NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

The dispatch center associated with a resource’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.

The current dispatch center for an incident.

Either the home or current dispatch center for a resource.

The decrease in concentration of airborne pollutants as they spread throughout an increasing volume of atmosphere.

In WIMS, a one-digit number representing the number of decision points used to evaluate the magnitude of the Staffing Index.

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.

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.

Aircraft navigational equipment that provides the slant range distance in miles (kilometers) from the aircraft to the VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Radio Range) station to which the DME is tuned, usually at or near an airport.

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.

A weather system usually associated with clouds, rain and/or wind.

Daily, especially pertaining to cyclic actions which are completed within 24 hours, and which recur every 24 hours, such as temperature, relative humidity and wind.

The expansion or spreading out of a horizontal wind field. Generally associated with high pressure and light winds.

The organizational level having responsibility for operations within a defined geographic area. Divisions are established when the number of resources exceeds the manageable span of control of the Section Chief. See Group.

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.

Prescribed burning early in the dry season before the leaves and undergrowth are completely dry or before the leaves are shed, as an insurance against more severe fire damage later on.

An offender who sets two fires at one site, at the same time, in a single event.

Two lengths of hose rolled side by side or a single length rolled into two small coils for convenient handling.

A hose-coupling device having two female swivel couplings to permit joining two male hose nipples of the same size and thread type when lines are laid with couplings in opposite or reverse directions.

Fire hose having two cotton or other fiber jackets outside the rubber lining or tubing.

A hose-coupling device having two male thread nipples for connecting hose and for connecting two female couplings of the same diameter.

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.

A 50 or 100-foot length of hose or a 50-foot length of hose rolled up for easy handling. There are various ways of forming the doughnut. A convenient one has both couplings close together with the male thread protected by the female coupling.

A calculated reduction in actual payload to provide a margin of safety.

Any steel tracked vehicle equipped with a front mounted blade used for exposing mineral soil.

A resource that includes a dozer, its transportation unit and a standard complement of personnel for its operation.

Fireline constructed by the front blade of a dozer.

Any ground vehicle with personnel capable of maintenance, minor repairs, and limited fueling of dozers.

Drawing water from static sources such as a lake, pond, cistern, river, etc. into a pump which is above the level of the water supply. This is done by removing the air from the pump and allowing atmospheric pressure [14.7 psi (101 kPa) at sea level] to push water through a noncollapsible suction hose into the pump. 

The time (minutes) it takes for foam solution to drop out from the foam mass; for a specified percent of the total solution contained in the foam to revert to liquid and drain out of the bubble structure.

Needles, leaves, and twigs that have fallen from above and have lodged on lower branches or brush. Draped fuels are part of aerial fuels.

Effect of wind on smoke, retardant drops, paracargo, smokejumper streamers, etc.

Smoke that has drifted from its point of origin and is no longer dominated by convective motion. May give false impression of a fire in the general area where the smoke has drifted.

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.

An axle that supports a portion of the vehicle weight and transmits a driving force to the wheels.

Wheels powered by all of the vehicle's drive axles. Dual tires are considered as single wheels. The number of wheels is commonly referenced by the terms "4x2", "4x4", etc. where the first figure indicates the total number of wheels on the ground and the second figure, the number of drive wheels.

Precipitation composed exclusively of water drops smaller than 0.02 inches (0.5 mm) in diameter.

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.

Indicates that the airtanker has the target in sight and will make a retardant drop on this run over the target.

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. 

Target area for airtankers, helitankers, cargo dropping.

A period of relatively long duration with substantially below-normal precipitation, usually occurring over a large area.

A number representing the net effect of evaporation, transpiration and precipitation in producing cumulative moisture depletion in deep duff or upper soil layers.

Device used to transport a 55-gallon drum (208 L) via sling on a helicopter.

The government furnishes all operating supplies after the equipment arrives at the incident.

The rate of decrease of temperature with height of a parcel of dry air lifted adiabatically through an atmosphere in hydrostatic equilibrium. Numerically equal to 9.7670 C degrees per km or about 5.40 F degrees per thousand feet.