Skip to main content

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

Title Steward Status Definition
horizontal datum code GSC Geospatial Subcommittee Approved

The identfication given to the reference system used for defining the coordinates of points.

horizontal fuels arrangement FMC Fuels Management Committee Approved

Composition of fuel laterally across the landscape.

horsepower MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved

Engine work capacity. One horsepower (hp) equals 33,000-ft/lb work per minute. (Gross hp is directly off the engine drive shaft; net hp includes power remaining after power to accessories is subtracted.)

hose bowl MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved

Indentation on the inside of a hose coupling in which a rubber gasket is installed to provide the seal between the hose jacket, coupling, and expansion ring.

hose clamp ETC Equipment Technology Committee Approved

Crimping device for stopping the flow of water in a hose.

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 ETC Equipment Technology Committee Approved

A fitting that may be installed between lengths of hose to provide an independently controlled outlet for a branch line.

hose rack ETC Equipment Technology Committee Approved

Item for storing drying fire hose.

hose reel ETC Equipment Technology Committee Approved

A rotating drum used for winding booster hose (normally) for storing and dispensing.

hose thread ETC Equipment Technology Committee Approved

The specific dimensions of screw thread employed to coupled fire hose and equipment. American National Standards (NH) have been adopted for fire hose couplings threads in 3/4, 1-1/2, 2-1/2, 3-1/2, 4, 5, and 6-inch sizes.

hose washer ETC Equipment Technology Committee Approved

Device for cleaning the exterior of fire hose.

host NCSC National Coordination System Committee 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.

hot set CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development

Use of an open flame to ignite a wildfire and the source is removed from the ignition area.

hot work: welder/grinder/torch In Development

Track maintenance that involves welding, soldering, cutting and brazing railroad tracks.

hot work: welder/grinder/torch/cutter CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Superceded
hotshot crew IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved

Intensively trained fire crew used primarily in handline construction (Type-1).

hotspot IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved

A particularly active part of a fire.

hotspotting IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved

Checking the spread of fire at points of more rapid spread or special threat. Is usually the initial step in prompt control, with emphasis on first priorities.

hover NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

A stationary in-flight condition for helicopters when no directional flight is achieved.

hover ceiling NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

Highest altitude above sea level at which a helicopter can hover at maximum computed gross weight. It is generally specified whether the quoted hover ceiling refers to hovering in ground effect (HIGE) or hovering out of ground effect (HOGE).

hover hook-up NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

Attaching of a cargo lead line to a hovering helicopter.

hoverfill NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee Approved

The process by which a helicopter fills a helibucket while hovering above the water source.

Hovering in Ground Effect (HIGE) NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee 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." The HIGE ceiling, for a given gross weight, thus is greater than the HOGE (Hovering Out of Ground Effect) ceiling.

human CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development
human contact CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee In Development

Simultaneous contact, or arching, between a human and electrical equipment, either phase-to-phase or phase-to-ground, resulting in electrocution and short circuits.

human-caused fire FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved

Any fire caused directly or indirectly by person(s).

human-caused risk FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved

A model for predicting the average number of reportable human caused fires from a given ignition component value.

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. 

humidity FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee Approved

General term referring to the moisture content of the atmosphere.

humus FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee 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.

hunting

The practice of pursuing, capturing, trapping, or killing wild animals or fish for food, recreation, conservation or pest control.

hunting/trapping/fishing CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee Superceded

The practice of pursuing, capturing, trapping, or killing wild animals or fish for food, recreation, conservation or pest control.

hurricane/typhoon (event) NCSC National Coordination System Committee Approved

An event dealing with response to a hurricane or typhoon.

hydrophobicity FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee 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. 

hygrothermograph FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee Approved

Recording instrument combining, on one paper record, the variation of dry-bulb temperature and relative humidity as a function of time.

hypalon MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved

A synthetic rubber with excellent ozone, weathering, and acid resistance. Widely used in fire hose to retard abrasion.

hysteresis MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved

The under reading of an instrument (such as a pressure gauge) with increasing values (pressure is going up) and the over reading with decreasing values (pressure is going down).

I-Zone WUIMC Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Committee 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 NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee 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.

igniter WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved

A pyrotechnic device specifically designed to initiate burning of a fuel mixture or propellant.

Ignition Area (IA) WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee 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 energy FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee Approved

Quantity of heat or electrical energy that must be absorbed by a substance to ignite and burn.

ignition factor WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved

The individual factors which make up the ignition sequence; competent ignition source; the type and form of first fuel ignited; oxidant, plus the circumstances, actions, or natural events that allowed the factors to come together.

Ignition Fiscal Year
Displaying 1351 - 1400 of 2935

NWCG Latest Announcements