NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview

The NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire provides an extensive listing of approved terms and definitions used by the NWCG community. It contains terms commonly used by NWCG in the areas of wildland fire and incident management and is not intended to list all terms used by NWCG groups and member agencies. The NWCG has directed that all committee and subgroup product glossaries be contained within the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire to maintain definition consistency and clarity among documents.

Comments, questions, and recommendations shall be submitted to the appropriate agency program manager assigned to the Data Standards and Terminology Board (DSTB).

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205 (Quick View)

EDG Explorer is a database platform used for managing NWCG Glossary terms. The following table is a quick view of the terms found in EDG. More detailed information such as rules, documentation, and term relationships may be viewed in EDG Explorer.

Note: If the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire is not displaying below please report it to NWCG Webmaster.

Term	Steward	Status	Definition
ABCD Miscellaneous	Data Management Committee DMC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A FireCode used by the USDA Forest Service to track and compile cost information for emergency initial attack fire suppression expenditures for A, B, C, &amp; D size class fires on Forest Service lands.
abort	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	To jettison a load of water or retardant from an aircraft, or terminate a preplanned aircraft maneuver.
abort area	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A designated area where unused quantities of water or fire retardant may be jettisoned, usually to permit an airtanker to land with less than a full load.
Above Ground Level	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Term frequently used in aviation operations, usually in connection with a stated altitude.
absolute humidity	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, (also called vapor density). In a system of moist air, the ratio of the mass of water vapor present to the volume occupied by the mixture; that is, the density of the water vapor component.
absorption	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Act of soaking up and retaining a gas in liquid or in a solid; also retention of radiant energy.
accounting code	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Agency-specific accounting data. Each agency assigns a specific accounting code to an incident.
accrual reports	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Cost reports utilized for financial obligation purposes.
accuracy descriptor (Point of Origin) (POO)	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Description of the methods used to determine the certainty and precision of the fire location at the point of origin.
action plan	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	Any tactical plan developed by any element of ICS in support of the incident action plan.
active fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any fire that has not been called "out".
active resources	Incident Business Committee IBC	Archived	Resources checked in and assigned work tasks on an incident.
activity (fire cause)	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	The thing that a person is doing when a wildland fire ignition occurs.
activity group	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Further refines wildfire cause supporting data, providing information for prevention programs for targeted messaging.
activity name	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Common name of activity
activity type	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Type of activity or event
actual completion date	Fuels Management Committee FMC	Approved	Date when treatment was physically completed
adapter	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A device for connecting hoses of the same size with non-matching hose threads, or connecting a threaded coupling to a quick-connect coupling.
adjective rating	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A public information description of the relative severity of the current fire danger situation.
Administrative Payment Team (APT)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A team that supports incident agencies by processing payments for resources. Resources may include emergency equipment, casuals, local vendors for supplies, etc.
Administrative Representative (AR)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Individual responsible for incident agency business management functions, such as personnel, procurement, fiscal, etc.
administrative workweek	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Period of seven consecutive calendar days designated in advance by the head of a department (5 U.S.C. 6101(a)).
Administratively Determined (AD)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A person hired and compensated under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers.
admission	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Oral or written statement tending to link its maker to involvement in a particular crime.
Advanced Life Support (ALS)	Emergency Medical Committee EMC	Approved	Emergency medical care and interventions performed by an Advanced EMT or Paramedic with limited supervision, using critical thinking and autonomous decision making skills which includes invasive procedures and medication administration.
Advanced Life Support (ALS)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Advanced life support skills performed by an EMS practitioner or service, e.g. intravenous fluids and drug administration.
advancing a line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Moving a hose lay toward a specified area from the point where the hose-carrying apparatus has stopped.
advancing fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	That portion of the fire with rapid fire spread with higher intensity which is normally burning with the wind and/or up slope.
advection	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, the process of transport of an atmospheric property solely by the mass motion of the atmosphere; also the rate of change of the value of the advected property at a given point.
Advisory	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A time-sensitive alert from an NWCG Committee to the wildland fire community regarding procedural changes, equipment information and/or use updates, potential safety hazards, etc. Yellow hash-marked bordered stationary will be associated with this type of alert.
Adze Hoe	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A fire-trenching or digging tool having a sharp, tempered blade, which is useful for heavy grubbing, trenching, and light cutting.
aerial detection	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	A system for, or the act of discovering, locating, and reporting fires from aircraft.
aerial fuels	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Standing and supported live and dead combustibles not in direct contact with the ground and consisting mainly of foliage, twigs, branches, stems, cones, bark, and vines.
aerial ignition	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Ignition of fuels by dropping incendiary devices or materials from aircraft.
Aerial Ignition Device (AID)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Inclusive term applied to equipment designed to ignite wildland fuels from an aircraft.
agency	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	An administrative division of a government with a specific function, or a non-governmental organization (e.g., private contractor, business, etc.) that offers a particular kind of assistance. A federal, Tribal, state or local agency that has direct fire management or land management responsibilities or that has programs and activities that support fire management activities.
agency administrator	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The official position responsible for the management of a geographic unit or functional area. The managing officer of an agency, division thereof, or jurisdiction having statutory responsibility for incident mitigation and management. Examples: Federal Line Officer, State Forest Officer/Delegate or Fire Manager, Tribal Chairperson, Fire Chief, Police Chief, Sheriff, Mayor or County Representative.
agency certification	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The process whereby the employing agency or contractor documents that the individual is fully qualified to perform duties and responsibilities for a specified position.
agency dispatcher	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A person working within an agency organization who processes resources to and from incidents.
agency pilot	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A federal employee pilot or pilot contracted by a federal agency to fly agency, contracted or leased aircraft. This does not include pilots employed by an aircraft vendor as part of an aircraft services contract, such as airtanker contracts, helicopter contracts or other aircraft contracts.
agency specific costs	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Costs incurred by an agency that address the sole concern of only the agency or are not incurred with mutual benefit. Agency specific costs are not shared.
air attack	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The deployment of fixed-wing or rotary aircraft on a wildland fire, to drop retardant or extinguishing agents, shuttle and deploy crews and supplies, or perform aerial reconnaissance of the overall fire situation.
air pack	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Portable air (not oxygen) tanks with regulators which allow firefighters to breathe while in toxic smoke conditions. Usually rated for 30 minutes of service. Used primarily on fires involving structures or hazardous materials.
air quality model	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Mathematical or quantitative representation or simulation of air quality processes; e.g., emission models, receptor models, or air quality dispersion models.
aircraft accident	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An unplanned event that does substantial damage or causes serious injuries when associated with the operation of applicable aircraft. Event occurs between the time engine(s) is (are) started or rotors turning for the purpose of commencing flight, until the aircraft comes to rest with engines and propellers or rotors stopped, the brakes set or wheel chocks in place, and all persons have disembarked.&nbsp;
aircraft ground mishap	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An aircraft mishap in which there is no intent to fly. However, the power plants and/or rotors are in operation and damage is incurred requiring replacement or repair of rotors, propellers, wheels, tires, wing tips, flaps, etc., or injury is incurred requiring first-aid or medical attention.
airtanker	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Fixed-wing aircraft certified by FAA as being capable of transport and delivery of fire retardant solutions.
Alert System	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A method used to distribute various types of general or time-sensitive information from an NWCG committee to the wildland fire community. Information may include bulletins, advisories, or safety warnings, each with an associated color hash-marked bordered stationary.
alidade	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A sighting device used by lookouts to determine the horizontal bearing and sometimes the vertical angle of a fire from a lookout.
all hazard incident	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A threat or an incident, natural or manmade, that warrants action to protect life, property, the environment, and public health or safety, and to minimize disruptions of government, social, or economic activities. It includes natural disasters, cyber incidents, industrial accidents, pandemics, acts of terrorism, sabotage, and destructive criminal activity targeting critical infrastructure. This also includes the effects climate change has on the threats and hazards.
allocated resources	Incident Business Committee IBC	Archived	Resources dispatched to an incident, that have not yet checked in.
allowable payload	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The amount of weight that is available for passengers and/or cargo. On the load calculation form it is the operating weight subtracted from the selected weight.
altimeter setting	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92) inches.
anemometer	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, the general name for instruments designed to measure total wind speed.
annual certification	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	Annual review by an employing agency of an individual's position qualifications and documentation certifying that the individual is fully qualified to perform duties and responsibilities for a specified position. Annual certification is based on established performance standards and agency specific requirements.&nbsp;
annual plant	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A plant that lives for one growing season, starting from a seed each year.
anticyclone	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, an atmospheric anticyclonic circulation, a closed circulation. The wind in an anticyclone is in the clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere.
apparatus	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A motor-driven vehicle, or group of vehicles, designed and constructed for the purpose of fighting fires. May be of different types such as engines, water tenders, ladder trucks, etc.
apparatus identifier	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The alphanumeric characters assigned to an apparatus.
apparatus number	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Archived	The external alphanumeric value painted on the side of the equipment.
Aramid	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	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.
arduous (duty level)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Archived	Arduous duty field work requires above-average endurance and superior conditioning.&nbsp; Duties may include an occasional demand for extraordinarily strenuous activity in emergency situations under adverse environmental conditions over extended periods. The pace of work typically is set by the emergency condition.&nbsp; Essential functions include, but are not limited to: running, walking or hiking, climbing, jumping, twisting, bending, lifting more than 50 pounds, and carrying 45 pounds or more for extended periods over difficult terrain.&nbsp;
area command	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An organization that oversees the management of multiple incidents or oversees the management of a very large or evolving situation with multiple ICS organizations.
area ignition	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Ignition of several individual fires throughout an area, either simultaneously or in rapid succession, and so spaced that they add to and influence the main body of the fire to produce a hot, fast-spreading fire condition.
armed	SEATB Single Engine Airtanker Board, IAB Interagency Airtanker Board	Approved	A term used to indicate that the airtanker dropping mechanism is set to allow a programmed release of part or all of the load of fire retardant.
aspect	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Cardinal direction toward which a slope faces.
aspect code (Point of Origin) (POO)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	A code used to describe the direction toward which the predominant slope faces at the point of origin of the fire (including ridgetops and/or flat ground). Point of origin is the location where a competent ignition source came into contact with the material first ignited and sustained combustion occurred.
assessment [fire weather]	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A fire weather fire danger product based on a thorough evaluation of all pertinent sources of meteorological, fire danger and resource information.
assigned resources	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Resources checked in and assigned work tasks on an incident.
assistant	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A title for subordinates of principal Command Staff and EOC director&rsquo;s staff positions. The title indicates a level of technical capability, qualification, and responsibility subordinate to the primary positions. Assistants may also be assigned to unit leaders.
assisting agency	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	An agency or organization providing personnel, services, or other resources to the agency with direct responsibility for incident management.
at incident	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Proposed New	The resource is committed and at the assigned incident.
atmospheric inversion	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, a departure from the usual decrease or increase with altitude of the value of an atmospheric property; also, the layer through which this departure occurs (the "inversion layer"), or the lowest altitude at which the departure is found ("the base of the inversion"). In fire management usage, nearly always refers to an increase in temperature with increasing height.
atmospheric stability	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, the ability of the atmosphere at rest to become turbulent or laminar due to the effects of buoyancy. Air tending to become or remain turbulent is said to be statically unstable; one tending to become or remain laminar is statically stable; and one on the borderline between the two (which might remain laminar or turbulent depending on its history) is statically neutral.
attack time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The starting date, hour, and minute of the first suppression work on a fire.
attack unit	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Single vehicle or aircraft and its associated personnel and material provided for the purpose of responding to and abating a fire or other emergency.
attack unit response	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The response of one attack unit to a fire or other emergency with no regard for the number of return trips to that same fire or emergency.
attainment area	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	An area considered to have air quality as good as, or better than, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) as defined in the Clean Air Act. An area may be in attainment for one or more pollutants but be in nonattainment for one or more other pollutants.&nbsp;
authority having jurisdiction	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An organization, office, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure.
authorized passenger	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Passengers may be transported in government aircraft only if they meet definition of an Official or an Unofficial Passenger.
Automatic Weather Station (AWS)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A non-GOES telemetered weather station that provides hourly observations to a local database.
auxiliary pump	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A secondary pump on an engine in addition to the main pump. Usually of small capacity.
available		Proposed New	The resource can be used to fill a request. Resources on preposition incidents qualify as available.
available resources	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Resources assigned to an incident and available for assignment.
avoidance	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A smoke emission control strategy that considers meteorological conditions when scheduling prescribed fires in order to avoid incursions into smoke sensitive areas.
azimuth [measurement technique]	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Horizontal angle or bearing of a point measured clockwise from true (astronomic) north.
backburn	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Used in some localities to specify fire set to spread against the wind in prescribed burning.
backfire torch	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A flame generating device (e.g., a fount containing diesel oil or kerosene and a wick, or a backpack pump serving a flame-jet).
backfiring	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A tactic associated with indirect attack, intentionally setting fire to fuels inside the control line to slow, knock down, or contain a rapidly spreading fire. Backfiring provides a wide defense perimeter and may be further employed to change the force of the convection column. Backfiring makes possible a strategy of locating control lines at places where the fire can be fought on the firefighter's terms. Except for rare circumstance meeting specified criteria, backfiring is executed on a command decision made through line channels of authority.&nbsp;
background level	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	In air pollution control, the concentration of air pollutants in a definite area during a fixed period of time prior to the starting up, or the stoppage, of a source of emission under control. In toxic substances monitoring, the average presence in the environment, originally referring to naturally-occurring phenomena.&nbsp;
backing fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	That portion of the fire with slower rates of fire spread and lower intensity normally moving into the wind and/or down slope.
Bambi Bucket	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A collapsible bucket slung below a helicopter. Used to dip water from a variety of sources for fire suppression.
base [incident]	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A location where personnel coordinate and administer logistics functions for anincident. There is typically only one base per incident. (An incident name or other designator is added to the term Base.) The ICP may be co-located with the Incident Base.
base [initial attack]	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The location of initial attack forces.
base hours	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The number of hours in a daily tour of duty.
Basic Life Support (BLS)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Basic life support skills performed by an EMS practitioner or service, e.g. splinting, bandaging, oxygen administration, use of the AED.
Beaufort Wind Scale	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, a system of estimating and reporting wind speeds using a numerical scale ranging from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane).
behavior	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	An observable activity or action demonstrated by an individual in a particular context.
benefits	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	Something that represents, promotes or enhances a desired outcome, being of positive value and contributing to the attainment of organizational goals. Benefits represent one end of the spectrum of outcomes from fire, with the opposite end being harm, loss or damage.&nbsp;
Best Available Control Measures (BACM)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	An emission limitation action based on the maximum degree of emission reduction (considering energy, environmental, and economic impacts) achievable through application of production processes and available methods, systems, and techniques.
billable/reimbursable costs	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Those agency costs that are billable and/or reimbursable as defined by the master or individual cost share agreement.
birth month day	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The birth month and day for the overhead resource.
blind area	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An area in which neither the ground nor its vegetation can be seen from a given observation point.
block plan	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A detailed prescription for treating a specified burning block with fire.
blowup	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Sudden increase in fireline intensity or rate of spread of a fire sufficient to preclude direct control or to upset existing suppression plans. Often accompanied by violent convection and may have other characteristics of a fire storm.
board of review	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A board or committee selected to review results of fire suppression action on a given unit or the specific action taken on a given fire. The board reviews the results in order to identify reasons for both good and poor action and to recommend or prescribe ways and means of doing an effective and efficient job. Reviews the results of a safety/accident investigation.&nbsp;
bone yard [mop up]	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A mop up term. To "bone yard" a fire means to systematically work the entire area, scraping embers off remaining fuel, feeling for heat with the hands, and piling unburned materials in areas cleared to mineral soil.
booster hose	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The most common type of hose attached and stored on wildland engine booster reels. The hose is made of neoprene and does not appreciably collapse when stored empty.
booster reel	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A reel for the booster hose mounted on a fire engine, often supplied by the auxiliary pump. This reel usually carries a 1-inch (25 mm) or 3/4 inch (19 mm) hose and frequently contains an electric rewind mechanism.
boundary conditions	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The temperature and relative humidity of the boundary layer.
boundary layer [atmospheric]	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, the bottom layer of the troposhpere that is in contact with the surface of the earth. It is often turbulent and is capped by a statically stable layer of air or temperature inversion.
Bowles Bag	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A neoprene tank designed for attachment to the landing skid frame of a helicopter. It has a capacity of 80 to 100 gallons (303 to 378 liters) of water or retardant.
box canyon	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	A steep-sided, dead end canyon.
break left or right	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Means "turn" left or right. Applies to aircraft in flight, usually on the drop run, and when given as a command to the pilot, implies expectation of prompt compliance.
breakover	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	A fire edge that crosses a control line or natural barrier intended to confine the fire.
broadcast burning	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Prescribed burning activity where fire is applied generally to most or all of an area within well defined boundaries for reduction of fuel hazard, as a resource management treatment, or both.
brown and burn	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Application of herbicide to desiccate living vegetation prior to burning.
brush	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	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 patrol unit	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any light, mobile vehicular unit with limited pumping and water capacity for off-road operations.
build-up [fire danger]	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The cumulative effects of long-term drying on current fire danger.
build-up [fire management]	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The increase in strength of a fire management organization.
build-up [fire spread]	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The accelerated spreading of a fire with time.
build-up [weather]	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Towering cumulus clouds which may lead to thunderstorms later in the day.
bulk density	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Weight per unit volume. For fuels, this is usually expressed as pounds per cubic foot; for soils, grams per cubic centimeter.
Bulletin	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A general alert from an NWCG committee to the wildland fire community regarding the release of subject-specific information such as technical information, equipment updates, accident reports, etc. Depending on the origin and/or the subject content, a green hash-marked bordered stationary may be associated with this type of alert.
bumpup method	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Progressive method of fireline construction 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 of those ahead move one space forward and resume work on the uncompleted part of the line. The last worker does not move ahead until work is completed in his/her space. Forward progress of the crew is coordinated by a crew boss.&nbsp;
burn [area]	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An area burned over by wildland fire.
burn [fire]	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A reference to a working fire.
burn block	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A discrete area within a larger prescribed or fire use project.
burn patterns (design)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Apparent and obvious design of burned material and the burning path from the area of origin.
burn severity	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A qualitative assessment of the heat pulse directed toward the ground during a fire. Burn severity relates to soil heating, large fuel and duff consumption, consumption of the litter and organic layer beneath trees and isolated shrubs, and mortality of buried plant parts.&nbsp;
Burned Area Emergency Response Team (BAER Team)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	BAER teams are formed to analyze post-fire conditions and to take immediate emergency stabilization action to prevent loss of life and property and critical and natural resources. It is the Agency Administrator&rsquo;s responsibility to order or designate a BAER Team.
burned area rehabilitation	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	The post-fire activities prescribed and implemented to rehabilitate and restore fire damaged lands.
burning ban	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A declared ban on open air burning within a specified area, usually due to sustained high fire danger.
burning conditions	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The state of the combined factors of the environment that affect fire behavior in a specified fuel type.
burning index (fire behavior)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A relative number related to the contribution that fire behavior makes to the amount or effort needed to contain a fire in a specified fuel type. Doubling the burning index indicates that twice the effort will be required to contain a fire in that fuel type as was previously required, providing all other parameters are held constant.&nbsp;
burning index (flame length)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	An estimate of the potential difficulty of fire containment as it relates to the flame length at the head of the fire.
burning index meter	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A device used to determine the burning index for different combinations of burning index factors.
burning out	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Setting fire inside a control line to consume fuel located between the edge of the fire and the control line.
burning priority rating	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	System of rating slash to indicate the treatment objective, whether or not burning is required to meet that objective, the fuel treatment necessary to achieve successful burning, and the time of year burning should occur.
burning rotation	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The planned number of years between prescribed fires on a specified area.
burning torch	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A flame generating device (e.g., a fount containing diesel oil or kerosene and a wick, or a backpack pump serving a flame-jet).
Buying Team	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A team that supports one or more incidents and is authorized to procure a wide range of services, supplies, and land and equipment rentals. In addition, the Buying Team Leader has the responsibility of coordinating property accountability with the Supply Unit Leader.
Buys Ballots Law	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, a law describing the relationship of the horizontal wind direction in the atmosphere to the pressure distribution; if one stands with the back to the wind, the pressure to the left is lower than to the right in the Northern Hemisphere.
cache	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A pre-determined complement of tools, equipment and/or supplies stored in a designated location, available for incident use.
calculated acres	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	In Development	A measure of acres calculated (i.e., infrared) from a geospatial perimeter of a fire. More specifically, the number of acres within the current perimeter of a specific, individual incident, including unburned and unburnable islands.
Call When Needed (CWN)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appointment/agreement that meets the following conditions: Employing office is a government or contractor entity There is no set work schedule; the person is in a &ldquo;call-when-needed&rdquo; status. Employee receives compensation for work
camp	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A geographical site within the general incident area (separate from the Incident Base) that is equipped and staffed to provide sleeping, food, water, and sanitary services to incident personnel.
candling	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The burning of the foliage of a single tree or a small group of trees, from the bottom up.
canopy	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	The stratum containing the crowns of the tallest vegetation present (living or dead), usually above 20 feet.
capability	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	In Development	The extent of someone's or something's ability to support a wildland fire.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A colorless, odorless, nonpoisonous gas, which results from fuel combustion and is normally a part of the ambient air.
Carbon Monoxide (CO)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A colorless, odorless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete fuel combustion.
carcinogen	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Any substance that can cause or contribute to the production of cancer.
cardinal altitudes	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Odd or "even" thousand-foot (305 m) altitudes or flight levels. E.g., 5,000, 6,000, 7,000; FL 250, FL 260, and FL 270.
career	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appointment/agreement that meets the following conditions: Employing office is a government entity Employees are permanent employees Year-round work schedule Employee receives compensation for work
career-seasonal	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appointment/agreement that meets the following conditions: Employing office is a government entity Employees are permanent employees who are placed in nonduty/nonpay status and recalled to duty in accordance with pre-established conditions of employment Annually recurring periods of work of at least 6 months, but less than 12 months, during a calendar year Employee receives compensation for work
cargo compartment	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An internal area of an aircraft specifically designed to carry baggage or cargo.
cargo drop	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Dropping of equipment or supplies, with or without a parachute, from an aircraft in flight.
carousel hook	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A remote hook attached to the end of a longline. It has four or more individual hooks which can be independently released, allowing the pilot to fly cargo loads to different locations without landing.
casual employee or hire	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A person hired and compensated under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers.
casual hire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appointment/agreement that meets the following conditions: Term of appointment is based on duration of the emergency situation for which the employee is hired. Employee receives compensation for work based on Administratively Determined (AD) Pay Plan for Emergency Workers
category day	Smoke Committee SmoC	Approved	A numerical index related to the ability of the atmosphere to disperse smoke. Different agencies use different scales [e.g., in South Carolina, the current scale is based on ventilation factor and ranges from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent)].
ceiling	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, the height ascribed to the lowest layer of clouds or obscuring phenomena when it is reported as broken, overcast, or obscuration and not classified "thin" or "partial." The ceiling is termed unlimited when the foregoing conditions are not satisfied.
celsius	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	According to the American Meteorological Society, same as centigrade temperature scale, by convention. Centigrade temperature scale is a temperature scale with the ice point of water at 0 degrees and the boiling point at 100 degrees.
center firing	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Method of broadcast burning in which fire is ignited in the center of the area to create a strong draft; additional fires are then ignited progressively nearer the outer control lines (sometimes in one step) as indraft increases so as to draw the flames and smoke toward the center.&nbsp;
center location	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The city and state pairing for the dispatch center location
certifying official	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The agency official at the home unit who is responsible for authorizing and granting position certification per agency policy. The agency official is responsible for completing the agency certification block located on the inside front cover of a Position Task Book.&nbsp;
chain	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Unit of measure in land survey, equal to 66 feet (20 M) (80 chains equal 1 mile). Commonly used to report fire perimeters and other fireline distances, this unit is popular in fire management because of its convenience in calculating acreage (e.g., 10 square chains equal one acre).
chain of command	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The orderly line of authority within the rank of incident management organizations.
char (byproduct)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Carbonaceous material formed by incomplete combustion of an organic material, most commonly wood; remains of burned materials.
char (fire simulation)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	In fire simulation, a darkened area within the fire perimeter; usually indicates fire has already passed through; usually created by an opaque material blocking out a selected portion of basic scene illumination.
charged line	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hose filled with water under pressure and ready to use.
check valve	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A valve that permits flow of liquid through a hose or pipe in one direction but prevents a return flow. Uses include the prevention of backflow on uphill hose lays, loss of prime with centrifugal pumps and chemical contamination in fire chemical mixing systems.&nbsp;
check-in	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The process whereby resources first report to an incident. Check-in locations include incident command post (ICP), base or camps, staging areas, helibases, or direct to a tactical assignment. All responders, regardless of agency affiliation, report in to receive an assignment.
chief of party	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The chief of party is responsible to the sending unit dispatcher until destination is reached. Chief of party is responsible for all traveling personnel assigned on the manifest list.
circumstantial evidence	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Testimony or information not based on actual personal knowledge or observation, but dependent on inference of other facts or experience. For example, testimony that defendant's cigarette lighter was found in ashes of a fire.
cirrus	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A form of high cloud, composed of ice crystals, which seldom obscures the sun.
claim	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A written demand for a specific amount of money or other objects of value, other than ordinary obligations incurred for services, supplies, or things.
Class B foam	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Foam designed for use on Class B or flammable liquid fires; made from fluorocarbon-based surfactants, therefore capable of strong filming action, but incapable of efficient wetting of Class A fuels.
Class I Areas (air quality)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Geographic areas designed by the Clean Air Act subject to the most stringent restrictions on allowable increment of air quality deterioration. Class I areas include Forest Service wildernesses and nation memorial parks over 5,000 acres, National Parks exceeding 6,000 acres, international parks, as well as other designated lands.&nbsp;
climate class	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	In NFDRS, one of four classifications of general climate of an area.
climatological breakpoint	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Points on the cumulative distribution of one fire weather/fire danger index without regard to associated fire occurrence/business.
closed area	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	An area in which specified activities or entry are temporarily restricted to reduce risk of human-caused fires or to mitigate the risk to human health or safety by potential or on-going wildland fires.
closure	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	An administrative action limiting or prohibiting access to a specific geographic or jurisdictional area for the purposes of reducing wildfire or the risk it poses to life, property, and/or resources. Example of use: "Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. 261.50 (a) and (b), it is hereby ordered that the prohibitions hereinafter set forth apply to the general forest area of the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests until further notice."
cloud	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A visible cluster of minute water/ice particles in the atmosphere.
cloudy	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Adjective class representing the degree to which the sky is obscured by clouds. In weather forecast terminology, expected cloud cover of about 0.7 or more warrants use of this term. In the National Fire Danger Rating System, 0.6 or more cloud cover is termed "cloudy."
co-op fire	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Refers to federal, state, and local cooperative fire programs.
combination nozzle tip	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Two attached straight stream nozzle tips of different orifice size used to increase or restrict water flow.
combustion period	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Total time required for a specified fuel component to be completely consumed.
combustion rate	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Rate of heat release per unit of burning area per unit of time.
command	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The act of directing, ordering, or controlling by virtue of explicit statutory, regulatory, or delegated authority.
command presence	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	How leaders present themselves to others. The personal attributes and traits that determine whether leaders are worthy of trust and respect from their subordinates.
comments (repair)		Approved	Comments on the suppression repair for each feature.
Communications Unit	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Communications Unit staff install and test communications equipment, supervise and operate the incident communications center, distribute and recover communications equipment assigned to incident personnel, and maintain and repair communications equipment on site.Most complex incidents have an incident Communications Plan. Staff in the Communications Unit produce this plan, as they are responsible for assigning radio frequencies; establishing voice and data networks for command, tactical, support, and air units; setting up on-scene telephoneand public-address equipment; and providing any necessary off-incident communication links.
Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)	WMSC WUI Mitigation Subcommittee, Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	A plan developed in the collaborative framework established by the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and agreed to by state, Tribal, and local government, local fire department, other stakeholders and federal land management agencies managing land in the vicinity of the planning area. A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) identifies and prioritizes areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments and recommends the types and methods of treatment on Federal and non-Federal land that will protect one or more at-risk communities and essential infrastructure and recommends measures to reduce structural ignitability throughout the at-risk community. A CWPP may address issues such as wildfire response, hazard mitigation, community preparedness, or structure protection - or all of the above.&nbsp;
compactness	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Spacing between fuel particles.
compare and contrast (fire damage)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The practice of comparing and contrasting the fire damage on different surfaces of an object that has been subjected to the oncoming fire.
compass rose	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	A circle, graduated in degrees, printed on some charts or marked on the ground at an airport or heliport. It is used as a reference to either true or magnetic direction.
Compensation/Claims Unit	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Compensation and Claims Unit staff are responsible for financial concerns resulting from property damage, injuries, or fatalities at the incident. The specific activities vary depending on the incident. Staff handling injury compensation ensure that all forms needed by workers&rsquo; compensation programs and local agencies are completed. These staff also typically maintain files on injuries and illnesses associated with the incident and obtain written witness statements. Since Medical Unit staff may also perform some of these tasks, the Medical and the Compensation and Claims Units should coordinate closely. The Compensation and Claims Unit staff may assist with civil tort claims investigations involving incident property, and the staff maintain logs on the claims, obtain witness statements, and document investigations and agency follow-up activities.
competency	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	A broad description that groups core behaviors necessary to perform a specific function.
complex identifier	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) of the complex.
complex name	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The name of the complex that the fire is assigned.
concentrate	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A substance that has been concentrated; specifically, a liquid that has been made denser, as by the removal of some of its water.
conceptual model	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A model that is a diagram or description of a set of relationships between factors that describe how a system works, such as an ecological model.
condensation	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The process by which a gas becomes a liquid.
condition class	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Depiction of the degree of departure from historical fire regimes, possibly resulting in alterations of key ecosystem components. These classes categorize and describe vegetation composition and structure conditions that currently exist inside the Fire Regime Groups. Based on the coarse-scale national data, they serve as generalized wildfire rankings. The risk of loss of key ecosystem components from wildfires increases from Condition Class 1 (lowest risk) to Condition Class 3 (highest risk).
conduction	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Heat transfer through a material from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature.
confine	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A wildfire response strategy of restricting a wildfire to a defined area, primarily using natural barriers that are expected to restrict the spread of the wildfire under the prevailing and forecasted weather conditions.
consistency (foam)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Uniformity and size of bubbles.
constant danger	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Resultant of all fire danger factors that are relatively unchanging in a specific area (e.g., resource values at risk, topography, fuel type, exposure to prevailing wind).
contained	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The status of a wildfire suppression action signifying that a control line has been completed around the fire, and any associated spot fires, which can reasonably be expected to stop the fire's spread.
containment (hazardous materials)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The act of controlling hazardous spilled or leaking materials.
containment (wildfire)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The status of a wildfire suppression action signifying that a control line has been completed around the fire, and any associated spot fires, which can reasonably be expected to stop the fire's spread.
continental climate	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Climate that is characteristic of the interior of a land mass of continental size, marked by large annual diurnal and day-to-day ranges of temperature, low relative humidity and irregular precipitation.
contingency actions	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	A back-up plan of action when actions described in the primary plan are no longer appropriate. Contingency actions are required to be taken when the result exceeds its intent. Actions are taken to return the project to its intended design.
contingency plan	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The portion of a prescribed fire plan, incident action plan, or implementation plan that identifies possible but unlikely events and the contingency resources needed to mitigate those events.
contingency resources	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Planned and identified fire suppression personnel and equipment that mitigate possible but unlikely events that exceed or are expected to exceed holding resource capabilities.
contour map	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	A map having lines of equal elevation that represent the land surface (Topographic).
contract	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Any written agreement giving one party a right, a service, or a commodity in exchange for a right, a service, or a commodity. Contracts include land use permits, purchase orders, equipment rental agreements, leases, etc.
contracted resource vendor	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The name of the company who, through a contract, provides resources to support incident management activities.
Contracting Officer (CO)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Agency personnel with specific delegation of procurement authority.
Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	An individual designated by the Contracting Officer to provide technical support for the contract within specific authority and limitations as specified in the delegation. The COTR/COR must be agency certified.
control line	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	An inclusive term for all constructed or natural barriers and treated fire edges used to control a fire.
control time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The time a fire is declared controlled.
controlled	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The completion of control line around a fire, any spot fires therefrom, and any interior islands to be saved; burned out any unburned area adjacent to the fire side of the control lines; and cool down all hotspots that are immediate threats to the control line, until the lines can reasonably be expected to hold under the foreseeable conditions.&nbsp;
controlled airspace	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Airspace of defined dimensions within which air traffic control service is provided to IFR&nbsp;(Instrument Flight Rules) and VFR&nbsp;(Visual Flight Rules) flights in accordance with the airspace classification.
convection (energy transfer)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The transfer of heat by the movement of a gas or liquid; convection, conduction, and radiation are the principal means of energy transfer.
convective-lift fire phase	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The phase of a fire when most of the emissions are entrained into a definite convection column.
convergence	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The term for horizontal air currents merging together or approaching a single point, such as at the center of a low pressure area producing a net inflow of air. When this occurs in the lower atmosphere, the excess air is removed by rising air currents. Expansion of the rising air above a convergence zone results in cooling, which in turn often gives condensation (clouds) and sometimes precipitation.&nbsp;
convergence zone (fire weather)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	In fire weather, that area where two winds come together from opposite directions and are forced upwards often creating clouds and precipitation.
conversion burning	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Burning an area where brush has excluded forest reproduction to prepare the area for tree planting.
cooperating agency	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An agency supplying assistance other than direct operational or support functions or resources to the incident management effort. (e.g. Red Cross, law enforcement agency, telephone company, etc).
cooperator	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	A federal, Tribal, state, or local agency that participates with another agency(s) in planning and conducting fire or emergency management projects and activities.
coordination	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The process of systematically analyzing a situation, developing relevant information, and informing appropriate command authority of viable alternatives for selection of the most effective combination of available resources to meet specific objectives. The coordination process (which can be either intra- or interagency) does not involve dispatch actions. However, personnel responsible for coordination may perform command or dispatch functions within limits established by specific agency delegations, procedures, legal authority, etc.&nbsp;
cost	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The dollar amount associated with an incident.
cost sharing agreements	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Agreements that document the financial responsibility for incident resource costs, possibly identifying requirements of other party payments.
Cost Unit	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Cost Unit staff track costs, analyze cost data, make estimates, and recommend cost-saving measures. They ensure that equipment and personnel for which payment is expected are properly identified, obtain and record cost data, and analyze and prepare estimates of incident costs. Cost Unit staff provide cost estimates for resource use to Planning Section staff. The Cost Unit staff maintain information on the actual costs of all assigned resources.
counter fire (hasten spread)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fire set between main fire and backfire to hasten spread of backfire.
country	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	A nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory.
country code	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	Short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas.
country subdivision	Data Management Committee DMC	Proposed New	Political subdivisions that fall within a country
country subdivision code	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	A code for the identification of first-level administartive subdivisions within a country.
county code (Point of Origin) (POO)	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The County Code identifying the county or equivalent entity at point of origin designated at the time of collection. Point of origin is the location where a competent ignition source came into contact with the material first ignited and sustained combustion occurred.
coupling	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Device that connects the ends of adjacent hoses or other components of hose.
course	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	In aviation, the intended direction of horizontal flight.
cover	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The area on the ground covered by the combined aerial parts of plants expressed as a percent of the total area.
coverage level	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Recommended amount of aerially applied retardant keyed to the NFDRS fuel models and/or fire behavior models. Coverage level 2 represents 2 gallons of retardant per hundred square feet. Levels range from 1 to 6 for most fuel models. A coverage level of greater than 6 is for heavy fuels. The levels can be adjusted for fire behavior.&nbsp;
coyote tactics	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A progressive line construction duty involving self-sufficient crews which build fire line until the end of the operational period, remain at or near the point while off duty, and begin building fireline the next operational period where they left off.
crazing	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Fine cracking of glass, usually from heat of fire.
create date	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Date the feature was created.
create name (feature class)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Name of the person creating the feature.
created by system	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	System that created the data record.
created on date time	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	Date and time the event record was created
crew	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An organized group of firefighters under the leadership of a crew boss or other designated official.
crew transport	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any vehicle capable of transporting a specified number of personnel in a specified manner.
cross shot	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Intersecting lines of sight from two points to the same object, frequently used to determine location of a fire from lookouts.
crown consumption	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Combustion of the twigs, and needles or leaves of a tree during a fire.
crown cover	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The ground area covered by the crown of a tree as delimited by the vertical projection of its outermost perimeter.
crown out	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A fire that rises from ground into the tree crowns and advances from tree top to tree top. To intermittently ignite tree crowns as a surface fire advances.
crown ratio	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The ratio of live crown to tree height.
cumulonimbus	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The ultimate growth of a cumulus cloud into an anvil-shaped cloud with considerable vertical development, usually with fibrous ice crystal tops, and usually accompanied by lightning, thunder, hail, and strong winds.
cup trench	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A fireline trench on the downhill side of fire burning on steep slopes that is supposed to be built deep enough to catch rolling firebrands that could otherwise start fire below the fireline. A high berm on the outermost downhill side of the trench helps the cup trench catch material.
curb weight	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Weight of a truck empty (without payload and driver) but ready to drive, including a full fuel tank, cooling system, crankcase, tools, spare wheel, and all other equipment specified as standard.
daily rate	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Paid on a calendar day basis (0001-2400).
damage differential	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The comparative differences of damage to objects resulting from the fire’s passage.
damage differential indicators	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The amount of fire related destruction to combustible objects determined by comparing opposing sides of an object.
date	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	A particular day of a calendar year.
date current (geospatial data)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The last edit, update, of this GIS record.
date-time	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	The combination of date and time elements.
datum (Point of Origin) (POO)	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The datum associated with the coordinates that identify the point of origin. Point of origin is the location where a competent ignition source came into contact with the material first ignited and sustained combustion occurred.
dead fuels	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Fuels with no living tissue in which moisture content is governed almost entirely by absorption or evaporation of atmospheric moisture (relative humidity and precipitation).
deck	Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee IHOPS	Approved	The helibase operational area that includes the touchdown pad, safety circle, hover lanes, and external cargo transport area.
deep-seated fire (structure)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A fire that has gained headway and built up heat in a structure so as to require greater cooling for extinguishment.
deflagration (burning)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A burning with great heat and intense light.
deflagration (decomposition)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Chemical decomposition by burning material in which the reaction is less than sonic velocity, for example, low explosives.
degradation	FCSC Fire Chemical Subcommittee	Approved	In a discussion of fire retardant slurries, deterioration of viscosity.
Delayed Aerial Ignition Devices (DAID)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Polystyrene balls, 1.25 inches in diameter, containing potassium permanganate. The balls are fed into a dispenser, generally mounted in a helicopter, where they are injected with a water-glycol solution and then drop through a chute leading out of the helicopter. The chemicals react thermally and ignite in 25-30 seconds. The space between ignition points on the ground is primarily a function of helicopter speed, gear ratio of the dispenser, and the number of chutes used (up to four).&nbsp;
delete this	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	An attribute flag to tell editors to remove a feature added in error.
demob en route		Proposed New	The resource is no longer assigned to an incident and travel has started, but the resource has not yet arrived home.
demobilization	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The orderly, safe, and efficient return of an incident resource to its original location and status.
Demobilization Unit	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Demobilization Unit staff develop an Incident Demobilization Plan that includes specific instructions for all personnel and other resources to be demobilized. They begin their work early in the incident, creating rosters of personnel and resources and obtaining any missing information as check-in proceeds. Once the Incident Commander or Unified Command has approved the Incident Demobilization Plan, Demobilization Unit staff ensure its distribution at the incident and elsewhere, as necessary. For major incidents, demobilization plans are dynamic and the staff in the Demobilization Unit may need to update them frequently.
density (foam)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The ratio of the original volume of the nonaerated foam solution to the resultant volume of foam. The inverse of expansion.
desiccant	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Chemical that, when applied to a living plant, causes or accelerates drying of its aerial parts; used to facilitate burning of living vegetation by substantially lowering fuel moisture content within a few hours.
designated area	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Those areas identified as principal population centers or other areas requiring protection under state or federal air quality laws or regulations.
detection method	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The means by which the fire was initially observed.
detonation	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	An extreme rapid decomposition of a material in which the reaction is more than a sonic velocity, for example, high explosives.
diagram	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A scale drawing showing information about a fire scene.
die-out pattern indicators	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Fingers or islands of less intensely burned areas or areas where the fire has self extinguished.
direct attack	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any treatment applied directly to burning fuel such as wetting, smothering, or chemically quenching the fire or by physically separating the burning from unburned fuel.
direct line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any treatment applied directly to burning fuel such as wetting, smothering, or chemically quenching the fire or by physically separating the burning from unburned fuel.
directional vectors	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The physical characteristics of the indicators that show the direction of fire spread, i.e., advancing, backing, or lateral.
Director	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The ICS title for individuals responsible for supervision of a branch. Also, an organizational title for an individual responsible for managing and directing the team in an EOC.
discovery	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Determination that a fire exists. Location and reporting of a fire is not required as is with detection.
discovery time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Elapsed time from start of fire (known or estimated) until the time of the first discovery that results directly in fire suppression action.
discrete frequency	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A separate radio frequency most commonly used in air traffic control which reduces frequency congestion by controlling the number of aircraft or other resources operating on a particular frequency.
dispatch center	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	An organization from which resources are ordered, mobilized or assigned to an incident and/or demobilized. The center may process requests, coordinate response, or track resources and information under the delegation of its benefiting agency(s).
dispatch center (home)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The dispatch center associated with a resource&rsquo;s home unit. The Home Dispatch Center is responsible for initial mobilization and is the Center associated with the resource when an assignment is completed.
dispatch center (sending)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Either the home or current dispatch center for a resource.
dispatch center area	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Name of the Dispatch Area or Zone
dispatch center location	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The city and state of the dispatch center
dispatch center name	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Name of the dispatch center
dispatch center unit identifier	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Unit Identifier for the dispatch center
dispatch tier	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Levels of the wildland fire dispatch and coordination system
display class breakpoints	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	In WIMS, the climatological breakpoints separating the highest staffing levels. Commonly these are the index values corresponding to the 90th and 97th or 80th and 95th percentiles for the staffing index.
Distance Learning (DL)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	A concept of providing access to quality wildland fire education and training using appropriate instructional technology, delivered anywhere, anytime to prepare a fire management work force to safely achieve fire management objectives.
Distributed Incident Simulation Exercise (DISE)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	An on-line mission rehearsal event providing an individual or team with an experiential learning environment utilizing the National Interagency Incident Management System to "game" a computer generated incident from multiple training locations.
disturbance	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A weather system usually associated with clouds, rain and/or wind.
divergence	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The expansion or spreading out of a horizontal wind field. Generally associated with high pressure and light winds.
Documentation Unit	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Documentation Unit staff maintain incident files and data for legal, analytical, and historical purposes, including a complete record of the major steps taken to resolve the incident. They also provide duplication services for incident personnel; compile, reproduce, and distribute the IAP; and maintain the files and records that are developed as part of the IAP and planning function.
double jacket hose	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Fire hose having two cotton or other fiber jackets outside the rubber lining or tubing.
double shift	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Equipment is staffed with 2 operators or crews (1 per shift) and must be ordered and documented on a resource order. (Reference OF-294 general clauses for payment information.) Regardless of hiring method, on-shift time for operated equipment will be recorded with clock hours on the appropriate document, e.g., equipment hired under a daily rate will be posted with start and stop time for daily work.
dozer	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any steel tracked vehicle equipped with a front mounted blade used for exposing mineral soil.
dozer line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fireline constructed by the front blade of a dozer.
dozer tender	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any ground vehicle with personnel capable of maintenance, minor repairs, and limited fueling of dozers.
draped fuels	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Needles, leaves, and twigs that have fallen from above and have lodged on lower branches or brush. Draped fuels are part of aerial fuels.
drip torch	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	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.
drizzle	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Precipitation composed exclusively of water drops smaller than 0.02 inches (0.5 mm) in diameter.
drop configuration	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The type of retardant drop selected to cover a ground target. Terms that can specify the type of drop configuration include Salvo Drop and Trail Drop.
drop pass	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	Indicates that the airtanker has the target in sight and will make a retardant drop on this run over the target.
drop pattern	SEATB Single Engine Airtanker Board, IAB Interagency Airtanker Board	Approved	The distribution of an aerially delivered retardant drop on the target area in terms of its length, width, and momentum (velocity x mass) as it approaches the ground. The latter determines the relative coverage level of the fire retardant on fuels within the pattern.&nbsp;
drought	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A period of relatively long duration with substantially below-normal precipitation, usually occurring over a large area.
drought index	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A number representing the net effect of evaporation, transpiration and precipitation in producing cumulative moisture depletion in deep duff or upper soil layers.
drum lifter	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Device used to transport a 55-gallon drum (208 L) via sling on a helicopter.
dry air mass	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A portion of the atmosphere that has a relatively low dew point temperature and where the formation of clouds, fog, or precipitation is unlikely.
dry bulb	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A name given to an ordinary thermometer used to determine the temperature of the air (to distinguish it from the wet bulb).
dry lightning storm	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Thunderstorm in which negligible precipitation reaches the ground.
dry run	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	A trial pass over the target area by a leadplane and/or an airtanker to pinpoint target areas and warn ground personnel of the impending retardant or extinguishing agent drop.
dry storage	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Refers to dry chemical retardants stored at air attack bases and available for mixing with water.
dry-bulb temperature	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The temperature of the air measured in the shade 4-8 feet above the ground.
duff	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The layer of decomposing organic materials lying below the litter layer of freshly fallen twigs, needles, and leaves and immediately above the mineral soil.
durability (foam)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The effective life span of foam bubbles.
eddy	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A circular-like flow of a fluid (such as air or water) drawing its energy from a flow of much larger scale, and brought about by pressure irregularities as in the downwind (lee) side of a solid obstacle. For example, wind conditions may be erratic and may eddy on the downwind side of large rock outcroppings, buildings, etc.&nbsp;
edge (fuel type)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The boundary between two fairly distinct fuel types.
edge firing	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Method of burning in which fires are set along the edges of an area and allowed to spread inward.
edit name (feature class)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Name of the person editing the feature.
effective windspeed	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The midflame wind speed adjusted for the effect of slope on fire spread.
elapsed time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	The total time taken to complete any step(s) in fire suppression.
elearning	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	Conceptually represents the optimum integration of modern educational methods and professional staff development training with state of the art technology. The primary goal is enhancing on-the-job performance, motivation, and learning performance.
elevation feet		In Development	A geographic location's height above or below a fixed reference point
elevation loss	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	In hydraulics, the pressure loss caused by raising water through hose or pipe to a higher elevation (roughly equal to one psi for every two-foot increase in elevation above the pump) (11.3 kPa per meter).
emergency	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Any incident, whether natural, technological, biological, or human-caused, that necessitates responsive action to protect life or property.
Emergency Equipment Rental Agreement (EERA)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	An agreement written at an incident using an EERA, OF-294. The duration is for the length of the incident only.
Emergency Firefighter (EFF)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A person employed as an emergency worker on a forest or wildland fire which threatens damage to property under public management. Emergency firefighters are hired for the duration of the emergency only.
emergency stabilization	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Planned actions to stabilize and prevent unacceptable degradation to natural and cultural resource, to minimize threats to life or property resulting from the effects of a fire, or to repair/replace/construct physical improvements necessary to prevent degradation of land or resources.&nbsp;
Emergency Support Function (ESF)	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The grouping of governmental and certain private sector capabilities into an organizational structure to provide core capabilities and services most likely needed to manage domestic incidents.
emission reduction	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A strategy for controlling smoke from prescribed fires that minimizes the amount of smoke output per unit area treated.
employment category	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The employment appointment or agreement under which a person is hired.
Energy Release Component (ERC)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The computed total heat release per unit area (British thermal units per square foot) within the flaming front at the head of a moving fire.
engine	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any ground vehicle providing specified levels of pumping, water, and hose capacity but with less than the specified level of personnel.
engine company	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A resource that includes an engine of a specific type. The type specifies tank capacity, pump rating, hose capacity and number of personnel.
environment	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The complex surroundings of an item or area of interest, such as air, water, natural resources, and their physical conditions (temperature, humidity).
environmental lapse rate	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The actual rate of decrease of temperature with elevation.
environmental specialist	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Person responsible to the planning section chief for collecting and analyzing environmental information about the incident area, determining environmental restrictions and requirements, and providing the information as an input to the incident action and to incident personnel as needed.&nbsp;
episode (pollution)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A condition of poor contaminant dispersion which may result in concentrations considered potentially harmful to health or welfare. Episodes may also occur during periods of fairly good dispersion if the source of air contaminants is extremely large.
escaped fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fire which has exceeded or is expected to exceed initial attack capabilities or prescription.
ESF Primary Agency	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A Federal agency with significant authorities, roles, resources, and capabilities for a particular function within an ESF.
estimated containment date	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The expected containment or completion date of the incident.
estimated incident cost	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Estimated dollar amount associated with an incident.
Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Term used in resource planning/following to estimate time of arrival at a point.
Estimated Time of Departure (ETD)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Term used in resource planning/following to estimate time of departure from a point.
evaluator	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The individual who is qualified in the position being evaluated, or supervises the position being evaluated, having responsibility for observing task(s) being performed and documenting successful performance for agency certification or re-certification. Evaluator responsibilities must remain separate from the individual assigned as Trainer/Coach.&nbsp;
evaporation	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The transformation of a liquid to its gaseous state; heat is released by the liquid during this process.
event (generic)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A generic term that relates to both planned and unplanned response activities by the interagency wildland fire community.
exempt / nonexempt	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Categories of employees as defined in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), who are either covered or exempted from coverage under the ActPay entitlements vary depending on the employee's FLSA status.
expanded dispatch	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	An organization needed to support an incident which expands along with the Incident Command System.
expansion	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The ratio of the volume of the foam in its aerated state to the original volume of the non-aerated foam solution.
experience	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Proposed New	Documented performance in a position.
experience from date	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The time when the Experience began.
experience to date	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The time when the Experience ended.
exposure (direction)	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	Direction in which a slope faces, usually with respect to cardinal directions.
extended attack	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Actions taken on a wildfire that has exceeded the initial response.
extended attack incident	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An incident that exceeds the capability of the initial attack resources and/or organization to successfully manage the incident to conclusion.
exterior fire protection	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The protection of structures from the exterior, with no interior access or activity.
external payload	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Maximum external stress load (in pounds) with full fuel and pilot in calm air at standard atmospheric temperature.
extinguishing agent	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Substance used to put out a fire by cooling the burning material, blocking the supply of oxygen, or chemically inhibiting combustion.
extra burning period	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	For any particular fire which is neither contained nor controlled, any 24-hour period following the termination of the first burning period.
extreme fire behavior	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Extreme implies a level of fire behavior characteristics that ordinarily precludes methods of direct control action. One or 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.&nbsp;
feature access	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Determines who or what groups can view a particular feature.
feature category	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Type of wildland fire polygon or unburned areas
Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Refers to the regulations governing all aviation activities of civil aircraft within the United States and its territories.
Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The person appointed by the President to coordinate federal assistance in the designated area following the declaration of a major disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act.
Federal Wage System Employee	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Regular federal government employee who is compensated under the Federal Wage System and referred to as Wage Grade (WG), Wage Leader (WL), or Wage Supervisor (WS) employee.
female coupling	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Coupling made to receive a male coupling of the same thread, pitch and/or diameter.
field test	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A job-related test of work capacity designed for those with moderately strenuous duties. This test consists a two-mile hike with a 25-pound pack. A time of 30 minutes, the passing score for this test, approximates an aerobic fitness score of 40.
fill tank	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Large, portable tank from which helitankers can hoverfill.
final acres		Approved	Number of acres within the final fire perimeter of a specific, individual incident, including unburned and unburnable islands.
final approach	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Flight path in the direction of the landing along the extended runway center line from the base leg to the runway.
final evaluator	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The individual responsible for completing the position task book's verification statement once all tasks in the position task book have been completed and signed off. Only the evaluator on the final position performance assignment (the assignment in which all remaining tasks have been evaluated and signed off) will complete the verification statement recommending certification.&nbsp;
final fire size	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Number of acres within the final fire perimeter of a specific, individual incident, including unburned and unburnable islands.
Finance/Administration Section	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC, Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The ICS Section responsible for an incident&rsquo;s administrative and financial considerations.
fingers of a fire	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	The long narrow extensions of a fire projecting from the main body.
Fire Adapted Community (FAC)	WMSC WUI Mitigation Subcommittee	Approved	A community that recognizes its risk and takes action before, during and after a fire in order for their community to be more resilient to wildfire. Fire adapted community members are informed and prepared, collaboratively planning and taking action to better live with wildland fire.
fire agency	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Official group or organization compelled and authorized under statutes or law to control fires within a designated area or upon designated lands.
fire behavior	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The manner in which a fire reacts to the influences of fuel, weather, and topography.
fire benefits	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Fire effects with positive monetary, social, or emotional value or that contribute, through changes in the resource base, to the attainment of organizational goals.
fire business	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The characterization of fire occurrence in an area, described in terms of total number of fires and acres per year; and number of fires by time, size, cause, fire-day, large fire-day, and multiple fire-day.
fire cache	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	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 cause	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC, Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Agency or circumstance which started a fire or set the stage for its occurrence; source of a fire's ignition. For statistical purposes fires are grouped into broad cause classes. The nine general causes used in the U.S. are lightning, campfire, smoking, debris burning, incendiary, machine use (equipment), railroad, children, and miscellaneous.&nbsp;
fire cause class	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Any class into which wildland fires are grouped according to their origin.
fire climax	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Plant community maintained by periodic fires.
fire containment date time	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The date and time a wildfire was declared contained.
fire control date time	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The date and time a wildfire was declared under control.
fire crew work formation	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Standard crew arrangement used for fireline construction in direct or indirect attack; consists of line locator, line cutters, rakers, torch operators, and mop up crew.
fire danger	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Sum of constant danger and variable danger factors affecting the inception, spread, and resistance to control, and subsequent fire damage; often expressed as an index.
fire danger continuum	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The range of possible values for a fire danger index or component, given a set of NFDRS parameters and weather input.
fire danger rating	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A fire management system that integrates the effects of selected fire danger factors into one or more qualitative or numerical indices of current protection needs.
Fire Danger Rating System	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The complete program necessary to produce and apply fire danger ratings, including data collection, data processing, fire danger modeling, communications, and data storage.
fire death	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Fire casualty which is fatal or becomes fatal within one year of the fire.
fire detection	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The act or system of discovering and locating fires.
fire discovery date time	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The date and time a fire was discovered or confirmed to exist.
fire ecology	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The study of the effects of fire on living organisms and their environment.
fire education	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Activities to change behaviors and attitudes about fire ecology, wildland fire and the role of fire in natural resource management. Defines the purposes for actions that provide information about and improve understanding of wildland fire.
fire environment	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The surrounding conditions, influences, and modifying forces of topography, fuel, and weather that determine fire behavior.
fire frequency	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A general term referring to the recurrence of fire in a given area over time.
fire hazard index	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A numerical rating for specific fuel types, indicating the relative probability of fires starting and spreading, and the probable degree of resistance to control; similar to burning index, but without effects of wind speed.
Fire Intensity Level (FIL) code (Point of Origin) (POO)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC, Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	An expression of fire intensity based on observed and/or calculated flame lengths representative across the immediate vicinity of the point of origin during the initial response.&nbsp; &nbsp; Fire intensity levels (FILs) provide "an expression of fireline intensity, based on typical and/ or calculated flame length of a fire behavior condition. FILs are used in the analysis to reflect the differences in difficulty of suppression and fire effects on natural and cultural resources." (Ref. FSH5109.19 ch40.5 9/85)
fire lane	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	Cleared path wide enough to permit single-lane vehicular access in a remote area.
Fire Load Index (FLI)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Numerical rating of the maximum effort required to contain all probable fires occurring within a rating area during the rating period.
fire management	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	All activities for the management of wildland fires to meet land management objectives. Fire management includes the entire scope of activities from planning, prevention, fuels or vegetation modification, prescribed fire, hazard mitigation, fire response, rehabilitation, monitoring and evaluation.&nbsp;
fire management improvements	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	All structures built and used primarily for fire management, e.g. lookout towers, lookout cabins, telephone lines, and also firebreaks, fuel breaks, and roads to lookouts.
fire management objective	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Planned, measurable result desired from fire protection and use based on land management goals and objectives.
Fire Management Plan (FMP)	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	A compilation of goals, objectives, and requirements from the land/resource management planning process necessary to implement wildland fire management decisions.
Fire Management Unit (FMU)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	A land area definable by specified management objectives, constraints, topographic features, access, values to be protected, political boundaries, fuel types, major fire regime groups, and other defined elements that set it apart from an adjacent area. The primary purpose of developing Fire Management Units in fire management planning is to assist in organizing information in complex landscapes. A fire management unit may have dominant management objectives and pre-selected strategies assigned to accomplish these objectives.&nbsp;
fire occurrence identifier	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) assigned to the spatialrecord.
fire out date time	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The date when all observable combustion has ceased or there is no risk of the fire again becoming active and requiring additional control or management actions.
fire pattern indicator	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A physical object that displays changes (fire effects) from exposure to heat, flame, and combustion by-products that can reveal the direction of fire progression at a precise location with accurate analysis. A fire pattern indicator is a single component of the overall fire pattern.
fire pattern indicator cluster	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Multiple fire pattern indicators in relatively close proximity to each other which exhibit a consistent vector.
fire pattern indicator, angle of scorch	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Scorch pattern left on canopy of standing fuels that indicates the direction of fire progression at that point. This fire pattern indicator is included within the fire pattern indicator category of Angle of Char.
fire pattern indicator, cupping	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A concave or cup-shaped char pattern found on the side of fuels exposed to the oncoming fire including small stumps (generally 10 inch diameter and less are more reliable), grass stem ends and terminal ends of brush and tree limbs (generally less than 1/2 inch diameter) that indicate the direction of fire progression at that point. One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
fire pattern indicator, foliage freeze	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Small branches, needles, and leaves swept into a position by the wind and fixed by desiccation indicating the wind direction at the time of fire passage. One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
fire pattern indicator, grass stem	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The un-consumed grass stems and heads of cured grass left lying on the ground after the passage of a fire that under certain circumstances point in the direction that the fire came from. One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
fire pattern indicator, white ash	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	There are two subsets of the white ash fire indicator, deposits and exposure. Objects displaying more white ash deposits on the exposed surface of the object as opposed to the protected surface of the object indicating the direction of fire progression at that location. Objects displaying more attached white ash on the exposed surface of the object as opposed to the protected surface of the object indicating the direction of fire progression at that location. One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
fire perimeter	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The entire outer edge or boundary of a fire.
Fire Planning Unit (FPU)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The geographic scope of the landscape defined for the fire management analysis. A Fire Planning Unit consists of one or more Fire Management Units. FPUs may relate to a single administrative unit, a sub-unit, or any combination of units or sub-units. FPUs are scalable and may be contiguous or non-contiguous. FPUs are not predefined by agency administrative unit boundaries, and may relate to one or more agencies. They may be described spatially.&nbsp;
fire prevention	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Activities such as public education, community outreach, law enforcement, engineering, and reduction of fuel hazards that are intended to reduce the incidence of unwanted human-caused wildfires and the risks they pose to life, property or resources.
fire progress map	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	A map maintained on a large fire to show at given times the location of the fire, deployment of suppression forces, and progress of suppression.
fire regime	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Description of the patterns of fire occurrences, frequency, size, severity, and sometimes vegetation and fire effects as well, in a given area or ecosystem. A fire regime is a generalization based on fire histories at individual sites. Fire regimes can often be described as cycles because some parts of the histories usually get repeated, and the repetitions can be counted and measured, such as fire return interval.&nbsp;
fire regime current condition class	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A qualitative measure classified into three classes describing the relative degree of departure from historical fire regimes, possibly resulting in alterations of key ecosystem components such as species composition, structural stage, stand age, canopy closure, and fuel loadings.&nbsp;
fire regime groups	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A classification of fire regimes into a discrete number of categories based on frequency and severity. The national, coarse-scale classification of fire regime groups commonly used includes five groups: I - frequent (0-35 years), low severity; II - frequent (0-35 years), stand replacement severity; III - 35-100+ years, mixed severity; IV - 35-100+ years, stand replacement severity; and V - 200+ years, stand replacement severity.&nbsp;
fire report	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	An official record of a fire, generally including information on cause, location, action taken, damage, costs, etc., from start of the fire until completion of suppression action. These reports vary in form and detail from agency to agency.
fire report approver name	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Name of the person that approved the fire report. Approval authority varies by agency.
fire report provider name	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Name of person that provided the data for the fire report or is the contact for questions regarding the fire report.
fire reporting agency unit identifier	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The unit identifier for the agency preparing the fire report.
fire resistant tree	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A species with compact, resin-free, thick corky bark and less flammable foliage that has a relatively lower probability of being killed or scarred by a fire than a fire sensitive tree.
fire resource category	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The intermediate classification of operational resources available to respond to a fire.
fire resource kind	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The most general classification of operational resources available to respond to a fire.
fire resource status (record)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Indicates if the resource record being submitted or updated is an initial response resource or daily resource record.
fire resource type	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The most specific classification of operational resources available to respond to a fire.
fire retardant	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any substance except plain water that by chemical or physical action reduces flammability of fuels or slows their rate of combustion.
fire risk (likelihood)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The chance of fire starting, as determined by the presence and activity of causative agents.
fire scar (landscape)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The mark left on a landscape by fire.
fire scar (vegetation)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A healing or healed injury or wound to woody vegetation, caused or accentuated by a fire.
fire season (regulated)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A legally enacted time during which burning activities are regulated by federal, state or local authority.
fire sensitive tree	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A species with thin bark or highly flammable foliage that has a relatively greater probability of being killed or scarred by a fire.
fire service	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	The organized fire protection service; its members, individually and collectively; allied organizations assisting protection agencies.
fire severity	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Degree to which a site has been altered or disrupted by fire; loosely, a product of fire intensity and residence time.
fire shelter	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	An aluminized cloth tent that offers protection in a fire entrapment situation by reflecting radiant heat and providing a volume of breathable air.
fire shelter deployment	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Removing a fire shelter from its case and unfolding it to use as protection against heat, smoke, and burning embers.
fire shelter deployment site	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Immediate area where a fire shelter has been deployed.
fire shovel	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Type of shovel specifically designed for use in constructing a fireline; has a tapered blade with both edges sharpened for scraping, digging, grubbing, cutting, and throwing.
fire size class code	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	A code that corresponds to one of several ranges of fire size based on the number of acres within the final fire perimeter.
fire sketch	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A not to scale drawing.
fire storm	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	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 suppression	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	All work and activities connected with control and fire-extinguishing operations, beginning with discovery and continuing until the fire is completely extinguished.
fire suppression organization (area)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The personnel responsible for fire suppression within a specified area.
fire suppression organization (fire)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The personnel and equipment collectively assigned to the suppression of a specific fire or group of fires.
fire suppression organization (management structure)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The management structure, usually shown in the form of an organization chart of the persons and groups having specific responsibilities in fire suppression.
fire swatter	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A fire tool that consists of a thick, flat piece of rubber on a long handle used to drag over or smother out flames of grass fires.
fire trap (material accumulation)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	An accumulation of highly combustible material, rendering firefighting dangerous.
fire treatment	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The use of fire to accomplish a specified objective.
Fire Weather Index (FWI)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A numerical rating in the Canadian fire danger rating system, based on meteorological measurements of fire intensity in a standard fuel type. (The standard fuel type is representative of jack pine and lodgepole pine.) The FWI is comprised of three fuel moisture codes, covering classes of forest fuel of different drying rates, and two indices that represent rate of spread and the amount of available fuel.&nbsp;
fire weather watch	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A Fire Weather Watch is issued to advise of conditions which could result in extensive wildland fire occurrence or extreme fire behavior, which are expected to develop in the next 12 to 48 hours, but not more than 72 hours. In cases of dry lightning, a Fire Weather Watch may be issued for the next 12 hours.&nbsp;
Fire Year		Approved	Calendar year in which the fire started
fire-flood cycle	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The greatly increased rate of water run off and soil movement from steep slopes that may follow removal of the vegetative cover by burning.
fire-proofing	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Removal or treatment of fuels to reduce the danger of fires igniting or spreading. (E.g., fire-proofing roadsides, campsites, structural timber.) Protection is relative, not absolute.
FireCode	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A standardized code used by the federal wildland fire agencies/bureau assigned to effectively track and compile cost information for emergency suppression expenditures. The FireCode is incorporated into each agency’s accounting code structure.
firefighting forces	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Qualified firefighters, together with their equipment and material, used to suppress wildland fires.
fireground	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Operational area on which firefighters combat a fire.
Firelamp (Fire and Land Management Planning)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Computerized multi-resource model that simulates the effects that naturally caused prescribed fires have on the future production of natural resources such as timber, forage, wildlife, recreation, and water.
fireline (line)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The part of a containment or control line that is scraped or dug to mineral soil.
Fireline Explosives (FLE)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Specially developed coils containing explosive powder that are detonated to create a fireline through ground fuels.
fireline intensity (heat release)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The product of the available heat of combustion per unit of ground and the rate of spread of the fire, interpreted as the heat released per unit of time for each unit length of fire edge. The primary unit is Btu per second per foot (Btu/sec/ft) of fire front.
fireline intensity (rate)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The rate of heat release per unit time per unit length of fire front. Numerically, it is the product of the heat yield, the quantity of fuel consumed in the fire front, and the rate of spread.
FIRESCOPE	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies. A multi-agency coordination system designed to improve the capabilities of California's wildland fire protection agencies. Its purpose is to provide more efficient resources allocation and utilization, particularly in multiple or large fire situations during critical burning conditions.&nbsp;
firesetter	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Person who starts a fire, usually deliberately and maliciously.
firesetting	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Starting a fire, usually deliberately and maliciously.
first fuel ignited	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The first combustible material ignited beyond the components of the ignition source itself.
first name	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	The first name of the resource as it appears on a government issued ID.
fitness level	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	A descriptor of a human resource's physical work capacity
fix	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Geographical position determined by visual reference to the surface, by reference to one or more radio navigational aids, by celestial plotting, or by any other navigational device.
fixed tank	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A device mounted inside or directly underneath an aircraft which can contain water or retardant for dropping onto a fire.
flame depth	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The depth of the fire front.
flame length	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	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.
flame thrower	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Device for throwing a stream of flaming liquid, used to facilitate rapid ignition during burn out operations on a wildfire or during a prescribed fire operation.
flaming combustion phase	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Luminous oxidation of gases evolved from the rapid decomposition of fuel. This phase follows the pre-ignition phase and precedes the smoldering combustion phase, which has a much slower combustion rate. Water vapor, soot, and tar comprise the visible smoke. Relatively efficient combustion produces minimal soot and tar, resulting in white smoke; high moisture content also produces white smoke.&nbsp;
flammability	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The relative ease with which fuels ignite and burn regardless of the quantity of the fuels. Preferred to "inflammability."
flammable liquid	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A liquid generally with a flash point below 140F (60C) and a vapor pressure that does not exceed 40 PSI at 100F (37.8C).
flank fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A firing technique consisting of treating an area with lines of fire set into the wind which burn outward at right angles to the wind.
flapper	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Fire suppression tool, sometimes improvised, used in direct attack for smothering out flames along a fire edge; may consist merely of a green pine bough or wet sacking, or be a manufactured tool such as a flap of belting fabric fastened to a long handle.
flare-up	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	Any sudden acceleration in rate of spread or intensification of the fire. Unlike blowup, a flare-up is of relatively short duration and does not radically change existing control plans.
flashover (stage of fire)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Stage of a fire at which all surfaces and objects within a space have been heated to their ignition temperature, and flame breaks out almost at once over the surface of all objects within the space.
flight crew member	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An individual holding a valid Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airman’s Certificate and flight physical as a prerequisite to performance of the duties of the position during flight: e.g., Pilot, co-Pilot, flight engineer, or flight navigator.
flight following	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The method and process through which an aircraft is tracked from departure point to destination. Flight following is the knowledge of the aircraft location and condition at regular intervals with a reasonable degree of certainty such that, in the event of mishap, those on board may be rescued.&nbsp;
flight path (intended)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Specified information relating to the intended flight of an aircraft that is filed orally or in writing with an air traffic control facility.
flow conditioner	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Chemical powders that will, in very small quantities, tend to prevent other powders from caking and flocculating. Imparts free-flowing qualities to powder. Used with fire retardant chemicals.
fly ash	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Particulate matter emitted by a fire and larger than 10 microns in diameter with a consequently short residence time in the atmosphere.
foam generation	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The foam production process of forcing air into or entraining air in foam solution, creating a mass of bubbles.
foam line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A body of foam placed along areas to be protected from fire; also used as an anchor for indirect attack in place of hand-made fire line.
Foehn wind	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A warm, dry and strong general wind that flows down into the valleys when stable, high pressure air is forced across and then down the lee slopes of a mountain range. The descending air is warmed and dried due to adiabatic compression producing critical fire weather conditions. Locally called by various names such as Santa Ana winds, Devil winds, North winds, Mono winds, etc.&nbsp;
folding tank	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A portable, collapsible water tank with a tubular frame. Tank capacities vary in size from 500-1500 gallons.
forb	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A plant with an herbaceous (soft, rather than permanent woody) stem, that is not a grass or grasslike plant.
forced landing	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Landing necessitated by failure of engines, systems, or components which makes continued flight impossible and which may not result in damage.
forecast area	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Geographical area for which a fire weather forecast is specified.
forest fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Variously defined for legal purposes (e.g., the State of California Public Resources Code: uncontrolled fire on lands covered wholly or in part by timber, brush, grass, grain, or other flammable vegetation). Types of fires are ground, surface, and crown.
forest protection	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Forestry branch concerned with prevention and damage control to forests from human actions (unauthorized fire, grazing, felling, smoke), pests and pathogens, and damage from storm, frost, and other climatic agents.
Forest Service assisted indicator	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Indicates if the Forest Service provided assistance on an incident outside their jurisdiction.
Forest Service job code	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A code used to indicate the Forest Service job accounting code for the incident. This is specific to the Forest Service and is usually displayed as two-character prefix on the FireCode.
Forest Service override code	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A code used to indicate the Forest Service override code for the incident. This is specific to the Forest Service, and is usually displayed as a four-character suffix on FireCode.
Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Hand held or aircraft mounted device designed to detect heat differentials and display their images on a video screen. FLIRs have thermal resolution similar to IR line scanners, but their spatial resolution is substantially less; commonly used to detect hotspots and flareups obscured by smoke, evaluate the effectiveness of firing operations, or detect areas needing mopup.&nbsp;
forward rate of spread	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The speed with which a fire moves in a horizontal direction across the landscape, usually expressed in chains per hour or feet per minute.
free burning	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The condition of a fire or part of a fire that has not been slowed by natural barriers or by control measures.
free flow (hydraulics)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Maximum water flow rate a fire pump will attain when there are no restrictions at the pump outlet or losses due to friction or head.
frequency identifier		Approved	Code used to ease identification of a zone.
frequency use designator	RSUSC Wildland Fire Radio Standards and Use Committee	Approved	A designation of the kind of communications that will occur on an assigned radio frequency.
Friction Reducing Agent (FRA)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Water soluble substance that reduces frictional drag of solutions and dampens turbulent flow while being pumped through pipe or hose.
frost	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Crystals of ice formed and deposited like dew, but at a temperature below freezing.
frozen	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	In the 1978 version of NFDRS, the herbaceous stage when cold temperatures kill herbaceous plants and force woody fuels into dormancy.
fuel	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Any combustible material, especially petroleum-based products and wildland fuels.
fuel arrangement	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A general term referring to the spatial distribution and orientation of fuel particles or pieces.
fuel break system	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A series of modified strips or blocks tied together to form continuous strategically located fuel breaks around land units.
fuel class	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Group of fuels possessing common characteristics. Dead fuels are grouped according to 1-, 10-, 100-, and 1000-hour timelag, and living fuels are grouped as herbaceous (annual or perennial) or woody.
fuel condition	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Relative flammability of fuel as determined by fuel type and environmental conditions.
fuel continuity	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The degree or extent of continuous or uninterrupted distribution of fuel particles in a fuel bed thus affecting a fire's ability to sustain combustion and spread. This applies to aerial fuels as well as surface fuels.
fuel loading	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The amount of fuel present expressed quantitatively in terms of weight of fuel per unit area. This may be available fuel (consumable fuel) or total fuel and is usually dry weight.
fuel model	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Simulated fuel complex for which all fuel descriptors required for the solution of a mathematical rate of spread model have been specified.
fuel modification	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Manipulation or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control (e.g., lopping, chipping, crushing, piling and burning).
fuel moisture content	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The quantity of moisture in fuel expressed as a percentage of the weight when thoroughly dried at 212 degrees F.
fuel moisture indicator stick	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A specially prepared stick or set of sticks of known dry weight continuously exposed to the weather and periodically weighed to determine changes in moisture content as an indication of moisture changes in wildland fuels.
fuel reduction	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Manipulation, including combustion, or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control.
fuel size class	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A category used to describe the diameter of down dead woody fuels. Fuels within the same size class are assumed to have similar wetting and drying properties, and to preheat and ignite at similar rates during the combustion process.
fuel treatment	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Manipulation or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or to lessen potential damage and resistance to control (e.g., lopping, chipping, crushing, piling and burning).
fuels treatment polygon		In Development	A polygon representing the area(s) of unique fuels treatments during a single timeframe.
fugitive color	SEATB Single Engine Airtanker Board, IAB Interagency Airtanker Board	Approved	A coloring agent used in fire retardants that is designed to fade rapidly following retardant application in order to minimize the visual impacts of the retardant.
fulfillment comment	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Communication about the request and fulfilling that request
fulfillment status	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Indicates the state of the request.
full-thickness burn	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A burn involving all the layer of the skin. Muscle layers below the skin and bones may also be damaged. Areas of the skin may be charred black or areas that are dry and white.
function	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	In ICS, function refers to the five major activities: command, operations, planning, logistics and finance/administration.
gap	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	Weak or missed area in a retardant drop or in a fireline.
general fire weather forecast	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A forecast, issued daily during the regular fire season to resource management agencies, that is intended for planning of daily fire management activities, including daily staffing levels, prevention programs, and initial attack on wildfires.
General Origin Area (GOA)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The larger area where the fire first established itself and is identified by an analysis of the fire behavior context, macroscale fire pattern indicators, and witness statements.
General Staff	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A group of incident personnel organized according to function and reporting to the Incident Commander or Unified Command. The ICS General Staff consists of the Operations Section Chief, Planning Section Chief, Logistics Section Chief, Finance/Administration Section Chief.
general status (resource)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	Indicates whether the resource is available or unavailable to fill a capability request.
general winds	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Large scale winds caused by high- and low-pressure systems but generally influenced and modified in the lower atmosphere by terrain.
geographic area	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A boundary designated by governmental agencies (wildland fire protection agencies) within which they work together for the interagency, intergovernmental planning, coordination, and operations leadership for the effective utilization of emergency management resources within their area. There are ten geographic areas. A listing of the areas can be found in the National Interagency Mobilization Guide, Chapter 70 along with listings of the Geographic Coordinating Areas and Geographic Area Coordination Centers.
Geographic Area (GA) code	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A code that identifies one of the wildland fire geographic areas.
Geographic Area (GA) name	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The name of the geographic area that identifies a boundary designated by wildland fire protection agencies within which they work together for the interagency, intergovernmental planning, coordination, and operations leadership for the effective utilization of emergency management resources.
Geographic Area Coordinating Group (GACG)	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	An interagency body of fire management representatives from each federal and state land management agency within a nationally recognized regional area that provides leadership and support to facilitate safe and efficient fire management activities. Working collaboratively, a GACG's mission is not only for wildland fire emergencies, but for other emergency incidents, as necessary.
Geographic Area Coordination Center (GACC)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	The physical location of an interagency, regional operation center for the effective coordination, mobilization and demobilization of emergency management resources. A coordination center serves federal, state and local wildland fire agencies through logistical coordination of resources throughout the geographic area, and with other geographic areas, as well. Listings of geographic coordination centers and their respective geographic coordinating areas can be found within the National Interagency Mobilization Guide.&nbsp;
Geographic Area Coordination Center (GACC) code	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Shortened form of Geographic Area Coordination Center name.
Geographic Area Coordination Center (GACC) name	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The name of an interagency operations center that provides coordination, mobilization, and demobilization of emergency management resources within a specific geographic coordinating area.
geographic coordinating area	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A boundary designated by governmental agencies (wildland fire protection agencies), that may coincide with a geographic area boundary or may be a subdivision of a geographic area within which they work together coordinating, for the effective, mobilization and demobilization of emergency management resources within their area. Listings of geographic coordinating areas and geographic coordination centers can be found in the National Interagency Mobilization Guide, Chapter 20, Section 21.1.&nbsp;
Geographic Coordinating Area (GCA) code	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A code representing a wildland fire geographic coordinating area.
Geographic Coordinating Area (GCA) name	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The name of the wildland fire geographic coordinating area.
Geographic Information System Acres		Approved	GIS calculated acres within the fire perimeter, not adjusted for unburned areas
geometry identifier		Approved	Primary key for linking geospatial objects with other database systems.
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The satellite used for data relay from NFDRS weather stations to ASCADS.
getaway time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Elapsed time from receipt of notification by the personnel charged with initiating suppression action to the departure of the first attack unit.
going fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any wildfire on which suppression action has not reached an extensive mop up stage.
gradient wind (flow)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Wind flowing parallel to pressure isobars or contours with low pressure on the left of the observer in the Northern Hemisphere; velocity such that the pressure gradient, Coriolis, and centrifugal force acting in the area are in balance.
grass fire	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Any fire in which the predominant fuel is grass or grasslike.
grass type	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	In NFDRS, the two grass types (annual, perennial) determine how seasonal drying of live herbaceous fuels is modeled.
green-up	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Green-up for the 1978 version of NFDRS model is defined as the beginning of a new cycle of plant growth. Green-up usually occurs once a year, except in desert areas where rainy periods can produce a flush of new growth more than once a year. Green-up may be signaled at different dates for different fuel models. Green-up should not be started when the first flush of green occurs in the area. Instead, the vegetation that will be the fire problem (represented by the NFDRS fuel model associated with the weather station) when it matures and cures should be identified. Green-up should start when the majority of this vegetation starts to grow.&nbsp;
greenhouse effect	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The heating of the earth's surface by both atmospheric infrared radiation and incoming solar radiation.
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum allowable weight placed on an axle of a vehicle when fully equipped, including payload, fluids and occupants.
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum allowable weight of a vehicle fully equipped, including payload, fluids and occupants.
ground effect	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Reaction of a rotor downdraft against the ground surface, forming a "ground cushion" that increases lifting capability of that section of air.
ground fire	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Fire that consumes the organic material beneath the surface litter ground, such as a peat fire.
ground truth	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Verification at the site of what has been observed and/or measured from aircraft, satellites, other aerial platforms, aerial photographs, or maps.
growing season burning	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Prescribed burning or use of wildland fire during the photosynthetically-active growing season, where live fuel moistures are relatively high and the dominant vegetation, grasses, forbs, and herbaceous vegetation are fully greened.
Gum Thickened Sulphate (GTS)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A dry chemical product which is mixed with water to form a fire retardant slurry.
gust	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Rapid fluctuations in wind speed with a variation of 10 knots (11.5 mph) or more between peaks and lulls.
handline	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fireline constructed with hand tools.
hard suction hose	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Noncollapsible suction hose attached to a pump and used to draft water from a source lower than the pump. Customary hose sizes in wildland fire engines are 2 and 2-1/2 inches in diameter (51 and 64 mm).
hazard assessment	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Assess hazards to determine risks. Assess the impact of each hazard in terms of potential loss, cost, or strategic degradation based on probability and severity.
hazard fuel	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A fuel complex defined by kind, arrangement, volume, condition, and location that presents a threat of ignition and resistance to control.
hazard map	IASC Interagency Airspace Subcommittee	Approved	Map of the area of operations that shows all of the known aerial hazards, including but not limited to power lines, military training areas, hang gliding areas, etc.
hazard reduction	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Any treatment of living and dead fuels that reduces the potential spread or consequences of fire.
hazardous materials (regulated)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Substances that are identified, classified, and regulated in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49 and Hazardous Materials Regulations 175.
hazardous materials (transported)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A substance or material which has been determined by the Secretary of Transportation to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce and which has been so designated.
haze	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A sufficient concentration of atmospheric aerosols to affect a visible attenuation of light and measurable reduction in visual range. The aerosol particle diameter is near the wavelength of visible light, optimizing the light scattering efficiency of the particles.&nbsp;
head fire	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A fire spreading or set to spread with the wind.
head of the fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The most rapidly spreading portions of a fire’s perimeter, usually progressing with the wind, up slope, or a combination of the two.
heat content	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The net amount of heat that would be given off if fuel burns when it is absolutely dry, noted as Btu per pound of fuel.
heat of combustion	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The heat energy resulting from the complete combustion of a fuel, expressed as the quantity of heat per unit weight of fuel. The high heat of combustion is the potential available, and the low heat of combustion is the high heat of combustion minus several losses that occur in an open system (primarily heat of vaporization of moisture in the fuel).
heat probe	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Apparatus used to detect heat.
heat release rate (released)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Amount of heat released to the atmosphere from the convective-lift fire phase of a fire per unit time.
heat transfer	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Process by which heat is imparted from one body to another, through conduction, convection, and radiation.
heat yield	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The heat of combustion corrected for various heat losses, mainly the presence of moisture in the fuel. To a very close approximation, the quantity of heat per pound of fuel burned that passes through a cross section of the convection column above a fire that is burning in a neutrally stable atmosphere.
heavy equipment transport	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any ground vehicle capable of transporting a dozer, tractor, or other heavy piece of equipment.
heel of the fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	That portion of a fire backing directly away from and in relatively close proximity to the ignition area. The slowest spreading portion of a fire edge and generally opposite the head.
height	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The vertical measurement of vegetation from the top of the crown to ground level.
Height Above Ground Level (HAGL)		Approved	A height measured with respect to the underlying ground surface.
Height Above Sea Level (HASL)		Approved	Height above mean sea level in feet.
held line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	All control line that still contains the fire when mopup is completed. Excludes lost line, natural barriers not backfired, and unused secondary lines.
helibucket	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Specially designed bucket carried by a helicopter like a sling load and used for aerial delivery of water or fire retardants.
helicopter tender	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A ground service vehicle capable of supplying fuel and support equipment to helicopters.
helispot	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A natural or improved takeoff and landing area intended for temporary or occasional helicopter use.
helitack	Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee IHOPS	Approved	The utilization of helicopters to transport crews, equipment, and fire retardants or suppressants to the fireline during the initial stages of a fire. The term also refers to the crew that performs helicopter management and attack activities.
helitack crew	Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee IHOPS	Approved	A crew of firefighters specially trained and certified in the tactical and logistical use of helicopters for fire suppression.
helitanker	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A helicopter equipped with a fixed tank, Airtanker Board certified, capable of delivering a minimum of 1,100 gallons of water, foam, or retardant.
helitorch	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An aerial ignition device hung from or mounted on a helicopter to disperse ignited lumps of gelled gasoline. Used for backfires, burnouts, or prescribed burns.
herbaceous fuel moisture	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	In NFDRS, a calculated value representing the approximate moisture content of the live herbaceous vegetation in the rating area expressed as a percentage of the oven dry weight of the sample.
high expansion	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Foam with an expansion between 201:1 and 1000:1.
high pressure fog	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Small capacity spray jet produced at very high pressures (greater than 250 psi, the normal maximum pressure for standard ground tankers) and discharged through a small hose with a gun-type nozzle.
holding actions	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	All actions taken to stop the spread of fire.
holding orbit	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	A predetermined maneuver which keeps an aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further orders.
holding resources	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Resources assigned to do all required fire suppression work following fireline construction but generally not including extensive mopup.
home	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	An adjective that describes a permanent place associated with a resource.
home dispatch unit	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The NWCG Unit Identifier of the center primarily responsible for dispatching the resource.
home unit (administrative)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The administrative organization where a resource is regularly assigned or the agency location where an individual is hired or a contract is administered.
home unit (designated)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The designated agency or entity providing contracted resources that employs the individual who is actively pursuing a position performance assignment (completion of a position task book).
horizontal datum code	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The identfication given to the reference system used for defining the coordinates of points.
hose lay	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	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.
hose line tee	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A fitting that may be installed between lengths of hose to provide an independently controlled outlet for a branch line.
hose rack	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Item for storing drying fire hose.
hose reel	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A rotating drum used for winding booster hose (normally) for storing and dispensing.
host	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A term historically used to indicate the agency or unit with jurisdiction or protection responsibilities or who was financially responsible for the incident response. Its use is not recommended.
hover	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A stationary in-flight condition for helicopters when no directional flight is achieved.
Hovering in Ground Effect (HIGE)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The situation in which a helicopter is hovering sufficiently close to the ground to achieve added lift due to the effects of "ground cushion."&nbsp;The HIGE ceiling, for a given gross weight, thus is greater than the HOGE (Hovering Out of Ground Effect) ceiling.
human-caused fire	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Any fire caused directly or indirectly by person(s).
human-caused risk scaling factor	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Number relating human-caused fire incidence to the ignition component in a fire danger rating area. It is based on three to five years of fire occurrence and fire weather data that adjusts the prediction of the basic human-caused fire occurrence model to fit local experience.&nbsp;
humidity	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	General term referring to the moisture content of the atmosphere.
humus	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Layer of decomposed organic matter on the forest floor beneath the fermentation layer and directly above the soil. It is that part of the duff in which decomposition has rendered vegetation unrecognizable and mixing of soil and organic matter is underway.
hydrophobicity	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Resistance to wetting exhibited by some soils, also called water repellency. The phenomenon may occur naturally or may be fire-induced. It may be determined by water drop penetration time, equilibrium liquid-contact angles, solid-air surface tension indices, or the characterization of dynamic wetting angles during infiltration.&nbsp;
I-Zone	WMSC WUI Mitigation Subcommittee	Archived	An area that, in relation to wildland/urban fire, has a set of conditions that provides the opportunity for fire to burn from wildland vegetation to the home/structure ignition zone.
ICS 209 remarks	wfnwcgorg:NISC	Approved	Additional information pertinent to the management of the incident.
ICS 209 report date time	wfnwcgorg:NISC	Approved	Automated date and time stamp applied when the ICS 209 report is submitted.
ICS 209 report for time period from	wfnwcgorg:NISC	Approved	The beginning date and time of the reporting period of an ICS 209.
ICS 209 report for time period to	wfnwcgorg:NISC	Approved	The ending date and time of the reporting period of an ICS 209.
ICS 209 report status		Approved	The version of the ICS 209 report (Initial, Update, or Final).
identification run	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Dry run over the target area by the leadplane to indicate an airtanker's flight path and target, while the airtanker pilot is observing.
Ignition Area (IA)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The smallest area that a wildland fire investigator can define based on the physical evidence of the fire pattern indicators, within the specific origin area, in which a competent ignition source came into contact with the first fuel ignited and combustion was sustained.
ignition component	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A rating of the probability that a firebrand will cause an actionable fire.
ignition method	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The means by which a fire is ignited, such as hand-held drip torch, helitorch, and backpack propane tanks.
ignition source	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Any process or event capable of causing a fire.
IMI Interactivity Levels	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	Standards to which IMI products are developed conforming to interactivity level(s) which are appropriate for the instructional design, strategy, media, content, and course specifications.
IMI Level 1 Interactivity	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	This is the lowest level of courseware development. It is normally a knowledge familiarity lesson, provided in a linear format (one idea after another).
IMI Level 2 Interactivity	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	This involves the recall of more information than a level 1 and allows the student more control over the lesson&nbsp;scenario through screen icons and other peripherals, such as light pens or touch screens. Typically level 2 is used for non-complex operations and maintenance lessons. Simple emulations or simulations are presented to the user. As an example, the user is requested to rotate switches, turn dials, make adjustments, or identify and replace a faulted component as part of a procedure. This also may include simple to standard developed graphics, and/or clip art, and video and audio clips.&nbsp;
IMI Level 3 Interactivity	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	This involves the recall of more complex information (compared to levels 1 and 2) and allows the user an increased level of control over the lesson scenario through peripherals such as light pen, touch screen, track ball, or mouse. Video, graphics, or a combination of both is presented simulating the operation of a system, subsystem, or equipment to the user. The lesson scenario training material typically is complex and involves more frequent use of peripherals to affect a transfer of learning. Operation and maintenance procedures are normally practiced with level 3 scenarios and students may be required to alternate between multiple screens to keep pace with the lesson material. Multiple software branches (two to three levels) and rapid response are provided to support remediation. Emulations and simulations are an integral part of this presentation. This may also include complex developed graphics, and/or clip art, and video and audio clips.
impeller	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Rotating part of a centrifugal pump which imparts energy to the liquid to be moved. For shearing purposes, the impeller is on a rotating shaft within the body of liquid.
implementation plan	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The design and definition of all the activities, resources, limitations, and contingencies required for successful wildland fire management.
in-stand wind	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Wind speed within a stand at about eye level.
incendiary	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A burning compound or metal used to produce intense heat or flame, like a bomb.
incendiary device	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Contrivance designed and used to start a fire.
incident	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC, FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	An occurrence, either human-caused or a natural phenomenon, that requires action or support by emergency services personnel to prevent or minimize loss of life or damage to property and/or natural resources.
Incident Action Plan (IAP)	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An oral or written plan containing the objectives established by the Incident Commander or Unified Command and addressing tactics and support activities for the planned operational period, generally 12 to 24 hours.
incident assignment	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	An assignment to an incident that requires a length of commitment.
incident base	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A location where personnel coordinate and administer logistics functions for an incident. There is typically only one base per incident. (An incident name or other designator is added to the term Base.) The ICP may be co-located with the Incident Base.
Incident Command	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The ICS organizational element responsible for overall management of the incident and consisting of the Incident Commander or Unified Command and any additional Command Staff activated.
Incident Command System (ICS)	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of on-scene incident management, providing a common hierarchy within which personnel from multiple organizations can be effective. ICS is the combination of procedures, personnel, facilities, equipment, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in the management of on-scene resources during incidents. It is used for all kinds of incidents and is applicable to small, as well as large and complex, incidents, including planned events.
Incident Commander (IC) name	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The first (optional) and last name of the Incident Commander(s) currently assigned to the incident.
Incident Communications Center	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	The location of the communications unit and the message center.
incident management organization	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The incident management organization for the incident.
Incident Management Team (IMT)	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A group of ICS-qualified personnel consisting of an Incident Commander, Command and General Staff, and personnel assigned to other key ICS positions.
Incident Management Team name		Approved	Name of the Incident Management Team in charge of the fire.
incident name	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The name assigned to an incident.
incident objectives	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A statement of an outcome to be accomplished or achieved. Incident objectives are used to select strategies and tactics. Incident objectives should be realistic, achievable, and measurable, yet flexible enough to allow strategic and tactical alternatives.
incident organization	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Pending Archive	Resources, together with a complement of overhead personnel, calculated to be sufficient to provide fire efficient incident management.
incident overhead	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Pending Revision	All supervisory positions described in the Incident Command System.
incident personnel fatality quantity	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	The total number of deaths, connected with the performance of work duties, that occurred in conjunction with an incident.
incident personnel injury illness quantity	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Total number of reportable occupational injuries and illnesses, which resulted in lost work days, that occurred in conjunction with an incident. Also includes cases without lost work days which result in transfer to another job, termination of employment, or required medical treatment (other than first aid); or which involved loss of consciousness, or restriction of work or motion. (First aid and lost work days are further defined under OSHA Part 1904.)
incident short description	NICADS National Interagency Computer Aided Dispatch	Approved	General descriptive location of the incident as it relates to an identifiable town or population center. In the case of a Complex, this may describe 1) one of the points of origin of one of the member or “child” incidents, or 2) a center or other representative point that related to the group of incidents.
incident size	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	How large the incident is, measured in acres. This number can change over the life of the incident.
incident support cache	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Refers to type 1 (national interagency support cache), type 2 (national interagency support cache satellite), and type 3 (local interagency support cache). Caches may consist of a pre-determined complement of tools, equipment and/or supplies stored in a designated location, available for incident use.
incident support organization	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Pending Revision	Includes any off-incident support provided to an incident. Examples would be agency dispatch centers, airports, mobilization centers, etc.
Incident Type Category (fire)		Approved	A sub‐group of the Incident Type Kind "Fire" that describes the types of incident or planned event to which the interagency wildland fire community responded to.
incident type endorsement	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The type of incident for which a resource is qualified to perform in a position.
incident weather forecast	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A special weather forecast for a specific incident prepared by a meteorologist on site at or near the incident area.
incident with potential	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Wildland fire-related mishap that results in serious or non-serious injuries involving multiple personnel, near accident (which would have resulted in a serious injury or fatality), or substantial loss of property (less than $250,000). The mishap may be so complex and fraught with operational discrepancies that it has the potential to produce an accident, serious injury, or fatality given a similar environment or set of circumstances that existed at the time of the incident.&nbsp;
incremental drop	SEATB Single Engine Airtanker Board, IAB Interagency Airtanker Board	Approved	Airtanker drop in which tank doors are opened in sequence so that fire retardant cascades somewhat continuously.
independent action	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fire suppression activities by other than regular fire suppression organizations or a fire cooperator.
indicator	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Visual remains at a fire scene revealing the fire's progress and action.
inductor	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A control mechanism that allows a regulated quantity of foam concentrate to be introduced into the main hose line.
Infrared (IR) Groundlink	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A capability through the use of a special mobile ground station to receive air-to-ground IR imagery at an incident.
inhibition	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Process of extinguishing fire by the use of an agent that interrupts the chemical reactions in the combustion process.
inhibitor	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any agent which retards a chemical reaction.
Initial Attack Fire (IAF)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fire that is generally contained by the attack units first dispatched, without a significant augmentation of reinforcements, within two hours after initial attack, and full control is expected within the first burning period.
Initial Attack Incident Commander (IAIC)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	The incident commander at the time the first attack forces commence suppression work on a fire.
initial fire strategy designator	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The fire strategy initially used on a wildland fire. The initial fire strategy is the general plan or direction utilized until it succeeds or changes. The NWCG glossary defines strategy as: The general plan or direction selected to accomplish incident objectives.
initial fire strategy met indicator	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Indicates whether the objectives for the initial fire strategy were attained. NWCG glossary defines strategy as: The general plan or direction selected to accomplish incident objectives
initial investigative area	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The area where investigator(s) begin their on-scene search for the general origin area.
initial response resource quantity	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The total number of fire resources by kind, category, and type (if listed and applicable) used during the initial response. Initial response resouces will only be counted during intial attack. Extended Attack Incidents are those which persist beyond the first full operational period where local resources are not sufficient and the complexity elevates beyond initial attack commander capability.
inmate crew	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any fire crew composed of prison inmates or wards.
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) Conditions	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Weather conditions below the minimum for flight under Visual Flight Rules and therefore requiring the observance of instruments inside the aircraft for controlling flight; generally considered to be less than 1000' AGL and 3 miles distant.
instrument shelter	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Naturally or artificially ventilated structure, constructed to specifications and used to shield weather measuring instruments from direct sunshine and precipitation.
Integrated Reporting of Wildland Fire Information Identifier		Approved	Primary key for linking to the Wildland Fire Locations Point dataset.
Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	A group of predominantly interactive, electronically delivered training. IMI products include instructional software and software management tools used in support of instructional programs. IMI products are teaching and management tools and may be used in combination or individually. Used individually, not all IMI products can be considered interactive, multimedia, or instructional. However, IMI products, when used in combination with one another, are interactive, multimedia, and instructional. IMI technology is one of the primary technologies to be used in distance learning.&nbsp;
intermittent	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appointment/agreement that meets the following conditions: Employing office is a government or contractor entity There is no set work schedule; the person is in a &ldquo;call-when-needed&rdquo; status. Employee receives compensation for work
invasive concern		Approved	A list of invasive species that are cause for concern related to the use of water sources.
inventoried resources	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Assigned resources which have checked in at the incident.
inversion	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Atmospheric inversion. The departure from the usual increase or decrease with altitude of the value of an atmospheric property. In fire management usage, nearly always refers to an increase in temperature with increasing height. Also, the layer through which this departure occurs (also called inversion layer.) The lowest altitude at which the departure is found is called the base of the inversion.
is location tracking enabled	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Indicates whether a resource's location (geometry object/shape) is being updated by a real-time GPS tracking such as AVL (Automated Vehicle Locator).
is national resource	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Indicates whether a resource is a National Resource for use in Initial Response.
is primary capability	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Indicates that the capability is the primary capability for the equipment or aircraft.
is valid (resource)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Indicates whether a resource is valid for use in Initial Response. Invalid resources should be removed from the data stream
is visible		Approved	Provides a flag for mapping display.
island	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	An unburned area within a fire perimeter.
isobar	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A line connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure on a weather map.
isothermal layer	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Layer through which temperature remains constant with elevation.
jackpot burn	Fuels Management Committee FMC	Approved	A fire treatment type. A prescribed fire to deliberately burn natural or modified concentrations (jackpots) of wildland fuels under specified environmental conditions, which allows the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and produces the fireline intensity and rate of spread required to attain planned resource Management Objectives.
job aid	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	Detailed information needed to complete each task including step-by-step explanations, checklists, diagrams and other relevant information. Job aids are for use by trainees as an on-the-job training tool and as a field operational tool for qualified personnel.
job hazard analysis	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A job hazard analysis identifies hazards associated with work projects and worksites, and identifies protective equipment or modified work procedures needed.
Joint Information System (JIS)	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Pending Revision	A system that integrates incident information and public affairs into a cohesive organization designed to provide consistent, coordinated, timely information during crisis or incident operations.
jump spot	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Selected landing area for smokejumpers.
jurisdiction	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	The range or sphere of authority. Public agencies have jurisdiction at an incident related to their legal responsibilities and authority for incident mitigation. Jurisdictional authority at an incident can be political/geographical (e.g., city, county, state or federal boundary lines), or functional (e.g., police department, health department, etc.).&nbsp;
jurisdictional agency category		In Development	The agency category having land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical or functional area as provided by federal, state or local law.
jurisdictional agency kind		In Development	The agency kind having land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical or functional area as provided by federal, state or local law.
jurisdictional unit	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The governmental entity having overall land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical area as provided by law.
jurisdictional unit identifier	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Code used in interagency wildland fire to uniquely identify the governmental entity having overall land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical area as provided by law.
jurisdictional unit name		In Development	The name of the governmental entity having overall land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical area as provided by law.
Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	An estimate (0-800) of the amount of precipitation (in 100ths of inches) needed to bring the top 8 inches of soil back to saturation. A value of 0 is complete saturation of the soil, a value of 800 means 8.00 inches of precipitation would be needed for saturation. In the 1988 version of NFDRS, outputs of KBDI are used to adjust live and dead fuel loadings.&nbsp;
Kind	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	As applied to incident resources, a class or group of items or people of the same nature or character or classified together because they have traits in common. Category sometimes referred to as subset of kind.
kindling point	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Lowest temperature at which sustained combustion can be initiated for a specified substance.
label		Approved	The label applied to the feature in a GIS system.
ladder fuels	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	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.
land use plan	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	A set of decisions that establish management direction for land within an administrative area; an assimilation of land-use-plan-level decisions developed through the planning process regardless of the scale at which the decisions were developed.
landowner	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	The person or entity that owns the land or has the authority to convey title to others.
landowner category	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Specific classification of landownership within landowner kinds.
landowner category (Point of Origin) (POO)	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Agency or entity having the land management responsibility at the point of origin.
landowner contact information		Approved	Full contact information for the landowner including name, phone number, email, etc.
landowner kind	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Broadest classification of landownership.
landowner kind (Point of Origin) (POO)		Approved	Broad classification of land ownership at the point of origin.
landowner unit (Point of Origin)		Approved	NWCG Unit Identifier of landowner agency at the point of origin of a fire.
lapse rate	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Change of an atmospheric variable (temperature unless specified otherwise) with height.
last name	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	The last name of the resource as it appears on a government issued ID.&nbsp;
lateral fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Rate or spread and intensity of a fire usually falling somewhere in between advancing and backing with spread lateral to the main direction of fire travel.
latitude (Decimal Degrees)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in units of decimal degrees along a meridian.
latitude (Decimal Degrees) (Point of Origin)	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The latitude location of the wildland fire location point specified in decimal degrees.
latitude (Degrees Decimal Minutes)			Latitude in degrees, decimal minutes WGS84 for labeling purposes.
latitude (initial)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The location coordinate for the latitude value corresponding to the initial reported point of origin specified in decimal degrees.
latitude (Point of Origin) (POO)		Approved	The latitude location of the point of origin specified in decimal degrees. Point of origin is the location where a competent ignition source came into contact with the material first ignited and sustained combustion occurred.
lead line	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Line or set of lines made of rope, webbing, or cable and used in helicopter external load operations; usually placed between a swivel or the cargo hook and the load.
leader	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The ICS title for an individual who is responsible for supervision of a unit, strike team, resource team, or task force.
leadplane	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Aircraft with pilot used to make trial runs over the target area to check wind, smoke conditions, topography and to lead airtankers to targets and supervise their drops.
Learning Content Management System (LCMS)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	Any system that keeps learner information, can launch and communicate with SCOs, and can interpret instructions that tell it which SCO comes next.
learning objects	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	Reusable learning objects represent an alternative approach to content development. In this approach, content is broken down into chunks. From a pedagogical perspective, each chunk might play a specific role within an instructional design methodology. Such chunks are called learning objects. There is no standard for the size (or granularity) of a learning object. Larger learning objects are typically harder to reuse, and smaller learner objects save less work for those who reuse them. Normally the happy medium has been estimated as between five and fifteen minutes of learning material. The requirements for each chunk are: Each chunk must be able to communicate with learning systems using a standardized method that does not depend on the system. What happens within a chunk is the chunk's business. How a learner moves between chunks is controlled by the learning system. Each chunk must have a description (metadata tag) that enables designers to search for and find the right chunk for the right job.
legitimate smoke	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Smoke from any authorized use of fire (e.g., locomotive, industrial operations, permitted debris burning).
level of service	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Amount of fire prevention and fire suppression supplied; may be expressed several ways (e.g., percent of people or buildings protected, area protected, dollar value of property protected, firefighters per capita, water flow capability).
license plate number	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The vehicle’s license plate number for purposes of identifying equipment.
light (duty level)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Light duty mainly involves office-type work with occasional field activity characterized by light physical exertion requiring basic good health. &nbsp;Individuals almost always can govern the extent and pace of their physical activity.&nbsp; Essential functions include, but are not limited to: climbing stairs, standing, operating a vehicle, and long hours of work, as well as some bending, stooping, or light lifting.
lighting (aviation obstruction)		Approved	Indicates if the aviation obstacle is lighted.
Lightning Activity Level (LAL)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A number, on a scale of 1 to 6, which reflects frequency and character of cloud-to-ground lightning (forecasted or observed). The scale for 1 to 5 is exponential, based on powers of 2 (i.e., LAL 3 indicates twice the lightning of LAL 2). LAL 6 is a special category for dry lightning and is closely equivalent to LAL 3 in strike frequency.&nbsp;
lightning risk scaling factor	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Factor derived from local thunderstorm and lightning-caused fire records that adjusts predictions of the basic lightning fire occurrence model to local experience, accounting for factors not addressed directly by the model (e.g., susceptibility of local fuels to ignition by lightning, fuel continuity, topography, regional characteristics of thunderstorms).&nbsp;
lightweight debris	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Ash and other materials found on other remains at a fire scene which have a tendency to settle on top of the other objects.
limitations (water source)		Approved	Limitation of the water source like duration of use, seasonality, slow refill, must have specific size screen on draft hose, etc.
limited containment	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Halting of fire spread at the head, or that portion of the flanks of a prescribed fire that is threatening to exceed prescription criteria, and ensuring that this spread rate will not be encountered again; does not indicate mopup.
line date time	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The date and time that the fire perimeter was collected in the field.
line officer	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	Managing officer, or designee, of the agency, division thereof, or jurisdiction having statutory responsibility for incident mitigation and management.
litter	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The top layer of forest floor, composed of loose debris of dead sticks, branches, twigs, and recently fallen leaves or needles; little altered in structure by decomposition.
live fuels	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	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.
live herbaceous moisture content	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Ratio of the amount of water to the amount of dry plant material in herbaceous plants (i.e., grasses and forbs).
live line	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hose line filled with water under pressure and ready to use.
live reel	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hose line or reel on a fire engine, carried preconnected to the pump, ready for use without making connections to pump or attaching nozzle.
live run	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	Indicates that the airtanker has the target in sight and will make a retardant drop on this run over the target.
live woody moisture content	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Ratio of the amount of water to the amount of dry plant material in shrubs.
load and hold	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An order given to the airtanker pilot to pick up another load of retardant or water and hold at the reload base. The tanker is still committed to the fire.
local fire report identifier	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	A number or code that uniquely identifies an incident report for a particular reporting unit and a particular calendar year.
local incident identifier	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	A number or code that uniquely identifies an incident for a particular local fire management organization within a particular calendar year.
local resource	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Resources within a dispatch center's area of responsibility.
local winds	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Winds which are generated over a comparatively small area by local terrain and weather. They differ from those which would be appropriate to the general pressure pattern.
location timestamp	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The date/time for the resource’s last known position.
Logistics Section	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The ICS section responsible for providing facilities, services, and supplies in support of an incident and personnel well being. The logistics section may include units and branches.
long-range spotting	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Large glowing firebrands are carried high into the convection column and then fall out downwind beyond the main fire starting new fires. Such spotting can easily occur 1/4 mile or more from the firebrand's source.
long-term fire retardant	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Chemical that inhibits combustion primarily through chemical reactions between products of combustion and the applied chemicals, even after the water component has evaporated. Other chemical effects also may be achieved, such as film-forming and intumescence.&nbsp;
longitude (Decimal Degrees)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The angular distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in units of decimal degrees.
longitude (Decimal Degrees) (Point of Origin)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The longitude location of the wildland fire location point specified in decimal degrees.
longitude (Degrees Decimal Minutes)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Longitdue in degrees, decimal minutes WGS84 fore labeling purposes.
longitude (initial)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The location coordinate for the longitude value corresponding to the initial reported point of origin specified in decimal degrees.
longitude (Point of Origin) (POO)		Approved	The longitude location of the point of origin specified in decimal degrees. Point of origin is the location where a competent ignition source came into contact with the material first ignited and sustained combustion occurred.
longitude (World Geodetic System 1984)		Approved	Longitude format for labeling and display.
longline	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A line or set of lines, usually in 50' increments, used in external load operations that allow the helicopter to place loads in areas in which the helicopter could not safely land.
lookout (crew member)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A fire crew member assigned to observe the fire and warn the crew when there is danger of becoming trapped.
lookout (location)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A location from which fires can be detected and reported.
lookout dispatcher	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Person combining the functions of lookout and dispatcher.
lookout firefighter	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Person combining the functions of lookout and firefighter.
lookout patrol	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Person who travels along ridges or other vantage points to discover, detect, report, and suppress fires.
lookout tower	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Structure that elevates a person above nearby obstructions to sight for fires; generally capped by some sort of house or cupola.
Lookout(s), Communication(s), Escape Route(s), and Safety Zone(s) (LCES)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Elements of a safety system used by fire fighters to routinely assess their current situation with respect to wildland firefighting hazards.
lopping and scattering	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Lopping logging debris and spreading it more or less evenly over the ground.
low expansion	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Foam with an expansion between 1:1 and 20:1.
macroclimate	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	General large-scale climate of a large area or country as distinguished from smaller scale mesoclimate and microclimate.
macroscale fire pattern indicator	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Large single fire pattern indicator or overall patterns of indicators that are readily visible from a distance.
major disaster	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	Any natural catastrophe or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which in the determination of the President causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance.
major repair (aviation)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A repair (1) that, if improperly done, might appreciably affect weight, balance, structural strength, or other qualities affecting airworthiness or (2) that is not done according to accepted practices or cannot be done by elementary operations.
male coupling	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	An externally threaded hose nipple which fits in the thread of a female (internally threaded) swivel coupling of the same pitch and diameter. Nozzles attach to this type of coupling.
management action points	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Geographic points on the ground or specific points in time where an escalation or alternative of management actions is warranted. These points are defined and the management actions to be taken are clearly described in an approved Prescribed Fire Plan. Timely implementation of the actions when the fire reaches the action point is generally critical to successful accomplishment of the objectives.
management complexity level designator	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The highest management level utilized to manage a fire event.
manager contact information	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Contact information for the manager of the resource.
managers	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Individuals within ICS organizational units that are assigned specific managerial responsibilities, e.g., staging area manager or camp manager.
manual weather station	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A non-telemetered weather station that provides one observation every 24 hours for manual entry into WIMS.
manually regulated	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A proportioning method or device that requires a manual adjustment to maintain a desired mix ratio over a changing range of water flows and pressures.
map method	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	How the geospatial feature was derived
maritime air	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Air which has assumed high moisture content and the temperature characteristics of a water surface due to extensive exposure to that surface.
mass arsonist	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	An offender who sets three or more fires at the same location during a limited period of time.
mass fire	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A fire resulting from many simultaneous ignitions that generates a high level of energy output.
master fire chronology	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Chronological listing of the dates of fires documented in a designated area, the dates being corrected by crossdating. Size of the area must be specified.
material first ignited	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The fuel that is first set on fire by the heat of ignition.
mathematical model	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A model that is a quantitative and mathematical representation or simulation which attempts to describe the characteristics or relationship of physical events.
mattock	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hand tool with a narrow hoeing surface at one end of the blade and a pick or cutting blade at the other end; used for digging and grubbing.
maximum dry bulb temperature	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The highest value for dry bulb temperature measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
Maximum Manageable Area (MMA)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The maximum geographic limits of spread within which a wildland fire is allowed to spread.
maximum relative humidity	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The highest value for relative humidity measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
Mcleod	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A combination hoe or cutting tool and rake, with or without removable blades.
measured woody fuel moisture	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Moisture content of the small branch wood and foliage of live woody plants, expressed as a percentage of the oven dry weight of the sample, collected monthly and used to supplement NFDRS modeled outputs.
Medical Unit	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Medical Unit staff are responsible to plan for and provide health and medical services for incident personnel.
medium expansion	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Foam with an expansion between 21:1 and 200:1.
merge identifier		Approved	Identifies that a merge between multiple fires occurred.
message center	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	The message center is part of the incident communications center and is collocated or placed adjacent to it. It receives, records, and routes information about resources reporting to the incident, resource status, and administrative and tactical traffic.
Micro-Remote Environmental Monitoring System (Micro-REMS)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Mobile weather monitoring station. Each unit consists of a shipping container, solar panel, battery, temperature/relative humidity sensor, wind mast, wind direction/speed sensor, data logger and radio. A Micro-REMS usually accompanies an incident meteorologist and ATMU to an incident.&nbsp;
middle name	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	The middle name of the resource as it appears on a government issued ID. Applies only to overhead resources.
millibar	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A unit of pressure equal to a force of 1,000 dynes per square centimeter. (A dyne is the force that would give a free mass of one gram an acceleration of one centimeter per second per second).
mineral ash	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The residue of mineral matter left after complete combustion of wood (wood ash) or other organic material; consists largely of oxides, carbonates, and phosphates of Ca, K and Mg, together with other compounds.
mineral soil	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Soil layers below the predominantly organic horizons; soil with little combustible material.
minimum cost suppression alternative	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The alternative that achieves incident objectives, consistent with priority for firefighter and public safety, and is least expensive when considering expected costs for fire suppression and emergency stabilization and/or rehabilitation.
minimum dry bulb temperature	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The lowest value for dry bulb temperature measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
minimum relative humidity	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The lowest value for relative humidity measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
mission assignment	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A work order issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to a federal agency, directing completion of a specified task, and setting forth funding, other managerial controls and guidance. Mission Assignments (MA) are implemented utilizing assigned federal agency's existing authorities and resources which may be compensable or non-compensable.
mitigation	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	Modifying the environment or human behavior to reduce potential adverse impacts of from a natural hazard.
mitigation actions	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Actions that are implemented to reduce or eliminate (mitigate) risks to persons, property or natural resources. These actions can be undertaken before and during a wildfire. Before a fire actions can include fuel treatments, creation of fuel breaks or barriers around critical or sensitive sites or resources, and vegetation modification and structural changes to increase the chance a structure will survive a wildfire with or without active protection (sometimes referred to as defensible space or the home ignition zone). Mitigation actions can also occur during response and can include mechanical and physical tasks, specific fire applications, and limited suppression actions. Such as fireline construction, and creating "black lines" through the use of controlled burnouts to limit fire spread and behavior.
mixing height	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Measured from the surface upward, the height to which relatively vigorous mixing occurs due to convection.
mixing layer	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	That portion of the atmosphere from the surface up to the mixing height. This is the layer of air, usually below a stable layer, within which pollutants are mixed by turbulence and diffusion.
mixmaster	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The person in charge of fire retardant mixing operations with responsibility for quantity and quality of the slurry and for the loading of aircraft.
mob en route		Proposed New	The resource is assigned to an incident and travel has started, but the resource has not yet arrived at the incident. This is the time between ETD and ETA.
mobile weather unit forecast (fire)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A special fire weather forecast for a specific fire prepared by a meteorologist on site at or near the fire area.
mobile weather unit forecast (incident)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A special weather forecast for a specific incident prepared by a meteorologist on site at or near the incident area.
mobilization center	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An off-incident location at which emergency service personnel and equipment are temporarily located pending assignment, release, or reassignment.
model	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A simplified or generalized representation of reality; a description, analogy, picture, or hypothesis to help visualize something that cannot be directly observed.
moderate (duty level)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Moderate duty field work requires the average endurance and conditioning of an individual who possesses complete control of all their physical faculties. Occasional demands may be required for moderately strenuous activities in emergencies over long periods. The pace of work is usually set by the current environmental conditions.&nbsp; Essential functions include, but are not limited to: considerable walking over irregular ground, standing for long periods, lifting 25 to 50 pounds, climbing, bending, stooping, squatting, twisting, and reaching.
modified by system	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	Username of system that modified the record.
modified on date time	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	Date/time that the record was modified.
moist adiabatic lapse rate	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Rate of decrease of temperature with increasing height of an air parcel lifted at saturation via adiabatic process through an atmosphere in hydrostatic equilibrium. Rate varies according to the amount of water vapor in the parcel and is usually between 2.0 and 5.0 degrees F per 1000 feet (3.6 and 9.2 degrees C per 1000 meters).&nbsp;
monitor	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A turret-type nozzle usually mounted on an engine.
monitoring	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The orderly collection, analysis, and interpretation of environmental data to evaluate management's progress toward meeting objectives, and to identify changes in natural systems. Monitoring is also conducted on wildland fires to observe fire effects, fire behavior, or both. For example, the work done by Fire Effects Monitor (FEMO) or Field Observer (FOBS) positions.&nbsp;
mop up crew	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A portion or all of a regular fire crew assigned to mop up work after the fire or a portion of the fire has been contained or controlled.
mop up time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Elapsed time from containment or control of a fire until mopup is complete.
move up	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	System of redistributing remaining personnel and equipment following dispatch of other forces among a network of fire stations to provide the best possible response within the fire department's direct protection area in the event of additional calls for emergency assistance.&nbsp;
move up method	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Progressive method of fireline construction 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 of those ahead move one space forward and resume work on the uncompleted part of the line. The last worker does not move ahead until work is completed in his/her space. Forward progress of the crew is coordinated by a crew boss.&nbsp;
Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC)	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	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.
multi-agency incident	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An incident where one or more agencies assist a jurisdictional agency or agencies. May be single or unified command.
multicom	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A VHF/AM aircraft radio frequency (122.9 MHz) assigned by the FAA for use in air-to-air communications.
multijurisdiction incident	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An incident requiring action from multiple agencies that have a statutory responsibility for incident mitigation. In ICS these incidents will be managed under unified command.
mutual threat zone	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A geographical area between two or more jurisdictions into which those agencies would respond on initial attack.
National Fire Danger Adjective Class Rating	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The Fire Danger Adjective Class Rating representative of an area that best describes the potential initiation, spread, and difficulty of control during intial response. Fire Danger Adjective Class Rating: A method of normalizing rating classes across different fuel models, indexes, and weather station locations. It is a resultant descriptor of the combination of both constant and variable factors that affect the initiation, spread, and difficulty of control of wildfires on an area.
National Fire Danger Adjective Class Rating Code	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The Fire Danger Adjective Class Rating representative of an area that best describes the potential initiation, spread, and difficulty of control during intial response. Fire Danger Adjective Class Rating: A method of normalizing rating classes across different fuel models, indexes, and weather station locations. It is a resultant descriptor of the combination of both constant and variable factors that affect the initiation, spread, and difficulty of control of wildfires on an area.
National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A uniform fire danger rating system that focuses on the environmental factors that control the moisture content of fuels.
National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) Fuel Model code	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	A code that corresponds to one of the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) fuel models representing the predominant fuel bed properties contributing towards fire spread across the fire area.
National Fire Incident Reporting System unit identifier		Approved	National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) fire department ID used to uniquely identify a non-federal organizational unit (office administratively responsible for either managing incidents, providing resources, or providing logistical services).
National Fire Protection Association Standards (NFPA)	NWCG-EB NWCG Executive Board	Approved	Standards of the National Fire Protection Association are frequently adopted by insurance agencies such as the National Board of Fire Underwriters as a basis for their regulations and used as a guide for municipal, state, or provincial laws, ordinances, and regulations.&nbsp;
National Incident Management System	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A systematic, proactive approach to guide all levels of government, NGOs, and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the effects of incidents. NIMS provides stakeholders across the whole community with the shared vocabulary, systems, and processes to successfully deliver the capabilities described in the National Preparedness System. NIMS provides a consistent foundation for dealing with all incidents, ranging from daily occurrences to incidents requiring a coordinated Federal response.
National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS)	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An NWCG developed program that consisted of five subsystems which collectively provide a total systems approach to all-risk incident management. The subsystems are: The Incident Command System, Training, Qualifications and Certification, Supporting Technologies, and Publications Management.
national resource	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Those resources which have national utilization, high demand, limited availability, and unique status reporting requirements identified by NICC.
National Resource Lands (NRL)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.
National Response Framework	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	An all-discipline, all-hazards plan that establishes a single, comprehensive framework for the management of domestic incidents. It provides the structure and mechanisms for the coordination of Federal support to State, local, and Tribal incident managers and for exercising direct Federal authorities and responsibilities.
National Response Plan	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	A plan that integrates federal government domestic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery plans into one all-discipline, all-hazard plan.
natural barrier	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Any area where lack of flammable material obstructs the spread of wildfires.
near miss	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Any potential accident which, through prevention, education, hazard reduction, or luck, did not occur.
NESDIS ID	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	An 8-character identifier assigned by NESDIS that becomes the RAWS identification number for use with the GOES satellite.
Net Value Change (NVC)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The sum of the changes in the value of natural resources affected by a fire. The basis for computing NVC is each resource's fire-induced value change (pluses and minuses) as computed and expressed on a per unit basis.
night (aviation)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The time between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the American Air Almanac, converted to local time.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	The result of nitric oxide combining with oxygen in the atmosphere. A major component of photochemical smog.
Nomex®	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Trade name for a fire resistant synthetic material used in the manufacturing of flight suits and pants and shirts used by firefighters. Aramid is the generic name.
normal fire season (average)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A season when weather, fire danger, and number and distribution of fires are about average.
Notice to Airmen (NOTAM)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Notice identified as either a NOTAM or Airmen Advisory containing information concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any component of, or hazard in, the National Airspace System, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations.&nbsp;
nozzle aspirated foam system	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A foam generating device that mixes air at atmospheric pressure with foam solution in a nozzle chamber.
nozzle operator	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A person assigned to operate a fire hose nozzle, usually on a handline.
NWCG Standard	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A defined behavior, action, process, or equipment type, agreed upon by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group for wildland fire performance, and is necessary to meet consistent, interagency fire management activities.
objective (desired condition)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A description of a desired condition; quantified and measured, and where possible, with established time frames for achievement.
objective (land management)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Specific, achievable, measurable, time-limited results to be achieved through land management practices, either through a description of a desired condition or the degree of desired change in an attribute.
obstruction name		Approved	Common name of feature.
obstruction to vision	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Condition in which obscuring phenomenon restricts horizontal visibility to six statute miles (10 km.) or less.
obstruction type		Approved	Specific descriptor of aviation obstruction identified on a map.
off-shift	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Non-compensable time, e.g., eating, sleeping or other activities of a personal nature.
off-site/remote assignment	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Work performed by an individual employee in support of an incident while remaining at the employee’s duty station or other designated off-site location.
official passenger	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The following categories of personnel are official passengers: Officers and employees of the federal government traveling on official business. Members of Congress and employees of congressional committee staffs whose work relates to the agency&rsquo;s programs. Non-federal passengers when engaged in missions which enhance accomplishment of an agency program such as personnel of cooperating state, county, or local agencies; representatives of foreign governments; and contractors&rsquo; representatives to include those employed by such agencies; and private citizens.
offshore flow	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Wind blowing from land to water.
One-hour Timelag Fuel Moisture (1-h TL FM)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Moisture content of one-hour timelag fuels.
one-hour timelag fuels	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Fuels consisting of dead herbaceous plants and roundwood less than about one-fourth inch (6.4 mm) in diameter. Also included is the uppermost layer of needles or leaves on the forest floor.
One-hundred Hour Timelag Fuel Moisture (100-h TL FM)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The moisture content of the 100-hour timelag fuels.
one-hundred hour timelag fuels	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Dead fuels consisting of roundwood in the size range of 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm) in diameter and very roughly the layer of litter extending from approximately three-fourths of an inch (1.9 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm) below the surface.
One-thousand Hour Timelag Fuel Moisture (1,000-h TL FM)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The moisture content of the 1,000-hour timelag fuels.
one-thousand hour timelag fuels	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Dead fuels consisting of roundwood 3-8 inches in diameter and the layer of the forest floor more than about 4 inches below the surface.
operating weight	Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee IHOPS	Approved	For helicopters, the equipped weight plus weight of the crew and fuel.
operational control	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The exercise of authority over initiating, conducting, or terminating any operation. Often associated with aviation operations.
operational name	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The current common operational reference to a Resource, which is the name of the resource and/or call sign.
operational period	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The time scheduled for executing a given set of operation actions, as specified in the IAP. Operational periods can be of various lengths, but are typically 12 to 24 hours.
operational status	National Coordination System Committee NCSC, IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The state of a resource as it is utilized by an incident.&nbsp;
operational tempo	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	The speed and intensity of actions relative to the speed and intensity of the unfolding events in the operational environment.
Operations Coordination Center (OCC)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Primary facility of the Multi-agency Coordination System (MACS); houses staff and equipment necessary to perform the MACS function.
Operations Section	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The ICS Section responsible for implementing tactical incident operations described in the IAP. In ICS, the Operations Section may include subordinate branches, divisions, and/or groups.
ordered standby	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	An employee is on duty, and time spent on standby duty is hours of work if, for work-related reasons, the employee is restricted by official order to a designated post of duty and is assigned to be in a state of readiness to perform work with limitations on the employee&rsquo;s activities so substantial the employee cannot use the time effectively for his or her own purposes. A finding that an employee&rsquo;s activities are substantially limited may not be based on the fact that an employee is subject to restrictions necessary to ensure that the employee will be able to perform his or her duties and responsibilities, such as restrictions on alcohol consumption or use of certain medications (5 CFR 551.431(a) (1)).
organization assessment	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The recommended organization for the incident based on analysis.
organization unit	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The organizational element having responsibility within a functional area in the incident command structure such as operations, planning, logistics or finance.
orographic	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Pertaining to, or caused by mountains.
Osborne Firefinder	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A sighting device used by lookouts to determine the horizontal bearing and sometimes the vertical angle of a fire from a lookout.
other structure	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	A constructed building not designed for continuous human occupancy, such as barns, commercial buildings, etc.
other structures destroyed quantity	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The total number of structures, other than residences, destroyed as a result of a fire.
other structures threatened quantity	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The total number of structures, other than residences, threatened by the fire.
out (fire)	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Proposed New	All observable combustion has ceased and there is no risk of the fire again becoming active and requiring additional control or management actions.
out-of-service resources	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Resources assigned to an incident but unable to respond for mechanical, rest, or personal reasons.
overhaul	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Fire department procedure of inspecting premises after extinguishment of fire, to insure that fire is completely out and unable to rekindle before returning control to owner or occupants.
overhead	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	Personnel assigned to supervisory positions, including incident commander, command staff, general staff, branch directors, supervisors, unit leaders, managers and staff.
overload (operational)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A situation that taxes an operational system to the limit of its functional capabilities. Such as too many fires for an individual unit to handle (fire overload), or too many orders for an individual dispatch center to process (dispatch overload).
overwintering fire	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A fire that persists through the winter months until the beginning of fire season.
owner organization	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The agency or company to be reimbursed for providing a resource to an incident.
owner vendor	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A party that provides a contract resource for an incident.
oxidation	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Process during which oxygen combines with another substance.
oxidizer	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The portion of a chemical mixture or compound which furnishes oxygen for burning a fuel or propellant, creating an oxide.
paracargo	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Anything intentionally dropped, or intended for dropping, from any aircraft by parachute, by other retarding devices, or by free fall.
parallel pumping	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Procedure by which the flow from two fire pumps is combined into one hose line.
parallel tandem pumping	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Procedure by which the flow from two fire pumps is combined into a third pump.
parameter	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	A variable which can be measured quantitatively; sometimes, an arbitrary constant; associated with populations. One of the unknown values that determine a model.
partial risk factor	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Contribution to human-caused risk made by a specific risk source; a function of the daily activity level assigned that risk source and the appropriate risk source ratio.
partial-thickness burn	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A burn where the outer layer of skin is burned through and the second layer of skin (dermis) is damaged and is typically, a painful injury. Burns of this type cause reddening, blistering, and a mottled appearance.
parts of a fire	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	Different areas of the fire usually determined by the predominant direction of fire spread and delineated from the fastest moving area (head) to the slowest moving area (base or tail). The most rapidly moving portion is designated the head of the fire, the adjoining portions of the perimeter at right angles to the head are known as the flanks, and the slowest moving portion is known as the rear or the base of the fire.&nbsp;
passenger	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Any person aboard an aircraft who does not perform the function of a flight crew member or qualified non-crew member.
passive crown fire	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A fire in the crowns of trees in which trees or groups of trees torch, ignited by the passing front of the fire. The torching trees reinforce the spread rate, but these fires are not basically different from surface fires.
patch burning	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Burning in patches to prepare sites for group planting or sowing or to form a barrier to subsequent fires.
patrol (person)	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	A person or group of persons who carries out patrol actions.
patrol time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Elapsed time from completion of original mopping up until the fire is declared to be extinguished.
pattern	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	The distribution of an aerially delivered retardant drop on the target area in terms of its length, width, and momentum (velocity x mass) as it approaches the ground. The latter determines the relative coverage level of the fire retardant on fuel within the pattern.&nbsp;
pattern clusters	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A group of indicators in a close proximity, of the same or different categories, that exhibit consistent directional values.
payload	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Weight of passengers and/or cargo being carried by an aircraft.
peak fire season	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	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.
peak monthly average	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Highest monthly average of human-caused fires calculated for a protection unit.
peak wind	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The greatest 5-second average wind speed during the previous hour that exceeded 25 knots.
peak wind speed	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Maximum wind speed during the previous 60 minutes.
perennial plant	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A plant that lives for more than two growing seasons. For fire danger rating purposes, biennial plants are classed with perennial plants.
performance chart	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A chart, table, or graph provided by the manufacturer for use in determining an aspect of helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft performance.
perimeter date time	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee, Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The date and time that the fire perimeter was collected (mapped).
perimeter extant		Approved	Identifies if a related wildland fire perimeter polygon exists for the wildland fire location point feature.
permission hierarchy	Data Management Committee DMC	In Development	A system created to rank create, read, update, delete actions on business applications to ensure a system can only take those actions when they are considered an authoritative data source, which varies based on the state of the incident.
permission state	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	The authorization stage of create, read, update and delete actions in an application based on where the incident is occurring within the lifecyle.
personnel accountability	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The ability to account for the location and welfare of personnel, accomplished when supervisors ensure that the ICS principles and processes are functional and personnel are working within these guidelines.
piling and burning	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Piling slash resulting from logging or fuel management activities and subsequently burning the individual piles.
Pilot Balloon Operation (PIBAL)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A method of determining winds aloft by periodically reading the elevation and azimuth angles of a theodolite, usually at one-minute intervals, while tracking the ascent of a small free-lift balloon. A PIBAL is commonly used for constructing a wind profile.&nbsp;
pilot-in-command	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Pilot responsible for the operation and safety of an aircraft during flight time.
pin flags	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Colored flags attached to metal or plastic pins to designate the location of fire pattern indicators, evidence, and other items of interest.
pin lug coupling	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A hose coupling with one or more cylindrical studs on its outside rim. The studs allow the use of a spanner wrench to tighten the coupling.
ping-pong ball system	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Mechanized method of dispensing DAIDs (Delayed Aerial Ignition Devices) at a selected rate. The DAIDs are polystyrene balls, 1.25 inches in diameter, containing potassium permanganate. The balls are fed into a dispenser, generally mounted in a helicopter, where they are injected with a water-glycol solution and then drop through a chute leading out of the helicopter. The chemicals react thermally and ignite in 25-30 seconds. The space between ignition points on the ground is primarily a function of helicopter speed, gear ratio of the dispenser, and the number of chutes used (up to four).&nbsp;
planetary boundary layer	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	That part of the earth's lower atmosphere that is directly influenced by the presence of the earth's surface and responds to surface forcings such as fronts, friction, evapotranspiration and convective mixing.
Planning Section	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The ICS Section that collects, evaluates, and disseminates operational information related to the incident and for the development of the IAP. This section also maintains information on the current/forecasted situation and on the status of resources assigned to the incident.
Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Device installed, but jettisonable, in a helicopter, which injects glycol into a plastic sphere containing potassium permanganate, which is then expelled from the machine and aircraft. This produces an exothermic reaction resulting in ignition of fuels on the ground for prescribed or wildland fire applications.&nbsp;
plow line	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Fireline constructed by a tractor plow.
PM10	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Particulate matter of mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) less than or equal to 10 micrometers.
PM2.5	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Particulate matter of mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers.
pocket weather meter	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A handheld electronic device that measures temperature, humidity, wind speed, and possibly other atmospheric variables, depending on brand and model.
pockets of a fire	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Unburned indentations in the fire edge formed by fingers or slow burning areas.
point date time		Approved	The date and time that the fire point was collected in the field.
point name		Approved	An additional field to assist with identifying the feature.
point of origin	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The exact physical location within the Ignition Area where a heat source and the local fuel interact, resulting in a fire.
point of origin on unprotected land	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Point of Origin of an incident for which no fire agency has been assigned as the protecting unit.
point type		Approved	Description of the type of point.
point/zone protection	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	A wildfire response strategy which protects specific assets or highly valued resources from the wildfire without directly halting the continued spread of the wildfire.
polygon date time		Approved	The date and time that the polygon was collected in the field
portable pump	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Small gasoline-driven pump that can be carried to a water source by one or two firefighters or other conveyance over difficult terrain.
position code	Position Naming Board PNB	Approved	A code (mnemonic) for designating a position used in incident management response
position currency requirement	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The requirement to perform satisfactorily in a specified position within the last five years (three years for aviation and expanded dispatch positions) in order to maintain qualification for the position.
position performance assignment	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	An assignment in which an individual is being evaluated for tasks found in the position task book.
Position Task Book (PTB)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	A document listing the performance requirements (competencies and behaviors) for a position in a format that allows for the evaluation of individual (trainee) performance to determine if an individual is qualified in the position. Successful performance of PTB tasks, as observed and recorded by a qualified evaluator, will result in a recommendation to the trainee's home unit that the individual be certified in the position.&nbsp;
position title	Position Naming Board PNB	Approved	A title for a position used for incident management response.
precipitation	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	the amount of water falling upon the earth as rain or in frozen form such as snow, sleet, or hail
precipitation amount	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The total amount of precipitation that occurred within the preceding 24-hour period.
Precision Approach Radar (PAR)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Blind landing in which the aircraft is observed from the ground by means of radar and directed along a suitable glide path by instructions radioed to the pilot.
preconnected	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hard suction hose or discharge hose carried connected to pump, eliminating delay occasioned when hose and nozzles must be connected and attached at fire.
predictive services	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Those Geographic Area and National-level fire weather or fire danger services and products produced by wildland fire agency meteorologists and intelligence staffs in support of resource allocation and prioritization.
Predictive Services Area Name		Approved	Unique name of the Predictive Services Area defined by Predictive Services.
Predictive Services Area national code		Approved	Unique code for every PSA associated to a single unit.
preignition phase	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Preliminary phase of combustion in which fuel elements ahead of the fire are heated, causing fuels to dry. Heat induces decomposition of some components of the wood, causing release of combustible organic gases and vapors.
preparedness (activity)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Activities that lead to a safe, efficient, and cost-effective fire management program in support of land and resource management objectives through appropriate planning and coordination.
preparedness (capability)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The range of deliberate, critical tasks, and activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to protect against, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents.
preparedness (mental)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Mental readiness to recognize changes in fire danger and act promptly when action is appropriate.
preparedness level	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Increments of planning and organizational readiness dictated by burning conditions, fire activity, and resource availability.
prescribed fire	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	A wildland fire originating from a planned ignition in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and regulations to meet specific objectives.
prescribed fire burn plan	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A plan required for each fire application ignited by management. Plans are documents prepared by qualified personnel, approved by the agency administrator, and include criteria for the conditions under which the fire will be conducted (a prescription). Plan content varies among the agencies.
prescribed fire escape indicator	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Indicates whether the wildfire resulted from an escaped prescribed fire. Y or N.
prescribed fire module	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A team of skilled and mobile personnel dedicated primarily to prescribed fire management that can ignite, hold and monitor prescribed fires.
prescribed fire plan	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A plan required for each fire application ignited by management. Plans are documents prepared by qualified personnel, approved by the agency administrator, and include criteria for the conditions under which the fire will be conducted (a prescription).
pressure pattern	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The distribution of surface atmospheric pressure features over an area of the earth as shown on a weather map. Surface pressure features include lines of constant pressure (isobars), highs, lows, and pressure gradient. The pressure pattern is directly related to wind speeds and directions at specific locations.&nbsp;
prevention	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Activities directed at reducing the incidence of human-caused wildfires, including public education, law enforcement, personal contact, and other actions taken to reduce ignitions.
primary email	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	Individual’s primary email
primary phone	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	Individual’s primary phone.
primary weather station identifier	PSOG National Predictive Services Oversight Group	Approved	The six-digit National Weather Station ID for the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) weather station that best represents the predominate weather and climate conditions for the incident site at the time of initial response.
priming	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Filling pump with water when pump is taking water not under a pressure head. Necessary for centrifugal pumps.
probability forecast	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A forecast of the probability of occurrence of one or more of a mutually exclusive set of weather contingencies as distinguished from a series of categorical statements.
procurement office	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Agency personnel with specific delegation of procurement authority, acting within the limits of agency policy of said authority.
Procurement Unit	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Functional unit within the Finance/Administration Section responsible for managing all financial matters pertaining to vendor contracts.
progressive method of line construction	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A system of organizing workers to build fireline in which they advance without changing relative positions in line.
prohibited	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Allows identification of an activity which is unlawful or otherwise prohibited (burn ban, unpermitted, etc.) by local authorities.
projected incident activity	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	An estimate of the direction in which the incident is expected to spread, migrate, or expand within a specified time frame.
property information		Approved	Accountable property information to track ownership.
proportioner	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A device that adds a predetermined amount of foam concentrate to water to form foam solution.
protected lands	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Areas for which a fire protection organization has the primary responsibility for managing a wildfire and directing fire management actions. Such responsibility may be authorized by law, contract, or personal interest of the firefighting agent (e.g., a lumber operator). Note: Several agencies or entities may have some basic responsibilities (e.g., private owner) without being known as the fire organization having primary responsibility.
protecting agency	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The agency responsible for providing direct incident management and services to a given area pursuant to its jurisdictional responsibility or as specified by law, contract or agreement.
protecting unit	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The entity responsible for providing direct incident management and services to a given area pursuant to its jurisdictional responsibility or as specified by law, contract or agreement.
protection area (polygon)	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	A geographical area which is administratively defined and for which organized fire suppression activities are formally planned.
provider unit	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Any government organization that is a source of resources for response or mutual aid support to an incident, whether in the field, at the scene of an incident, or operations center.&nbsp; This includes government organizations that administer contracts or agreements for resources.
psychrometer	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	General name for instruments designed to determine the moisture content of air. A psychrometer consists of dry- and wet-bulb thermometers that give the dry- and wet-bulb temperatures, which in turn are used to determine relative humidity and dew point.
public aircraft	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Aircraft used only in the service of a government or a political subdivision. It does not include any government-owned aircraft engaged in carrying persons for commercial purposes.
qualifications and certification	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	This subsystem of NIIMS provides recommended qualification and certification for those personnel responding to an incident regionally or nationally, allowing for the development of local minimum standards to meet local needs. Standards typically include training, experience, and physical fitness.
qualified non-crew member	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An individual, other than a member of the crew, aboard an aircraft whose presence is required to perform, or is associated with the performance of, a governmental function.
radiation (heat)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Transfer of heat in straight lines through a gas or vacuum other than by heating of the intervening space.
radio cache	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A cache may consist of a number of portable radios, base station, and, in some caches, a radio repeater that is stored in a predetermined location for dispatch to incidents.
radiosonde	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A device carried aloft by a balloon equipped with measuring instruments that automatically convert temperature, pressure, and humidity data into electrical impulses and transmit this information to a ground recorder.
railroad fire	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC, Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A fire resulting from any operation or activity of a railroad, except smoking.
range fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any wildfire on rangeland.
rappelling	Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee IHOPS	Approved	Technique of landing specifically trained and certified firefighters from hovering helicopters; involves sliding down ropes with the aid of friction-producing devices.
rate of spread	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The relative activity of a fire in extending its horizontal dimensions. It is expressed as 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.
rate of spread meter	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A device that computes the probable rate of spread of a fire for different combinations of fuel moisture, wind speed, and other selected factors.
rawinsonde	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Method of upper-air observation consisting of an evaluation of the wind speed and wind direction, temperature, pressure, and relative humidity aloft by means of a balloon-borne radiosonde tracked by a radar or radio direction-finder.
re-certification	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	Confirmation through the re-issuance of an incident qualification card that an individual has regained qualifications for a specified position that was lost through a lack of current experience. A key component in the certification or re-certification process is the subjective evaluation by the appropriate agency official of an individual's capability to perform in a position.&nbsp;
reaction intensity	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The rate of heat release, per unit area of the flaming fire front, expressed as heat energy/area/time, such as Btu/square foot/minute, or Kcal/square meter/second.
readiness (mental)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Mental readiness to recognize changes in fire danger and act promptly when action is appropriate.
rear (of a fire) (fire spread)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	That portion of a fire spreading directly into the wind or down slope.
rear (of a fire) (opposite the head)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	That portion of a fire edge opposite the head.
rear (of a fire) (slowest spreading)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Slowest spreading portion of a fire edge.
reason for responding to incident on unprotected land	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The rationale an agency responded to an incident where the point of origin is on unprotected land.
Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Control measures developed by EPA which apply to residential wood combustion, fugitive dust, and prescribed and silvicultural burning in and around "moderate"&nbsp;PM-10 non-attainment areas. RACM is designed to bring an area back into attainment and uses a smoke management program which relies on weather forecasts for burn/no-burn days.&nbsp;
reassigned (at incident)		Proposed New	A resource on a filled request has been reassigned from one incident to the another, but the mobilization travel has not started.
reburn (leftover fuel)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Repeat burning of an area over which a fire has previously passed, but left fuel that later ignites when burning conditions are more favorable.
recorders	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	Individuals within ICS organizational units who are responsible for recording information. Recorders may be found in planning, logistics and finance/administration units.
recovery (relative humidity)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The general term used to describe the maximum overnight value of atmospheric relative humidity.
recreation fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A fire resulting from recreational use, except smoking.
red flag warning	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Term used by fire weather forecasters to alert forecast users to an ongoing or imminent critical fire weather pattern.
reference point(s)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A fixed location(s) used in correlation with field measurements to document spatial relationships between items of interest at the scene.
regional haze	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Visibility impairment caused by the cumulative air pollutant emissions from numerous sources over a wide geographic area.
regular government employee	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Includes any individual hired under authorities other than the AD Pay Plan for Emergency Workers. Federal general schedule and federal wage system employees are included in this category.
rehabilitation	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Efforts undertaken within three years of a wildland fire to repair or improve fire damaged lands unlikely to recover to a management approved conditions or to repair or replace minor facilities damaged by fire.
rekindle	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Re-ignition due to latent heat, sparks, or embers or due to presence of smoke or steam.
Relative Humidity (RH)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	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.
relay tank	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A tank, usually collapsible, used as a reservoir in the relay of water from one fire pump to another.
released (at incident)		Proposed New	A resource on a filled request has been released, but the demobilization travel has not started.
Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A weather station that transmits weather observations via GOES satellite to the Wildland Fire Management Information system.
repair status		Approved	Status of the Suppression Repair project for each feature.
report time (resources)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Elapsed time from fire discovery until the first personnel charged with initiating action for fire suppression are notified of its existence and location.
reportable fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Any wildfire that requires fire suppression to protect natural resources or values associated with natural resources, or is destructive to natural resources.
reporting locations	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	Location or facilities where incoming resources can check-in at the incident. Check-in locations include: incident command post (resources unit), incident base, camps, staging areas, helibases, helispots, and direct to the line. Check-in at one location only.&nbsp;
request number	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	As resources are ordered to respond to an incident, Request Numbers (occasionally referred to as a resource order number) are issued. The order number includes the incident number, an alpha character (S = Supplies, E = Equipment, O = Overhead, A = Aircraft, C = Crews, M = Agency Provided Medical Care) followed by a sequential number.
rescue	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Saving a life from fire or accident; removing a victim from an untenable or unhealthy atmosphere.
rescue medical	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Any staffed ground vehicle capable of providing medical services.
rescue medical vehicle	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Any staffed ground vehicle capable of providing emergency medical care and staffed with appropriate number of trained personnel and equipment for that incident.
reserve	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	In wildland fire suppression terminology resources not assigned to a specific task, but available for assignment.
reserved		Proposed New	The resource has been assigned to a request but has not started travel. Either no travel has been assigned, or if travel has been assigned, the ETD has not yet passed.
residences destroyed quantity	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The total number of residences destroyed, or damaged to an extent requiring rebuilding, as a result of the fire. Residence is defined as a place where one lives; a house, apartment, or other shelter used as the residence of a person, family or household. This includes primary and secondary residences.
residences threatened quantity	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The total number of residences threatened by the fire. Residence is defined as a place where one lives; a house, apartment, or other shelter used as the residence of a person, family or household. This includes primary and secondary residences. Residences are threatened if they are at risk of loss or damage, or endangered during the course of the fire. This includes, but is not limited to, residences subject to mandatory evacuation.
residual smoke	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Smoke produced by smoldering material. The flux of smoke originating well after the active flaming combustion period with little or no vertical buoyancy and, therefore, most susceptible to subsidence inversions and down-valley flows.
resource capacity	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	The competency level in which the overhead resource is qualified to perform a position. May also be used to define how the resource performed on a specific incident. In both cases the capacity is defined as &ldquo;trainee&rdquo; or &ldquo;qualified&rdquo;.
resource quantity current as of date time	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The date and time that reflects the period for which the resource counts are current.
Resource Status Board	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Visual aid containing pertinent information regarding fire organization, current operational period resources, previous operational period resources, and next operational period resources being prepared; placed at a convenient location in fire camp for review by fireline overhead personnel on large fires.&nbsp;
Resource System of Record (RSOR)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The exchange username of the system that currently is the System of Record for the resource and the capabilities for that resource.
resource tracking	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The process that all incident personnel and equipment from associated organizations use to maintain information regarding the location and status of resources ordered for or assigned to an incident.
resources (natural)	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The natural resources of an area, such as timber, grass, watershed values, recreation values, and wildlife habitat.
resources [incident]	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Personnel and equipment available or potentially available for assignment to incident operations and for which status is maintained. Resources are described by kind and type.
respirator	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A device that is designed to protect the wearer from the adverse effects of inhalation hazards by removing contaminants from the surrounding air or by supplying clean air from a safe source.
responsible agency unit identifier (Point of Origin) (POO)		Approved	The unit identifier for the agency that has primary protection responsibility at the point of origin at the time of the incident.
responsible fire agency	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	Agency with primary responsibility for fire suppression on any particular land area.
restricted airspace	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Airspace of defined dimensions identified by an area on the surface of the earth within the flight of an aircraft, which is subject to restrictions (but not wholly prohibited).
restricted category	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Aircraft that is generally used for cargo, retardant dropping, agricultural operations, survey work and other specific projects, and may not transport passengers.
restrictions	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Measures taken by jurisdictional agencies to impose bans and standards of use on certain human activities that could lead to the cause of wildland fire. Restrictions may be applied to: smoking in designated areas; open flame; mechanical operations in high-risk areas; and off-road use.
retardant (fire)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A substance or chemical agent which reduces the flammability of combustibles.
retardant base	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Ground facilities for mixing, storing, and loading fire retardant into airtankers.
returned from assignment		Proposed New	The resource has returned from the assignment but is not yet available for dispatch.
Reversible Siamese (SIMWYE)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hose fitting that performs the functions of a Siamese or a wye (i.e., to combine the flow from two lines into a single line or to permit two lines to be taken from a single line).
Rheology	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Science of deformation and flow of fire retardants and other liquids, especially of the cohesiveness bodies and stress-strain relationship of their particles.
ridge (weather)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	An elongated area of relatively high atmospheric pressure extending from the center of a high-pressure region.
risk (agent)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A causative agent.
risk (harm or loss)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A chance of suffering harm or loss.
risk (ignition)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The chance of fire starting as determined by the presence and activity of causative agents.
risk index	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A number related to the probability of a firebrand igniting a fire.
risk source	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Identifiable human activity that historically has been a major cause of wildfires on a protection unit; one of the eight general causes listed on the standard fire report.
risk source ratio	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Portion of human-caused fires that have occurred on a protection unit chargeable to a specific risk source; calculated for each day of the week for each risk source.
rotor blast	Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee IHOPS	Approved	Air turbulence occurring under and around the main rotor of an operating helicopter.
rotor diameter	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	The main rotor arc in feet and inches (meters). Used for planning helispot clearance.
rough	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The accumulation of living and dead ground and understory vegetation, especially grasses, forest litter, and draped dead needles, sometimes with addition of underbrush such as palmetto, gallberry, and wax myrtle. Most often used for southern pine types.
run (of a fire)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Rapid advance of the head of a fire, characterized by a marked transition in fireline intensity and rate of spread with respect to that noted before and after the advance.
rural fire protection	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fire protection and firefighting problems that are outside of areas under municipal fire prevention and building regulations and that are usually remote from public water supplies.
Safety Advisory	Risk Management Committee RMC	Archived	A safety alert addressing wildland fire safety information that isn't related to imminent or potential threats of injury.
Safety Alert	Risk Management Committee RMC	Archived	A warning or alert concerning critical information relating to firefighter safety, that is distributed via email through an NWCG mail server. There are three types of alerts: Safety Warning, Safety Advisory, and Safety Bulletin.
Safety Bulletin	Risk Management Committee RMC	Archived	A safety alert containing a factual confirmation of a serious wildland fire accident, incident or fatality.
Safety Warning	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A time-sensitive alert to the wildland fire community addressing wildland fire safety hazards that pose an imminent threat, or have potential to pose a threat, to life or property.&nbsp; Red hash-marked bordered stationary will be associated with this type of alert.
salvo drop	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Total retardant or water load dropped all at once. Usually done to knock down a hotspot.
sample size	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The number of items or observations in a sample; usually denoted by lower case letter n.
scope of practice	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	The set of responsibilities and ethical considerations that define the extent or limits of the care provider within the current standards of practice.
scorch height	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Average heights of foliage browning or bole blackening caused by a fire.
seasonal monthly average	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Historically, the average number of human-caused fires occurring on a protection unit per month during the established fire season.
second-in-command	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Pilot who is designated to be second-in-command of an aircraft during flight time.
secondary line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any fireline constructed at a distance from the fire perimeter concurrently with or after a line already constructed on or near to the perimeter of the fire. Generally constructed as an insurance measure in case the fire escapes control by the primary line.&nbsp;
secondary lookout (person)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The person who occupies such a station.
secondary phone	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	Individual’s secondary phone.
secondary weather station	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Station at which minimum weather measurements are taken to compute ratings of burning conditions; provides supplementary information on weather experience.
section	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The ICS organizational level having responsibility for a major functional area of incident management (e.g., Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration).
segment	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A geographical area in which a task force/strike team leader or supervisor of a single resource is assigned authority and responsibility for the coordination of resources and implementation of planned tactics. A segment may be a portion of a division or an area inside or outside the perimeter of an incident. Segments are identified with Arabic numbers, i.e., A-1, etc. and are not to be used as radio designators.&nbsp;
selection area	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Indicates the dispatch center inside/outside the current dispatch center for which resources are being requested.
Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Portable air (not oxygen) tanks with regulators which allow firefighters to breathe while in toxic smoke conditions. Usually rated for 30 minutes of service. Used primarily on fires involving structures or hazardous materials.
serial number	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A set of numbers that is put on equipment by the manufacturer so that each has a different number and can be recognized.
Serious Accident Investigation Team (SAIT)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A formal investigation team that is organized with the purpose of conducting an accident investigation for an occurred serious accident. The team is given full authorization to conduct the investigation from involved agencies through letter of delegation.&nbsp;
Service Branch	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A branch within the logistics section responsible for service activities at the incident. Includes the communications, medical and food units.
set (incendiary)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	An individual incendiary fire.
set (individual)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Individual lightning or railroad fires, especially when several are started within a short time.
set (point of origin)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The point or points of origin of an incendiary fire.
severity	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	See fire severity
severity index	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A number that indicates the relative net effects of daily fire danger on the fire load for an area during a specified period, such as a fire season.
Shareable Content Object (SCO)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	Self-contained units of learning. They can be used as building blocks (or legos) to create packages (lessons) of SCOs, but they cannot be broken down into smaller units.
Shareable Content Object Re-usable Model (SCORM)	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	A specification for standardizing the reusability and interoperability of learning content. SCORM has been developed by the Advanced Distributed Learning initiative (ADL). SCORM focuses on two critical pieces of learning content interoperability: It defines an aggregation model for packaging learning content. It defines an API for enabling communications between learning content and the system that launches it.
Short Takeoff or Landing (STOL) Airstrip	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Developed or undeveloped area that has been tested and will accommodate STOL aircraft.
Short Takeoff or Landing Aircraft	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An aircraft which has the capability of operating from a STOL runway in accordance with applicable airworthiness and operating regulations.
short-term fire retardant	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Fire retardant that inhibits combustion primarily by the cooling and smothering action of water. Chemicals may be added to the water to alter its viscosity or retard its evaporation, thereby increasing its effectiveness.
shrub	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A woody perennial plant differing from a perennial herb by its persistent and woody stem; and from a tree by its low stature and habit of branching from the base.
shutoff nozzle	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Common type of fire hose nozzle permitting stream flow to be controlled by the firefighter at the nozzle rather than only at the source of supply.
Siamese	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hose fitting (preferably gated) for combining flow from two or more lines of hose into a single stream; one male coupling to two female couplings.
significant events	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	In the ICS209, observed fire behavior or significant incident events for the current reporting period.
significant fire potential	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The likelihood a wildland fire event will require mobilization of additional resources from outside the area in which the fire situation originates.
simulation	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Archived	An activity that imitates something real, but it is not real itself and it can be altered by users for the specific purpose of providing an experiential learning environment. Examples: Sand Table Exercise or CBT/WBT Forest Service Wildland Fire Simulation Scenario Editor.&nbsp;
single shift	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Equipment is staffed with 1 operator or crew. A normal shift could be up to 16 hours long and may cross calendar days.
Situation Awareness (SA)	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	An on-going process of gathering information by observation and by communication with others. This information is integrated to create an individual's perception of a given situation.
Situational Awareness (SA)	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	An on-going process of gathering information by observation and by communication with others. This information is integrated to create an individual's perception of a given situation.
Six Minutes for Safety (6MFS)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A daily safety briefing for wildland fire that focuses on high risk events found within a firefighter's scope of work that are performed on an infrequent basis.
size class		Approved	Identifies the fire size based on number of acres within the final fire perimeter
size class of fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	As to size of wildfire: Class A - one-fourth acre or less; Class B - more than one-fourth acre, but less than 10 acres; Class C - 10 acres or more, but less than 100 acres; Class D - 100 acres or more, but less than 300 acres; Class E - 300 acres or more, but less than 1,000 acres; Class F - 1,000 acres or more, but less than 5,000 acres; Class G - 5,000 acres or more.
sizeup	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The evaluation of the fire to determine a course of action for suppression.
skid trail	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any road or trail formed by the process of skidding logs from stump to landing.
skidder unit	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A self-contained unit consisting of a water tank, fire pump, and hose specially designed to be carried on a logging skidder for use in forest fire suppression.
skimmer	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Any aircraft equipped to pick up water while moving on or over water.
slash	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Debris resulting from such natural events as wind, fire, or snow breakage; or such human activities as road construction, logging, pruning, thinning, or brush cutting. It includes logs, chunks, bark, branches, stumps, and broken understory trees or brush.
slash disposal	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Treatment of slash to reduce fire hazard or for other purposes. Preferred to "brush disposal."
sling load	Equipment Technology Committee ETC, National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Any cargo carried beneath a helicopter and attached by a lead line and swivel.
slope class	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	One of five categories used to describe the topography of a fire danger rating area.
slope percentage (Point of Origin) (POO)	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	The ratio between the amount of vertical rise and horizontal distance of the terrain as expressed in a percent that represents the typical slope in the immediate vicinity of the point of origin of a fire. Point of origin is the location where a competent ignition source came into contact with the material first ignited and sustained combustion occurred.
slope winds	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Small scale convective winds that occur due to local heating and cooling of a natural incline of the ground.
slopover	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A fire edge that crosses a control line or natural barrier intended to confine the fire.
small aircraft	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An aircraft of 12,500 pounds (5,669 kg) or less, maximum certificated takeoff weight.
smoke	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Small particles of carbon, tarry and water vapor resulting from the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials such as wood, coal or oil.
smoke concentration	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The amount of combustion products found in a specified volume of air, commonly expressed as micrograms of emission per cubic meter of air.
smoke management	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS, Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The policies and practices implemented by air and natural resource managers directed at minimizing the amount of smoke entering populated areas or impacting sensitive sites, avoiding significant deterioration of air quality and violations of National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and mitigating human-caused visibility impacts in Class I areas.&nbsp;
smoke pall	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	Extensive, thick blanket of smoke spreading more or less horizontally from a fire.
smoldering combustion	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Combined processes of dehydration, pyrolysis, solid oxidation, and scattered flaming combustion and glowing combustion, which occur after the flaming combustion phase of a fire; often characterized by large amounts of smoke consisting mainly of tars.
smoldering combustion phase	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Phase of combustion immediately following flaming combustion. Emissions are at twice that of the flaming combustion phase.
soot	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Carbon dust formed by incomplete combustion.
sounding (upper air sounding)	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A sampling of upper air conditions made by means of instruments and a small radio transmitter on a free balloon. Automatic radio signals originated by action of weather instruments are sent to a ground receiver. These signals are interpreted for use in analyzing and predicting upper air conditions over a wide area of the earth. Weather elements determined at a number of altitude points as the balloon rises are temperature, atmospheric moisture, pressure, wind direction and speed. Similar soundings may be made using fixed balloons or tethersondes.
source	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A point, line, or area, at which mass or energy is added to a system, either instantaneously or continuously. Examples of sources in the context of air pollution are as follows: a smoke stack is a point source; a freeway is a line source; field or slash burning are area sources.
source agency		Approved	Land management agency with responsibility for creating and administering the data.
source depth (water)		Approved	Depth in feet of the water source.
source gallon capacity (water source)		Approved	Capacity in gallons of the water source.
source hyperlink (mapping)			A link to documentation about the mapping effort
span of control	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	The number of subordinates for which a supervisor is responsible, usually expressed as the ratio of supervisors to individuals. The optimum ratio is five-to-one.
spark arrester	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A device installed in a chimney, flue, or exhaust pipe to stop the emission of sparks and burning fragments.
Special Interest Group (SIG)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	In WIMS, a group of weather stations.
special land designator	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Officially designated special land types within the fire perimeter.
Special Visual Flight Rules (VFR)	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Aircraft operating in accordance with clearances within control zones in weather conditions less than the basic Visual Flight Rules weather minima.
specific heat	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The heat required to raise a unit mass of a substance one degree kelvin. It is the heat capacity of a system per unit mass; i.e., the ratio of the heat absorbed (or released) to the corresponding temperature rise (or fall).
Specific Origin Area (SOA)	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The smaller area within the general origin area where the fire's direction of spread was first influenced by fuel, weather, and/or topography.
spike-out	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Standby crew in an area of expected high fire occurrence, generally on a day of critical fire weather.
split flow	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A divergent wind field. Storms moving into a split field tend to lose strength. Winds are generally light in such a flow field.
spot burning	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A modified form of broadcast slash burning in which the greater accumulations of slash are fired and the fire is confined to these spots.
spot change	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The second continuous day of an incident, a regular government employee's normal daily tour of duty is "spot changed" to where the first 8, 9, or 10 hours worked are base hours.
spot weather forecast	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A special forecast issued to fit the time, topography, and weather of a specific incident. These forecasts are issued upon request of the user agency and are more detailed, timely, and specific than zone forecasts. Usually, on-site weather observations or a close, representative observation is required for a forecast to be issued.&nbsp;
spray	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Water applied through an orifice in finely divided particles to absorb heat and smother fire, to protect exposures from radiated heat, and to carry water toward otherwise inaccessible fire.
spread component	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A rating of the forward rate of spread of the head of a fire.
squall line	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Any nonfrontal line or narrow band of active thunderstorms extending across the horizon. It is of importance to fire behavior due to accompanying strong gusty winds and the possibility of such a line passing between regular weather observation stations without being reported.
stable layer of air	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A layer of air having a temperature change (lapse rate) of less than dry adiabatic (approximately -5.4 degrees F per 1,000 feet) thereby retarding either upward or downward mixing of smoke.
staffing index	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A NFDRS component, index or related indicator (ignition component, spread component, energy release component, burning index, Keetch-Byram drought index) whose outputs are correlated to the local fire problem, used to determine staffing levels.
Staging Area	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A temporary location for available resources in which personnel, supplies, and equipment await operational assignment.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	Specific instructions clearly spelling out what is expected of an individual every time they perform a given task. A standard operating procedure can be used as a performance standard for tasks that are routinely done in the operational environment.
Standard Operational Procedure (SOP)	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	Specific instructions clearly spelling out what is expected of an individual every time they perform a given task. A standard operational procedure can be used as a performance standard for tasks that are routinely done in the operational environment.
state (Point of Origin) (POO)	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	The Country and State alpha code identifying the state or equivalent entity at point of origin.
state and landowner final fire acre quantity	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	Number of acres measured by each Landowner Kind and Category within a State Code associated with the land within the final fire perimeter of a specific, individual incident. The area measured within the perimeter includes unburned and unburnable islands or portions of such.
state code	Data Management Committee DMC	Superceded	A code for the identification of the states, the District of Columbia and the outlying areas of the United States, and associated areas.
state forest	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Forests owned and administered by a state, and not by a federal government.
static water supply	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Supply of water at rest which does not provide a pressure head for fire suppression but which may be employed as a suction source for fire pumps (e.g., water in a reservoir, pond, or cistern).
statistic	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The number that results from manipulating raw data according to a specified procedure; associated with samples.
statistical fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	In general, an actionable fire, on which any fire agency reports and maintains specified information (e.g., cause, date and point of origin, size, fire damage).
strainer	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A wire or metal guard used to keep debris from clogging pipe or other openings made for removing water; used in pumps and on suction hose to keep foreign material from clogging or damaging pumps.
strength of force	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Total firefighting resources available, during a specified period, to conduct and support firefighting operations.
stringer	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	A narrow finger or band of fuel that connects two or more patches or areas of wildland fuel.
strip burning (firing)	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Burning by means of strip firing.
strip firing	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Setting fire to more than one strip of fuel and providing for the strips to burn together. Frequently done in burning out against a wind where inner strips are fired first to create drafts which pull flames and sparks away from the control line.
structural fire protection	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The protection of homes or other structures from an active wildland fire.
structure fire	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Fire originating in and burning any part or all of any building, shelter, or other structure.
subsidence inversion	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	An inversion caused by subsiding air, often resulting in decreased atmospheric mixing conditions.
succession	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The process of vegetational development whereby an area becomes successively occupied by different plant communities of higher ecological order.
sunset and sunrise	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The mean solar times of sunset and sunrise as published in the Nautical Almanac, converted to local standard time for the locality concerned.
superficial burn	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A minor thermal burn involving the outer layer of skin, i.e. "a sunburn". It is characterized by reddening of the skin and perhaps some swelling without blisters.
supplemental fire department resources	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Overhead tied to a local fire department, generally by agreement, who are mobilized primarily for response to incidents or wildland fires outside their district or mutual aid zone. Supplemental fire department resources are not a permanent part of the local fire organization and are not required to attend scheduled training, meetings, etc. of the department staff.&nbsp;
Support Branch	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A branch within the logistics section responsible for providing personnel, equipment and supplies to support incident operations. Includes the supply, facilities and ground support units.
support resources	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	Non-tactical resources under the supervision of the logistics, planning, finance/administration sections or the command staff.
supporting agency	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	An agency providing suppression or other support and resource assistance to a protecting agency.
supporting technologies	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Any technology which may be used to support NIIMS. Examples of these technologies include GIS mapping, infrared technology, NFDRS, communications, dispatch coordination, and national cache system.
suppress a fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	see: Suppression
suppression	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	All the work to extinguish or limit wildland fire spread.
suppression crew	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Two or more firefighters stationed at a strategic location for initial action on fires. Duties are essentially the same as those of individual firefighters.
suppression firing	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Intentional application of fire to speed up or strengthen fire suppression action on wildfires. Types of suppression firing include burning out, counter firing, and strip burning.
surface fire	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Fire that burns loose debris on the surface, which includes dead branches, leaves, and low vegetation.
surface fuel	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Fuels lying on or near the surface of the ground, consisting of leaf and needle litter, dead branch material, downed logs, bark, tree cones, and low stature living plants.
surface high	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	An area on the earth's surface where atmospheric pressure is at a relative maximum. Winds blow clockwise around highs in the Northern Hemisphere but, due to friction with the earth's face, tend to cross constant pressure lines away from the high center. Air is usually subsiding above a surface high. This causes warming due to air compression. This results in stable atmospheric conditions and light surface winds.&nbsp;
sustained attack	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Continuing fire suppression action until fire is under control.
swamper (faller/sawyer)	Hazard Tree and Felling Subcommittee HTTFS	Approved	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.
synoptic	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Literally, at one time. Thus, in meteorological usage, the weather conditions over a large area at a given point in time.
tactics	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	Deploying and directing resources on an incident to accomplish the objectives designated by strategy.
tag-on	SEATB Single Engine Airtanker Board, IAB Interagency Airtanker Board	Approved	Connecting a (airtanker) drop to the forward part of a previous drop.
tail number	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The numerical identification of an aircraft, also known as the registration number for an aircraft, as displayed on the aircraft’s tail section.
tail rotor	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	A small rotor, mounted on the tail of a conventional helicopter, which counteracts torque of the main rotor and provides a measure of directional control.
tailboard	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Back step of a wildland or structural fire engine.
tank trailer	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Specialized trailer on which is mounted a tank, fire pump, hose, and ancillary equipment.
target hazard	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Facilities in which there is great likelihood of loss of life or property.
task	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	A specific description of a unit of work activity that is a logical and necessary action in the performance of a behavior; how the behavior is demonstrated or performed in a particular context. &nbsp; From PMS 310-1 &nbsp;
temperature coefficient	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The relative change of some measurable quantity with change of temperature, like burning time per unit length, mostly expressed as mean change per degree in percentage of mean temperature within a certain range.
temporary	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appointment/agreement that meets the following conditions: Employing office is a government entity Term of appointment is not to exceed one year Employee receives compensation for work
Ten-hour Timelag Fuel Moisture (10-h TL FM)	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The moisture content of the l0-hour timelag roundwood fuels.
ten-hour timelag fuels	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Dead fuels consisting of roundwood 1/4 to l-inch (0.6 to 2.5 cm) in diameter and, very roughly, the layer of litter extending from immediately below the surface to 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) below the surface.
tentative release		Proposed New	A resource may be tentatively released from At Incident so that a dispatcher can have a view of where resources are and their availability to be assigned to an incident.
Terra Torch ®	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Device for throwing a stream of flaming liquid, used to facilitate rapid ignition during burn out operations on a wildfire or during a prescribed fire operation.
terrorism	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Archived	Any premeditated, unlawful act dangerous to human life or public welfare that is intended to intimidate or coerce civilian populations or governments.
thin sky cover	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Sky cover through which higher clouds or the sky can be detected.
threat	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	An incident likely to cause damage or danger to protected lands.
time delay device	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A device employed to allow a firesetter the opportunity to leave the scene prior to the ignition of the fire.
time in service	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	With respect to maintenance time records, the time from the moment an aircraft leaves the surface of the earth until it touches at the next point of landing.
time point	Data Management Committee DMC	Approved	A point in time during a 24-hour Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) day.
Time Unit	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Functional unit within the Finance/Administration Section responsible for recording personnel time and managing the commissary.
tips	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Nozzle tips used to change orifice size of a hose stream.
torch (envelopment)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Ignition and subsequent envelopment in flames, usually from bottom to top, of a tree or small group of trees.
torch (professional)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A professional firesetter-for-hire.
torch (set fire)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	To set fire to property deliberately and maliciously.
torching	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	The burning of the foliage of a single tree or a small group of trees, from the bottom up.
total fuel	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	All plant material both living and dead that can burn in a worst case situation.
toxic substance	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	A chemical or mixture that may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.
tractor	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Archived	A rubber tired or tracked rider-controlled automotive vehicle, used in wildland fire management for pulling a disk or a plow to construct fireline by exposing mineral soil.
tractor plow	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A steel tracked vehicle with or without a front mounted blade equipped with a plow for exposing mineral soil. Sometimes a tractor plow with a front mounted blade is referred to as a dozer plow.
trail drop	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	An unbroken line of retardant used for constructing a retardant line.
trailer	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	Combustible material, such as rolled rag, blankets and newspapers, or flammable liquid, used to spread fire from one area to others; usually used in conjunction with an incendiary device.
trainee	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	An individual who has met all required training and position experience for a specified position and is approved by their home unit's certifying official, to initiate a performance based training assignment in order to become qualified in the position.
trainer/coach	Incident and Position Standards Committee IPSC	Approved	A position-qualified individual who provides instruction to a trainee in the classroom, on-the-job, or on an incident. While many of the requirements of the trainer/coach are similar to the evaluator, it is important that the roles of training and evaluation remain separate.&nbsp;
transfer of command	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	The ICS management process in which the on-scene incident commander at a specified time hands off command responsibilities to the incident commander that will be taking over incident command.
transition	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	In the 1978 version of NFDRS, the herbaceous stage when herbaceous fuel moisture is between 120% and 30%.
transport wind speed	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A measure of the average rate of the horizontal transport of air within the Mixing Layer. May also be the wind speed at the final height of plume rise. Generally refers to the rate at which emissions will be transported from one area to another.
transportation map	Geospatial Subcommittee GSC	Approved	Base map of the planning unit showing all roads, trails, heliports, and airfields existing and programmed for construction.
travel time	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Compensable time en route to or from an emergency incident.
travel time map	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Map showing the time required for the initial attack crew to reach various parts of a protection unit from specified positions.
treatment acres	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Acreage of treatment polygon as calculated with GIS
treatment category	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Describes major class of treatment.
treatment identifier	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Unique identifier for fuels treatment polygon(s).
treatment identifier database	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	The database containing additional information related to the treatment identifier
treatment name	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	The name of the fuels treatment
treatment status	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Status of the fuels treatment polygon(s).
treatment type	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Describes the kind of treatment work. Type is more specific than treatment category.
truck trail	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Substantial transportation route for fire suppression motor vehicles, built prior to a fire. Also known as a fire road.
true bearing	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Bearing by true north rather than magnetic north.
turnout coat	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A coat with a fire resistant outer shell and a thermal and moisture barrier liner. Used primarily by structure firefighters.
type	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	A NIMS resource classification that refers to capability of a specific kind of resource to which a metric is applied to designate it as a specific numbered class.
Ultra High Frequency (UHF-FM)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Radio frequencies from 300 Megahertz (MHz) to 3,000 MHz with a normal range of less than 50 miles. Radio frequency common to military aircraft and used in the logistics radio system. The most common frequencies used by fire and public safety are from 406 MHz to 512 MHz.&nbsp;
unauthorized passenger	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	All personnel who are not official or unofficial passengers are considered unauthorized passengers and are not authorized to be transported in any aircraft owned or operated by or on behalf of the government.
unavailable		Proposed New	The resource is not available to fill a resource order request.
unavailable (transferred)		Proposed New	The resource has been transferred to another dispatch, but the transfer has not been completed.
uncontrolled airport	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Airport not having an approved agency with radio communications to direct aircraft take-offs and landings.
uncontrolled fire	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any fire which threatens to destroy life, property, or natural resources, and (a) is not burning within the confines of firebreaks, or (b) is burning with such intensity that it could not be readily extinguished with ordinary tools commonly available.
underburn	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A fire that consume surface fuels but not the overstory canopy.
undercut line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A fireline below a fire on a slope. Should be trenched to catch rolling material.
understory burning	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Prescribed burning under a forest canopy.
unified area command	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	A unified area command is established when incidents under an area command are multijurisdictional.
unified command	National Incident Management System Integration Committee NIMSIC	Approved	Established when more than one agency has incident jurisdiction or when incidents cross political jurisdictions. This is accomplished by establishing a common set of incident objectives and strategies, without losing or abdicating authority, responsibility, or accountability.
Unified Ordering Point (UOP)	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	Single location through which all incident resource orders are processed.
unique fire identifier	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	A unique identifier assigned to each wildland fire.
unique fire report identifier	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee	Approved	A code that uniquely identifies a particular fire report.
Unit Identifier (UnitID)	UIB Unit Identifier Board	Approved	A code used within the interagency incident management community to uniquely identify a particular governmental or non-government organizational unit recognized by NWCG as a wildland fire or all-risk cooperator.
unity of effort	Leadership Committee LC	Approved	A command philosophy that encourages leaders to work together to find common ground and act in the best interest of those responding to the incident, the public, and the resources that are threatened.
Universal Transverse Mercator easting coordinates		Approved	Grid coordinates expressed as a distance in meters to the east.
Universal Transverse Mercator northing coordinates		Approved	Coordinates measured relative to the equator.
Universal Transverse Mercator Zone		Approved	A division of the Earth's surface into 60 north-south zones, each 6 degrees of longitude wide.
unlined fire hose	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Hose commonly of cotton, linen, or synthetic fiber construction without rubber tube or lining, often used for wildfires because of its light weight and self protecting (weeping) characteristics; such hose is attached to first-aid standpipes in buildings. At a specified flow, friction loss in unlined hose of a stated diameter is about twice that of lined fire hose.&nbsp;
unprotected lands	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Areas for which no fire organization has responsibility for management of a wildfire&nbsp;authorized by law, contract, or personal interest of the fire organization (e.g., a timber or rangeland association).&nbsp;
upper level (cold) trough	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Trough, Trough Aloft, Upper Level [Cold] Low:&nbsp;An elongated area of relatively low pressure, at constant altitude, in the atmosphere. The opposite of an upper level ridge. Upper level troughs are usually oriented north-south with the north end open. That is, air currents moving from west to east around the earth flow around three sides of the trough then turn eastward rather than toward the west, as in the case of a closed circulation. A large upper level trough may have one or more small upper level closed low circulation systems within it.&nbsp;
useful load	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Maximum computed gross weight minus equipped weight of a helicopter.
v pattern	Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee CEPC	Approved	Characteristics fire cone-shaped pattern left by a fire on a wall, at or near its point of origin.
values at risk	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The elements of a community or natural area considered valuable by an individual or community that could be negatively impacted by a wildfire or wildfire operations. These values can vary by community and can include diverse characteristics such as homes, specific structures, water supply, power grids, natural and cultural resources, community infrastructure, and other economic, environmental, and social values.
values to be protected	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Include property, structures, physical improvements, natural and cultural resources, community infrastructure, and economic, environmental, and social values.
vapor suppression	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Creating a seal with foam which prevents a release of flammable vapors from fuels.
variable danger	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Resultant of all fire danger factors that vary from day to day, month to month, or year to year (e.g., fire weather, fuel moisture content, condition of vegetation, variable risk).
variable visibility	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A condition when the prevailing visibility is less than 3 miles (5 km) and rapidly increases and decreases by one or more reportable values during the period of observation.
vectors	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	Directions of fire spread as related to rate of spread calculations (in degrees from upslope).
vegetative reproduction	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	Establishment of a new plant from a seed that is a genetically distinct individual.
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) assigned to a piece of equipment.
vent	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	The release of enclosed smoke and heat from a structure by creating openings in it, as by hacking a hole in the roof, to allow free passage of air.
ventilation factor	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A numerical value relating the potential of the atmosphere to disperse airborne pollutants from a stationary source, calculated by multiplying the mixing height by the transport wind speed.
vertical temperature profile	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Plot of the actual dry-bulb temperature against height above the earth's surface, most commonly determined by a RAWINSONDE observation.
Very High Frequency (VHF-AM)	National Coordination System Committee NCSC	Approved	Radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 299 MHz. The sub-bands most commonly used by fire are: VHF-FM Lo band: Frequency Modulation 30 MHz - 80 MHz, of which fire frequencies are between 30 MHz and 50 MHz. VHF-FM Hi band: Frequency Modulation 150 MHz - 174 MHz. This is the most widely used band by fire agencies. VHF-AM: Amplitude Modulation. This band is commonly referred to as the "Victor or VHF" band. The frequency range is from 118 MHz to 136 MHz. The only authorized use of this band is for aviation. The FAA controls and assigns all frequencies within this sub-band.&nbsp;
visible area map	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Map showing the different classes of visible area covered by a lookout point or points; may differentiate between seen areas, indirectly visible areas, and blind areas, or only between seen areas and blind areas. Also known as seen area map.
Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Basic weather conditions prescribed for flight under Visual Flight Rules: ceiling above 1,000 feet (300 m) and flight visibility in excess of 3 miles (5 km).
visual resources	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	The visible physical features on a landscape (e.g., land, water, vegetation, animals, structures and other features).
visual search	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A systematic and thorough scan of the wildland fire environment for an object or feature as it relates to seeing or sight.&nbsp; This scan may be aided by magnification when necessary.
volatiles	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Readily vaporized organic materials which, when mixed with oxygen, are easily ignited.
volunteer	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appointment/agreement that meets the following conditions: The person does not receive compensation (other than reasonable reimbursement or allowance for expenses actually incurred)
Volunteer Fire Department (VFD)	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A fire department of which some or all members are unpaid.
vortex turbulence	National Interagency Aviation Committee NIAC	Approved	Miniature whirlwinds trailing from the wingtips of any aircraft in flight. Vortex will be in the form of a horizontal whirlwind with velocities up to 25 mph (40 km) per hour or more. Also created by action of rotor blades on helicopters; these whirlwinds tend to move downward toward the ground. If an aircraft flies low over a fire, vortices may reach the ground and suddenly cause violent and erratic fire behavior.
walk test	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	The walk test is designed to determine the ability to carry out light duties. It consists of a one-mile test with no load that approximates an aerobic fitness score of 35. A time of 16 minutes, the passing score for this test, ensures the ability to meet emergency and evacuate to a safety zone.&nbsp;
warrant	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The official delegation of authority to contracting officers and procurement officers establishing the dollar amount and type limits for acquisitions.
water bar	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A shallow channel or raised barrier, e.g., a ridge of packed earth or a thin pole laid diagonally across the surface of a road or trail so as to lead off water, particularly storm water. (Frequently installed in firelines on steep slopes to prevent erosion.)&nbsp;
Water Expansion Pumping System (WEPS)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Apparatus utilizing an air compressor and positive displacement pump coupled to the same engine, plumbed to a non-pressurized tank, for producing foam. The operation involves injecting compressed air into a liquid stream containing a suitable foaming agent.
Water Expansion System (WES)	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Apparatus utilizing a pressurized tank, hose, and nozzle for producing foam by injection of compressed air or gas into a liquid stream downstream from the pumping source. The liquid stream must contain a suitable foaming agent.
water source	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Any strategically located supply of water that is readily available for pumps, tanks, trucks, helicopters, or fire camp use.
water source type	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	The type of water source.
water tender	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Any ground vehicle capable of transporting specified quantities of water.
wave	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A disturbance that transfers energy from one point to another point and may take the form of a deformation of pressure or temperature. In the atmosphere such disturbances may result in major storms or merely result in changes in cloud, wind and temperature conditions. Development of a wave on a front usually slows the advance of the front due to transfer of energy to the wave development and movement.&nbsp;
weather advisory	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	In aviation forecasting, an expression of hazardous weather conditions not predicted in the zone weather forecast, as they affect the operation of air traffic.
weather concerns	Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	A field collected in the ICS 209 containing a brief summary of how the current weather is affecting the incident and how the anticipated weather will affect the incident.
wet	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	The contractor furnishes all equipment operating supplies.
wet line	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	A line of water, or water and chemical retardant, sprayed along the ground, and which serves as a temporary control line from which to ignite or stop a low-intensity fire.
wet storage	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	Fire retardants mixed with water and stored in tanks at air attack bases for immediate use by airtankers.
wet-bulb depression	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The difference between the wet and dry-bulb temperatures recorded by a psychrometer; used in conjunction with the dry-bulb temperature as a measure of the relative humidity of the air.
wet-bulb temperature	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	The lowest temperature to which air can be cooled by evaporating water into it at a constant pressure when the heat required for evaporation is supplied by the cooling of the air. It is measured by the wet bulb thermometer, which usually employs wetted wicking on the bulb as a cooling (through evaporation) device.
wet-bulb thermometer	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	In a psychrometer, the thermometer with its bulb covered with a jacket of clean muslin which is saturated with distilled water before an observation.
wetting rain	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A widespread rain that over an extended period of time significantly reduces fire danger. One-tenth of an inch may be sufficient to reduce fire danger in grass fuel models. One half inch may be necessary for timber fuels under closed canopies.
wheelbase	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	The distance from the centerline of the front axle to the centerline of the rear axle. For a tandem rear axle vehicle the center line is midpoint between the centers of the two rear axles.
widow-maker	Hazard Tree and Felling Subcommittee HTTFS	Approved	A loose limb, top, or piece of bark lodged in a tree, which may fall on anyone working beneath it.
wildfire	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	A wildland fire originating from an unplanned ignition, such as lightning, volcanos, unauthorized and accidental human caused fires, and prescribed fires that are declared wildfires.
wildfire response strategies	wfnwcgorg:ICSC	Approved	The range of options available for response to a wildfire.
wildfire suppression	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	An appropriate management response to wildfire or prescribed fire that results in curtailment of fire spread and eliminates all identified threats from the particular fire.
wildland	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, Fire Environment Committee FENC	Approved	An area in which development is essentially non-existent, except for roads, railroads, powerlines, and similar transportation facilities. Structures, if any, are widely scattered.
wildland fire	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	Any non-structure fire that occurs in vegetation or natural fuels. Includes wildfires and prescribed fires.
Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS)	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	An internet-based information system, providing national views of weather and fire potential, including national fire danger and weather maps and satellite-derived greenness maps.
wildland fire module	Fire Use Subcommittee FUSC	Approved	A group of 7-10 highly skilled personnel specifically associated with the planning and implementation of planned and unplanned wildland fire and hazardous fuels treatments. May be classified as a Type 1 or Type 2 dependent on qualifications and experience.
wildland fire serious accident	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	Any accident where one or more fatalities occur and/or three or more personnel are inpatient hospitalized as a direct result, or in support of wildland fire suppression or prescribed fire operations. Accident may result in substantial property or equipment damage of $250,000 or more.&nbsp;
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)	FMB Fire Management Board	Approved	The line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetation fuels.
Wildland Urban Interface indicator	FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee, WMSC WUI Mitigation Subcommittee	Approved	A flag that indicates if the presence of Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) increased the cost or management complexity of a wildfire.
wind direction	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Compass direction from which wind is blowing.
wind shear	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	A variation in wind speed and/or direction in a layer of the atmosphere or between layers. The variation may be in the horizontal or vertical dimensions and may result in significant turbulence depending upon the magnitude of the wind speed/direction differences. A strong wind shear may act like an inversion and inhibit plume rise. It may also fracture the smoke plume, not allowing smoke to rise much above terrain levels. A strong horizontal anticyclonic shear results in downward motion and may bring smoke aloft to the surface.
wind vectors	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	Wind directions used to calculate fire behavior.
wind vortex flame wrap	Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee WFISC	Approved	A char pattern that is created by the passage of wind around the trunk of a tree or pole-like object that creates vortices on the lee side and an area of stability.&nbsp; The area of stability allows the heat and char pattern to rise higher on the lee side of the object.&nbsp; Generally, the stronger the wind, the higher the wind vortex flame wrap will be.&nbsp; White this is not a fire pattern indicator, it is a general indication of the direction of the wind at the time the pattern was created.
wind-driven wildland fire	Fire Behavior Subcommittee FBSC	Approved	A wildland fire that is controlled by a strong consistent wind.
woody fuel moisture	Fire Weather Subcommittee FWS	Approved	In NFDRS, a calculated value representing the approximate moisture content of the live woody vegetation in the rating area expressed as a percentage of the oven dry weight of the sample.
Work Capacity Test (WCT)	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	The Work Capacity Test (WCT) is a test to ensure a person is physically capable of meeting the minimum fitness requirement associated with assigned wildfire or prescribed fire duties as described in the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1.&nbsp; Below are the three defined duty levels with examples of associated essential functions: &nbsp; Arduous Arduous duty field work requires above-average endurance and superior conditioning.&nbsp; Duties may include an occasional demand for extraordinarily strenuous activity in emergency situations under adverse environmental conditions over extended periods. The pace of work typically is set by the emergency condition.&nbsp; Essential functions include, but are not limited to: running, walking or hiking, climbing, jumping, twisting, bending, lifting more than 50 pounds, and carrying 45 pounds or more for extended periods over difficult terrain.&nbsp; Moderate Moderate duty field work requires the average endurance and conditioning of an individual who possesses complete control of all their physical faculties. Occasional demands may be required for moderately strenuous activities in emergencies over long periods. The pace of work is usually set by the current environmental conditions.&nbsp; Essential functions include, but are not limited to: considerable walking over irregular ground, standing for long periods, lifting 25 to 50 pounds, climbing, bending, stooping, squatting, twisting, and reaching. Light Light duty mainly involves office-type work with occasional field activity characterized by light physical exertion requiring basic good health. &nbsp;Individuals almost always can govern the extent and pace of their physical activity.&nbsp; Essential functions include, but are not limited to: climbing stairs, standing, operating a vehicle, and long hours of work, as well as some bending, stooping, or light lifting. The WCT consists of three separate levels of tests which correspond with the three duty types.&nbsp; The tests are defined as follows: Pack Test - This is a job-related test to determine an individual&rsquo;s ability to perform the minimum standards of arduous duty.&nbsp; It consists of completing a 3-mile walk over level terrain in 45 minutes or less while carrying a 45-pound pack. &nbsp; Field Test &ndash; This is a job-related test to determine an individual&rsquo;s ability to perform the minimum standards of moderate duty. It consists of completing a 2-mile walk over level terrain in 30 minutes or less while carrying a 25-pound pack. Walk Test &ndash; This is a job-related test to determine an individual&rsquo;s ability to perform the minimum standards of light duty.&nbsp; The test consists of completing a 1-mile walk over level terrain in 16 minutes or less with no load. For more information about the Work Capacity Test consult the Work Capacity Test Administrator&rsquo;s Guide, PMS 307.
work capacity test levels	Risk Management Committee RMC	Approved	The WCT consists of three separate levels of tests which correspond with the three duty types. The tests are defined as Pack Test, Field Test, Walk Test.
work rate	Incident Business Committee IBC	Approved	A daily, hourly, or mileage rate shall apply when equipment is under hire as ordered by the government and on shift, including relocation of equipment under its own power.
wye	Equipment Technology Committee ETC	Approved	A hose connection with two outlets permitting two connections of the same coupling diameter to be taken from a single supply line.

How to Print or Download Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

The Print PDF button below allows you to print only the visible glossary terms as a PDF or send them to a printer (not the full glossary).
Click to download the current version of the full glossary in Excel (.csv) format.

Share on Social Media

Last Modified / Reviewed: December 15, 2025

Print PDF

NWCG Latest Announcements

Quarter Three Materials for the 2025-2026 Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign Now Available

Date: April 1, 2026
Questions?
Please contact: Leadership Committee

NWCG is excited to announce that Quarter Three materials for the 2025/2026 Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign are now available. This annual initiative offers all students of leadership and wildland fire management an opportunity to engage with essential leadership skills and knowledge needed to lead effectively in dynamic environments.

Quarter Three materials focus on Leadership Level 3: Leader of People (Develop Intent). Leadership Level 3 is where your values, your team, and your influence come together. Leaders of People put their teams first, build trust, and lead with authenticity. They mentor future leaders and shape decisions up and down the chain.

References:

2025/2026 NWCG Leadership Campaign - Leadership Levels

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program

Leadership Committee

WFSTAR 2026 Core Components Module Package and 2025 Fire Year in Review Now Available

Date: March 23, 2026
Questions?
Please contact: Joe Schindel

The 2026 Core Components Module Package for RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) and the 2025 Fire Year in Review are now available on the NWCG website. The 2026 Core Components Module Package provides all content needed to deliver RT-130.

References:

2026 Core Components Module Package

2025 Fire Year in Review Module

NEW! S-490, Advanced Fire Behavior Calculations (Blended) Available Now

Date: March 17, 2026
Questions?
Please contact: Fire Behavior Subcommittee

NWCG is pleased to announce that the new S-490, Advanced Fire Behavior Calculations (Blended), 2026 course is now available.

This training includes performance-based activities that allow students to apply the knowledge and concepts required for the Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN), Long Term Fire Analyst (LTAN), and Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 1 (RXB1) positions. It supports individuals working towards these incident qualifications.

This blended course begins with a self-paced online training (OLT) in the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP), followed by an in-person instructor-led training (ILT).

References:

S-490, Advanced Fire Calculations (Blended)

NWCG Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN) Position Page

NWCG Long Term Fire Analyst (LTAN) Position Page

NWCG Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 1 (RXB1) Position Page

2024 Paul Gleason Award Winners Announced

Date: March 13, 2026
Questions?
Please contact: Leadership Committee

The NWCG Leadership Committee is proud to announce the recipients of the 2024 Paul Gleason "Lead By Example" awards. Award categories include Initiative and Innovation, Mentoring and Teamwork, Motivation and Vision, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Congratulations to the awardees:

Justin Baxter, National Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Operations Specialist, with the U.S. Forest Service — Initiative and Innovation
Kelly Woods, Director of the Wildland Firefighting Lessons Learned Center — Mentoring and Teamwork
Doug Booster, Instructor, ProHealth Net, Inc. — Motivation and Vision
Pam McDonald, Writer-Editor for the National Interagency Fire Center — Lifetime Achievement Award

References:

Paul Gleason Lead By Example Award

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP)

Leadership Committee

PMS 205

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview