature and humidity. When
a fuel particle reaches equilibrium moisture content, net exchange of moisture
between it and the environment is zero.
Escape Route: A preplanned and understood route firefighters take to move to a safety zone or other low-risk area, such as an already burned area, previously constructed safety area, a meadow that won't burn, natural rocky area that is large enough to take refuge without being burned. When escape routes deviate from a defined physical path, they should be clearly marked (flagged).
Escaped Fire
A fire which has exceeded or is expected to exceed initial attack capabilities
or prescription.
Extended Attack Incident
A wildland fire that has not been contained or controlled by initial attack
forces and for which more firefighting resources are arriving, en route, or
being ordered by the initial attack incident commander.
Extreme Fire Behavior
"Extreme" implies a level of fire behavior characteristics that
ordinarily precludes methods of direct control action. One of more of the
following is usually involved: high rate of spread, prolific crowning and/or
spotting, presence of fire whirls, strong convection column. Predictability
is difficult because such fires often exercise some degree of influence on
their environment and behave erratically, sometimes dangerously.
F
Faller
A person who fells trees. Also called a sawyer or cutter.
Field Observer
Person responsible to the Situation Unit Leader for collecting and reporting
information about an incident obtained from personal observations and interviews.
Fine (Light) Fuels
Fast-drying fuels, generally with a comparatively high surface area-to-volume
ratio, which are less than 1/4-inch in diameter and have a timelag of one
hour or less. These fuels readily ignite and are rapidly consumed by fire
when dry.
Fingers of a Fire
The long narrow extensions of a fire projecting from the main body.
Fire Behavior
The manner in which a fire reacts to the influences of fuel, weather and topography.
Fire Behavior Forecast
Prediction of probable fire behavior, usually prepared by a Fire Behavior
Officer, in support of fire suppression or prescribed burning operations.
Fire Behavior Specialist
A person responsible to the Planning Section Chief for establishing a weather
data collection system and for developing fire behavior predictions based
on fire history, fuel, weather and topography.
Fire Break
A natural or constructed barrier used to stop or check fires that may occur,
or to provide a control line from which to work.
Fire Cache
A supply of fire tools and equipment assembled in planned quantities or standard
units at a strategic point for exclusive use in fire suppression.
Fire Crew
An organized group of firefighters under the leadership of a crew leader or
other designated official.
Fire Front
The part of a fire within which continuous flaming combustion is taking place.
Unless otherwise specified the fire front is assumed to be the leading edge
of the fire perimeter. In ground fires, the fire front may be mainly smoldering
combustion.
Fire Intensity
A general term relating to the heat energy released by a fire.
Fire Line
A linear fire barrier that is scraped or dug to mineral soil.
Fire Load
The number and size of fires historically experienced on a specified unit
over a specified period (usually one day) at a specified index of fire danger.
Fire Management Plan (FMP)
A strategic plan that defines a program to manage wildland and prescribed
fires and documents the Fire Management Program in the approved land use plan.
The plan is supplemented by operational plans such as preparedness plans,
preplanned dispatch plans, prescribed fire plans, and prevention plans.
Fire Perimeter
The entire outer edge or boundary of a fire.
Fire Season: 1) Period(s) of the year during which wildland fires are likely to occur, spread, and affect resource values sufficient to warrant organized fire management activities. 2) A legally enacted time during which burning activities are regulated by state or local authority.
Fire Shelter
An aluminized tent offering protection by means of reflecting radiant heat
and providing a volume of breathable air in a fire entrapment situation. Fire
shelters should only be used in life-threatening situations, as a last resort.
Fire Shelter Deployment
The removing of a fire shelter from its case and using it as protection against
fire.
Fire Storm
Violent convection caused by a large continuous area of intense fire. Often
characterized by destructively violent surface indrafts, near and beyond the
perimeter, and sometimes by tornado-like whirls.
Fire Triangle
Instructional aid in which the sides of a triangle are used to represent the
three factors (oxygen, heat, fuel) necessary for combustion and flame production;
removal of any of the three factors causes flame production to cease.
Fire Use Module (Prescribed Fire Module)
A team of skilled and mobile personnel dedicated primarily to prescribed fire
management. These are national and interagency resources, available throughout
the prescribed fire season, that can ignite, hold and monitor prescribed fires.
Fire Weather
Weather conditions that influence fire ignition, behavior and suppression.
Fire Weather Watch
A term used by fire weather forecasters to notify using agencies, usually
24 to 72 hours ahead of the event, that current and developing meteorological
conditions may evolve into dangerous fire weather.
Fire Whirl
Spinning vortex column of ascending hot air and gases rising from a fire and
carrying aloft smoke, debris, and flame. Fire whirls range in size from less
than one foot to more than 500 feet in diameter. Large fire whirls have the
intensity of a small tornado.
Firefighting Resources
All people and major items of equipment that can or potentially could be assigned
to fires.
Flame Height
The average maximum vertical extension of flames at the leading edge of the
fire front. Occasional flashes that rise above the general level of flames
are not considered. This distance is less than the flame length if flames
are tilted due to wind or slope.
Flame Length
The distance between the flame tip and the midpoint of the flame depth at
the base of the flame (generally the ground surface); an indicator of fire
intensity.
Flaming Front
The zone of a moving fire where the combustion is primarily flaming. Behind
this flaming zone combustion is primarily glowing. Light fuels typically have
a shallow flaming front, whereas heavy fuels have a deeper front. Also called
fire front.
Flanks of a Fire
The parts of a fire's perimeter that are roughly parallel to the main direction
of spread.
Flare-up
Any sudden acceleration of fire spread or intensification of a fire. Unlike
a blow-up, a flare-up lasts a relatively short time and does not radically
change control plans.
Flash Fuels
Fuels such as grass, leaves, draped pine needles, fern, tree moss and some
kinds of slash, that ignite readily and are consumed rapidly when dry. Also
called fine fuels.
Forb
A plant with a soft, rather than permanent woody stem, that is not a grass
or grass-like plant.
Fuel
Combustible material. Includes, vegetation, such as grass, leaves, ground
litter, plants, shrubs and trees, that feed a fire. (See Surface Fuels.)
Fuel Bed
An array of fuels usually constructed with specific loading, depth and particle
size to meet experimental requirements; also, commonly used to describe the
fuel composition in natural settings.
Fuel Loading
The amount of fuel present expressed quantitatively in terms of weight of
fuel per unit area.
Fuel Model
Simulated fuel complex (or combination of vegetation types) for which all
fuel descriptors required for the solution of a mathematical rate of spread
model have been specified.
Fuel Moisture (Fuel Moisture Content)
The quantity of moisture in fuel expressed as a percentage of the weight when
thoroughly dried at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fuel Reduction: Manipulation, including combustion, or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control.
Fuel Type
An identifiable association of fuel elements of a distinctive plant species,
form, size, arrangement, or other characteristics that will cause a predictable
rate of fire spread or difficulty of control under specified weather conditions.
Fusee
A colored flare designed as a railway warning device and widely used to ignite
suppression and prescription fires.
G
General Staff
The group of incident management personnel reporting to the incident commander.
They may each have a deputy, as needed. Staff consists of operations section
chief, planning section chief, logistics section chief, and finance/administration
section chief.
Geographic Area
A political boundary designated by the wildland fire protection agencies,
where these agencies work together in the coordination and effective utilization
Ground Fuel
All combustible materials below the surface litter, including duff, tree or
shrub roots, punchy wood, peat, and sawdust, that normally support a glowing
combustion without flame.
H
Haines Index
An atmospheric index used to indicate the potential for wildfire growth by
measuring the stability and dryness of the air over a fire.
Hand Line
A fireline built with hand tools.
Hazard Reduction
Any treatment of a hazard that reduces the threat of ignition and fire intensity
or rate of spread.
Head of a Fire
The side of the fire having the fastest rate of spread.
Heavy Fuels
Fuels of large diameter such as snags, logs, large limb wood, that ignite
and are consumed more slowly than flash fuels.
Helibase
The main location within the general incident area for parking, fueling, maintaining,
and loading helicopters. The helibase is usually located at or near the incident
base.
Helispot
A temporary landing spot for helicopters.
Helitack
The use of helicopters to transport crews, equipment, and fire retardants
or suppressants to the fire line during the initial stages of a fire.
Helitack Crew
A group of firefighters trained in the technical and logistical use of helicopters
for fire suppression.
Holding Actions
Planned actions required to achieve wildland prescribed fire management objectives.
These actions have specific implementation timeframes for fire use actions
but can have less sensitive implementation demands for suppression actions.
Holding Resources
Firefighting personnel and equipment assigned to do all required fire suppression
work following fireline construction but generally not including extensive
mop-up.
Hose Lay
Arrangement of connected lengths of fire hose and accessories on the ground,
beginning at the first pumping unit and ending at the point of water delivery.
Hotshot Crew
A highly trained fire crew used mainly to build fireline by hand.
Hotspot
A particular active part of a fire.
Hotspotting
Reducing or stopping the spread of fire at points of particularly rapid rate
of spread or special threat, generally the first step in prompt control, with
emphasis on first priorities.
I
Incident
A human-caused or natural occurrence, such as wildland fire, that requires
emergency service action to prevent or reduce the loss of life or damage to
property or natural resources.
Incident Action Plan (IAP)
Contains objectives reflecting the overall incident strategy and specific
tactical actions and supporting information for the next operational period.
The plan may be oral or written. When written, the plan may have a number
of attachments, including: incident objectives, organization assignment list,
division assignment, incident radio communication plan, medical plan, traffic
plan, safety plan, and incident map.
Incident Command Post (ICP)
Location at which primary command functions are executed. The ICP may be co-located
with the incident base or other incident facilities.
Incident Command System (ICS)
The combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedure and communications
operating within a common organizational structure, with responsibility for
the management of assigned resources to effectively accomplish stated objectives
pertaining to an incident.
Incident Commander
Individual responsible for the management of all incident operations at the
incident site.
Incident Management Team
The incident commander and appropriate general or command staff personnel
assigned to manage an incident.
Incident Objectives
Statements of guidance and direction necessary for selection of appropriate
strategy(ies), and the tactical direction of resources. Incident objectives
are based on realistic expectations of what can be accomplished when all allocated
resources have been effectively deployed.
Infrared Detection
The use of heat sensing equipment, known as Infrared Scanners, for detection
of heat sources that are not visually detectable by the normal surveillance
methods of either ground or air patrols.
Initial Attack
The actions taken by the first resources to arrive at a wildfire to protect
lives and property, and prevent further extension of the fire.
J
Job Hazard Analysis
This analysis of a project is completed by staff to identify hazards to employees
and the public. It identifies hazards, corrective actions and the required
safety equipment to ensure public and employee safety.
Jump Spot
Selected landing area for smokejumpers.
Jump Suit
Approved protection suite work by smokejumpers.
K
Keech Byram Drought Index (KBDI): Commonly-used drought index adapted for fire management applications, with a numerical range from 0 (no moisture deficiency) to 800 (maximum drought).
Knock Down
To reduce the flame or heat on the more vigorously burning parts of a fire
edge.
L
Ladder Fuels
Fuels which provide vertical continuity between strata, thereby allowing fire
to carry from surface fuels into the crowns of trees or shrubs with relative
ease. They help initiate and assure the continuation of crowning.
Large Fire
1) For statistical purposes, a fire burning more than a specified area of
land e.g., 300 acres. 2) A fire burning with a size and intensity such that
its behavior is determined by interaction between its own convection column
and weather conditions above the surface.
Lead Plane
Aircraft with pilot used to make dry runs over the target area to check wing
and smoke conditions and topography and to lead air tankers to targets and
supervise their drops.
Light (Fine) Fuels
Fast-drying fuels, generally with a comparatively high surface area-to-volume
ratio, which are less than 1/4-inch in diameter and have a timelag of one
hour or less. These fuels readily ignite and are rapidly consumed by fire
when dry.
Lightning Activity Level (LAL)
A number, on a scale of 1 to 6, that reflects frequency and character of cloud-to-ground
lightning. The scale is exponential, based on powers of 2 (i.e., LAL 3 indicates
twice the lightning of LAL 2).
Line Scout
A firefighter who determines the location of a fire line.
Litter
Top layer of the forest, scrubland, or grassland floor, directly above the
fermentation layer, composed of loose debris of dead sticks, branches, twigs,
and recently fallen leaves or needles, little altered in structure by decomposition.
Live Fuels
Living plants, such as trees, grasses, and shrubs, in which the seasonal moisture
content cycle is controlled largely by internal physiological mechanisms,
rather than by external weather influences.
M
Micro-Remote Environmental Monitoring System (Micro-REMS)
Mobile weather monitoring station. A Micro-REMS usually accompanies an incident
meteorologist and ATMU to an incident.
Mineral Soil
Soil layers below the predominantly organic horizons; soil with little combustible
material.
Mobilization
The process and procedures used by all organizations, federal, state and local
for activating, assembling, and transporting all resources that have been
requested to respond to or support an incident.
Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS)
A manufactured unit consisting of five interconnecting tanks, a control pallet,
and a nozzle pallet, with a capacity of 3,000 gallons, designed to be rapidly
mounted inside an unmodified C-130 (Hercules) cargo aircraft for use in dropping
retardant on wildland fires.
Mop-up
To make a fire safe or reduce residual smoke after the fire has been controlled
by extinguishing or removing burning material along or near the control line,
felling snags, or moving logs so they won't roll downhill.
Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC)
A generalized term which describes the functions and activities of representatives
of involved agencies and/or jurisdictions who come together to make decisions
regarding the prioritizing of incidents, and the sharing and use of critical
resources. The MAC organization is not a part of the on-scene ICS and is not
involved in developing incident strategy or tactics.
Mutual Aid Agreement
Written agreement between agencies and/or jurisdictions in which they agree
to assist one another upon request, by furnishing personnel and equipment.
N
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
NEPA is the basic national law for protection of the environment, passed by
Congress in 1969. It sets policy and procedures for environmental protection,
and authorizes Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments
to be used as analytical tools to help federal managers make decisions.
National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS)
A uniform fire danger rating system that focuses on the environmental factors
that control the moisture content of fuels.
National Wildfire Coordinating Group
A group formed under the direction of the Secretaries of Agriculture and the
Interior and comprised of representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau
of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and Association of State Foresters. The group's
purpose is to facilitate coordination and effectiveness of wildland fire activities
and provide a forum to discuss, recommend action, or resolve issues and problems
of substantive nature. NWCG is the certifying body for all courses in the
National Fire Curriculum.
Nomex �
Trade name for a fire resistant synthetic material used in the manufacturing
of flight suits and pants and shirts used by firefighters (see Aramid).
Normal Fire Season
1) A season when weather, fire danger, and number and distribution of fires
are about average. 2) Period of the year that normally comprises the fire
season.
O
Operations Branch Director
Person under the direction of the operations section chief who is responsible
for implementing that portion of the incident action plan appropriate to the
branch.
Operational Period
The period of time scheduled for execution of a given set of tactical actions
as specified in the Incident Action Plan. Operational periods can be of various
lengths, although usually not more than 24 hours.
Overhead
People assigned to supervisory positions, including incident commanders, command
staff, general staff, directors, supervisors, and unit leaders.
P
Pack Test
Used to determine the aerobic capacity of fire suppression and support personnel
and assign physical fitness scores. The test consists of walking a specified
distance, with or without a weighted pack, in a predetermined period of time,
with altitude corrections.
Paracargo
Anything dropped, or intended for dropping, from an aircraft by parachute,
by other retarding devices, or by free fall.
Peak Fire Season
That period of the fire season during which fires are expected to ignite most
readily, to burn with greater than average intensity, and to create damages
at an unacceptable level.
Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE)
All firefighting personnel must be equipped with proper equipment and clothing
in order to mitigate the risk of injury from, or exposure to, hazardous conditions
encountered while working. PPE includes, but is not limited to: 8-inch high-laced
leather boots with lug soles, fire shelter, hard hat with chin strap, goggles,
ear plugs, aramid shirts and trousers, leather gloves and individual first
aid kits.
Preparedness
Condition or degree of being ready to cope with a potential fire situation
Prescribed Fire
Any fire ignited by management actions under certain, predetermined conditions
to meet specific objectives related to hazardous fuels or habitat improvement.
A written, approved prescribed fire plan must exist, and NEPA requirements
must be met, prior to ignition.
Prescribed Fire Plan (Burn Plan)
This document provides the prescribed fire burn boss information needed to
implement an individual prescribed fire project.
Prescription
Measurable criteria that define conditions under which a prescribed fire may
be ignited, guide selection of appropriate management responses, and indicate
other required actions. Prescription criteria may include safety, economic,
public health, environmental, geographic, administrative, social, or legal
considerations.
Prevention
Activities directed at reducing the incidence of fires, including public education,
law enforcement, personal contact, and reduction of fuel hazards.
Project Fire
A fire of such size or complexity that a large organization and prolonged
activity is required to suppress it.
Pulaski
A combination chopping and trenching tool, which combines a single-bitted
axe-blade with a narrow adze-like trenching blade fitted to a straight handle.
Useful for grubbing or trenching in duff and matted roots. Well-balanced for
chopping.
R
Radiant Burn
A burn received from a radiant heat source.
Radiant Heat Flux
The amount of heat flowing through a given area in a given time, usually expressed
as calories/square centimeter/second.
Rappelling
Technique of landing specifically trained firefighters from hovering helicopters;
involves sliding down ropes with the aid of friction-producing devices.
Rate of Spread
The relative activity of a fire in extending its horizontal dimensions. It
is expressed as a rate of increase of the total perimeter of the fire, as
rate of forward spread of the fire front, or as rate of increase in area,
depending on the intended use of the information. Usually it is expressed
in chains or acres per hour for a specific period in the fire's history.
Reburn
The burning of an area that has been previously burned but that contains flammable
fuel that ignites when burning conditions are more favorable; an area that
has reburned.
Red Card: Fire qualification card issued to fire rated persons showing their training needs and their qualifications to fill specified fire suppression and support positions in a large fire suppression or incident organization.
Red Flag Warning
Term used by fire weather forecasters to alert forecast users to an ongoing
or imminent critical fire weather pattern.
Rehabilitation
The activities necessary to repair damage or disturbance caused by wildland
fires or the fire suppression activity.
Relative Humidity (Rh)
The ratio of the amount of moisture in the air, to the maximum amount of moisture
that air would contain if it were saturated. The ratio of the actual vapor
pressure to the saturated vapor pressure.
Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS)
An apparatus that automatically acquires, processes, and stores local weather
data for later transmission to the GOES Satellite, from which the data is
re-transmitted to an earth-receiving station for use in the National Fire
Danger Rating System.
Resources
1) Personnel, equipment, services and supplies available, or potentially available,
for assignment to incidents. 2) The natural resources of an area, such as
timber, crass, watershed values, recreation values, and wildlife habitat.
Resource Management Plan (RMP)
A document prepared by field office staff with public participation and approved
by field office managers that provides general guidance and direction for
land management activities at a field office. The RMP identifies the need
for fire in a particular area and for a specific benefit.
Resource Order
An order placed for firefighting or support resources.
Retardant
A substance or chemical agent which reduced the flammability of combustibles.
Run (of a fire)
The rapid advance of the head of a fire with a marked change in fire line
intensity and rate of spread from that noted before and after the advance.
Running
A rapidly spreading surface fire with a well-defined head.
S
Safety Zone
An area cleared of flammable materials used for escape in the event the line
is outflanked or in case a spot fire causes fuels outside the control line
to render the line unsafe. In firing operations, crews progress so as to maintain
a safety zone close at hand allowing the fuels inside the control line to
be consumed before going ahead. Safety zones may also be constructed as integral
parts of fuel breaks; they are greatly enlarged areas which can be used with
relative safety by firefighters and their equipment in the event of a blowup
in the vicinity.
Scratch Line
An unfinished preliminary fire line hastily established or built as an emergency
measure to check the spread of fire.
Severity Funding
Funds provided to increase wildland fire suppression response capability necessitated
by abnormal weather patterns, extended drought, or other events causing abnormal
increase in the fire potential and/or danger.
Single Resource
An individual, a piece of equipment and its personnel complement, or a crew
or team of individuals with an identified work supervisor that can be used
on an incident.
Size-up
To evaluate a fire to determine a course of action for fire suppression.
Slash
Debris left after logging, pruning, thinning or brush cutting; includes logs,
chips, bark, branches, stumps and broken understory trees or brush.
Sling Load
Any cargo carried beneath a helicopter and attached by a lead line and swivel.
Slop-over
A fire edge that crosses a control line or natural barrier intended to contain
the fire.
Smokejumper
A firefighter who travels to fires by aircraft and parachute.
Smoke Management
Application of fire intensities and meteorological processes to minimize degradation
of air quality during prescribed fires.
Smoldering Fire
A fire burning without flame and barely spreading.
Snag
A standing dead tree or part of a dead tree from which at least the smaller
branches have fallen.
Spark Arrester
A device installed in a chimney, flue, or exhaust pipe to stop the emission
of sparks and burning fragments.
Spot Fire
A fire ignited outside the perimeter of the main fire by flying sparks or
embers.
Spot Weather Forecast
A special forecast issued to fit the time, topography, and weather of each
specific fire. These forecasts are issued upon request of the user agency
and are more detailed, timely, and specific than zone forecasts.
Spotter
In smokejumping, the person responsible for selecting drop targets and supervising
all aspects of dropping smokejumpers.
Spotting
Behavior of a fire producing sparks or embers that are carried by the wind
and start new fires beyond the zone of direct ignition by the main fire.
Staging Area
Locations set up at an incident where resources can be placed while awaiting
a tactical assignment on a three-minute available basis. Staging areas are
managed by the operations section.
Strategy
The science and art of command as applied to the overall planning and conduct
of an incident.
Strike Team
Specified combinations of the same kind and type of resources, with common
communications, and a leader.
Strike Team Leader
Person responsible to a division/group supervisor for performing tactical
assignments given to the strike team.
Structure Fire
Fire originating in and burning any part or all of any building, shelter,
or other structure.
Suppressant
An agent, such as water or foam, used to extinguish the flaming and glowing
phases of combustion when direction applied to burning fuels.
Suppression
All the work of extinguishing or containing a fire, beginning with its discovery.
Surface Fuels
Loose surface litter on the soil surface, normally consisting of fallen leaves
or needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches that have not yet decayed
enough to lose their identity; also grasses, forbs, low and medium shrubs,
tree seedlings, heavier branchwood, downed logs, and stumps interspersed with
or partially replacing the litter.
Swamper
(1) A worker who assists fallers and/or sawyers by clearing away brush, limbs
and small trees. Carries fuel, oil and tools and watches for dangerous situations.
(2) A worker on a dozer crew who pulls winch line, helps maintain equipment,
etc., to speed suppression work on a fire.
T
Tactics
Deploying and directing resources on an incident to accomplish the objectives
designated by strategy.
Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR)
A restriction requested by an agency and put into effect by the Federal Aviation
Administration in the vicinity of an incident which restricts the operation
of nonessential aircraft in the airspace around that incident.
Terra Torch �
Device for throwing a stream of flaming liquid, used to facilitate rapid ignition
during burn out operations on a wildland fire or during a prescribed fire
operation.
Test Fire
A small fire ignited within the planned burn unit to determine the characteristic
of the prescribed fire, such as fire behavior, detection performance and control
measures.
Timelag
Time needed under specified conditions for a fuel particle to lose about 63
percent of the difference between its initial moisture content and its equilibrium
moisture content. If conditions remain unchanged, a fuel will reach 95 percent
of its equilibrium moisture content after four timelag periods.
Torching
The ignition and flare-up of a tree or small group of trees, usually from
bottom to top.
Two-way Radio
Radio equipment with transmitters in mobile units on the same frequency as
the base station, permitting conversation in two directions using the same
frequency in turn.
Type
The capability of a firefighting resource in comparison to another type. Type
1 usually means a greater capability due to power, size, or capacity.
U
Uncontrolled Fire: Any fire which threatens to destroy life, property, or natural resources, and
Underburn
A fire that consumes surface fuels but not trees or shrubs. (See Surface Fuels.)
V
Vectors
Directions of fire spread as related to rate of spread calculations (in degrees
from upslope).
Volunteer Fire Department (VFD)
A fire department of which some or all members are unpaid.
W
Water Tender
A ground vehicle capable of transporting specified quantities of water.
Weather Information and Management System (WIMS)
An interactive computer system designed to accommodate the weather information
needs of all federal and state natural resource management agencies. Provides
timely access to weather forecasts, current and historical weather data, the
National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS), and the National Interagency Fire
Management Integrated Database (NIFMID).
Wet Line
A line of water, or water and chemical retardant, sprayed along the ground,
that serves as a temporary control line from which to ignite or stop a low-intensity
fire.
Wildland Fire
Any nonstructure fire, other than prescribed fire, that occurs in the wildland.
Wildland Fire Implementation Plan (WFIP)
A progressively developed assessment and operational management plan that
documents the analysis and selection of strategies and describes the appropriate
management response for a wildland fire being managed for resource benefits.
Wildland Fire Situation Analysis (WFSA)
A decision-making process that evaluates alternative suppression strategies
against selected environmental, social, political, and economic criteria.
Provides a record of decisions.
Wildland Fire Use
The management of naturally ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific
prestated resource management objectives in predefined geographic areas outlined
in Fire Management Plans.
Wildland Urban Interface
The line, area or zone where structures and other human development meet or
intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels.
Wind Vectors
Wind directions used to calculate fire behavior.