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NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

Title Steward Status Definition
abandoned/unattended CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development
ABCD Miscellaneous DMC Data Management Committee, IBC Incident Business Committee 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, & D size class fires on Forest Service lands.

abort NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

To jettison a load of water or retardant from an aircraft, or terminate a preplanned aircraft maneuver.

abort area NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee 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 NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

Term frequently used in aviation operations, usually in connection with a stated altitude.

abrasion MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved

Grinding or wearing away of a surface by rough materials.

abscess EMC Emergency Medical Committee Approved

A localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue.

absolute humidity FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee 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 CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Approved

Act of soaking up and retaining a gas in liquid or in a solid; also retention of radiant energy.

accelerant CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Approved

Material (usually a flammable liquid) used to initiate or increase the spread of a fire.

accelerant misuse CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development
acceptable fire risk FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee Approved

The potential fire loss a community is willing to accept rather than provide resources to reduce such losses.

accessibility burn FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee Approved

The burning of understory prior to the sale of forest products to improve the efficiency of timber marking and harvesting.

accident (event) NCSC National Coordination System Committee Approved

An event, usually managed by organizations external to the fire community, for which the primary focus is for dealing with an accident and assistance to potential victims. This category includes accidents such as: automobile, aircraft, train, watercraft, and industrial.

accounting code IBC Incident Business Committee Approved

Agency-specific accounting data. Each agency assigns a specific accounting code to an incident.

accrual reports IBC Incident Business Committee Approved

Cost reports utilized for financial obligation purposes.

accumulated debris CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development
accuracy descriptor (Point of Origin) (POO) Approved

Description of the methods used to determine the certainty and precision of the fire location at the point of origin.

action plan NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee Archived

Any tactical plan developed by any element of ICS in support of the incident action plan.

active crown fire IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee, FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee Approved

A fire in which a solid flame develops in the crowns of trees, but the surface and crown phases advance as a linked unit dependent on each other.

active fire IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved

Any fire that has not been called "out".

active resources IBC Incident Business Committee Archived

Resources checked in and assigned work tasks on an incident.

activity (fire cause) CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Approved

The thing that a person is doing when a wildland fire ignition occurs.

activity fuels FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee Approved

Fuels resulting from, or altered by, forestry practices such as timber harvest or thinning, as opposed to naturally created fuels.

activity group CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Approved

Further refines wildfire cause supporting data, providing information for prevention programs for targeted messaging.

activity name CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Approved

Common name of activity

activity name (aviation) GSC Geospatial Subcommittee Approved

Common name of the aviation activity.

activity type FRSC Fire Reporting Subcommittee Approved

Type of activity or event

activity type (aviation) NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee, GSC Geospatial Subcommittee Approved

Type of aviation activity or event

actual completion date FMC Fuels Management Committee Approved

Date when treatment was physically completed

Actual Time En Route (ATE) NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

Term used in flight planning/following to document actual time spent flying between points.

Actual Time of Arrival (ATA) NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

Term used in flight planning/following to document time of arrival at a point.

Actual Time of Departure (ATD) NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

Term used in flight planning/following to document time of departure from a point.

adapter ETC Equipment Technology Committee 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.

adhesion MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved

Bonding or adherence between rubber lining and the jacket.

adiabatic process FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee Approved

According to the American Meteorological Society, a process in which a system does not interact with its surroundings by virtue of a temperature difference between them. In an adiabatic process any change in internal energy (for a system of fixed mass) is solely a consequence of working. For an ideal gas and for most atmospheric systems, compression results in warming, expansion results in cooling.

adjective rating FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee Approved

A public information description of the relative severity of the current fire danger situation.

Administrative Payment Team (APT) IBC Incident Business Committee 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) IBC Incident Business Committee Approved

Individual responsible for incident agency business management functions, such as personnel, procurement, fiscal, etc.

administrative workweek IBC Incident Business Committee 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) IBC Incident Business Committee Approved

A person hired and compensated under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers.

admission CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Approved

Oral or written statement tending to link its maker to involvement in a particular crime.

adolescent (13-17) CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development
adult (18+) CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development
Advanced EMT (AEMT) EMC Emergency Medical Committee Approved

An EMS professional who provides basic and limited advanced life support skills and interventions for patients within the EMS system.

Advanced Life Support (ALS) EMC Emergency Medical Committee 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) RMC Risk Management Committee 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 WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved

That portion of the fire with rapid fire spread with higher intensity which is normally burning with the wind and/or up slope.

advancing front combustion stage FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee Approved

The period of combustion when a fire is spreading, usually accompanied by flaming combustion that releases heat to sustain the convection column.

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NWCG Latest Announcements

WFSTAR 2025 Core Component Module Package and 2024 Fire Year in Review Now Available

Date: March 14, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Joe Schindel at mschindel@blm.gov
 

The 2025 Core Component Module Package for RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) and the 2024 Fire Year in Review are now available on the NWCG website. The 2025 Core Component Module Package provides all content needed to deliver RT-130.

References:

2025 Core Component Module Package

2024 Fire Year in Review Module

NEW! NWCG Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Field Guide, PMS 053

Date: March 12, 2025
Contact: Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Committee

The NWCG Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Field Guide, PMS 053 provides mitigation practitioners at all experience levels with recommendations on the most effective and efficient ways to accomplish mitigation work in communities at risk to wildfire damage or destruction. The content in this guide was written in coordination with the NWCG Standards for Mitigation in the Wildland Urban Interface, PMS 052.

References:

NWCG Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Field Guide, PMS 053 

Updated, NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Module Operations, PMS 430

Date: March 11, 2025
Contact: Fire Use Subcommittee
Wildland Fire Module Unit

The NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Module Operations, PMS 430 standardizes procedures and expectations for Wildland Fire Modules (WFMs). These standards are to be used by staff, supervisors, specialists, and technicians for planning, administering, and conducting WFM operations. These standards will also be used as a measure of WFM qualifications, capabilities, and expected performance, for both Type 1 and Type 2 WFMs.

References:

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Module Operations, PMS 430

NEW! NWCG Standards for Airtanker Operations, PMS 514

Date: March 7, 2025
Contact: National Interagency Aviation Committee

The NWCG Standards for Airtanker Operations, PMS 514 establishes the standards for dispatching, utilizing, and coordinating airtankers on interagency wildland fires. These standards should be used in conjunction with the NWCG Standards for Aerial Supervision (SAS), PMS 505, NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations (SABO), PMS 508, and any applicable agency plans.

References:

NWCG Standards for Airtanker Operations, PMS 514