NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

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. 

A group, typically consisting of agency administrators or executives from organizations, or their designees, that provides policy guidance to incident personnel, supports resource prioritization and allocation, and enables decision making among elected and appointed officials and senior executives in other organizations, as well as those directly responsible for incident management.

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.

An incident where one or more agencies assist a jurisdictional agency or agencies. May be single or unified command.

A VHF/AM aircraft radio frequency (122.9 MHz) assigned by the FAA for use in air-to-air communications.

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.

High fire frequency over a short period of time in an administrative unit, usually overtaxing the normal initial attack capability of the unit.

In FireFamily Plus, a day with both a weather observation and a number of fires equal to or greater than that determined by the user to be a significant workload.

Two or more separate points of fire origins at a fire scene; strong indication of arson.

Assistance in firefighting or investigation by fire agencies, without regard for jurisdictional boundaries.

A written or oral agreement between and among agencies/organizations and/or jurisdictions that provides a mechanism to quickly obtain assistance in the form of personnel, equipment, materials, and other associated services. The primary objective is to facilitate the rapid, short-term deployment of support prior to, during, and/or after an incident.

A geographical area between two or more jurisdictions into which those agencies would respond on initial attack.

Name of the water source.

An incendiary mixture with a jelling agent used in flamethrowers and bombs.

A legal limit on the level of atmospheric contamination. The level is established as the concentration limits needed to protect all of the public against adverse effects on public health and welfare, with an adequate safety margin. Primary standards are those related to health effects. Secondary standards are designed to protect the public welfare from effects such as visibility reduction, soiling, material damage and nuisances. 

The collected technical fire protection standards prepared by various committees of the National Fire Protection Association and published annually in 15 volumes.

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.

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.

A uniform fire danger rating system that focuses on the environmental factors that control the moisture content of fuels.

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 (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).

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. 

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.

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.

This is a straight (nontapered) thread standard with the same threads per inch as the appropriate size iron pipe thread. It requires a gasket to seal and is the thread standard used by most U.S. industry.

Those resources which have national utilization, high demand, limited availability, and unique status reporting requirements identified by NICC.

Public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.

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.

A plan that integrates federal government domestic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery plans into one all-discipline, all-hazard plan.

Abbreviated (NH) for national hose. Specifically defined screw thread used on fire hose couplings.

A species which is a part of the original fauna or flora of the area in question.

Any area where lack of flammable material obstructs the spread of wildfires.

An event, usually managed by organizations external to the fire community, for which the primary focus is managing emergency situations created by severe weather or natural disaster.

Fuels resulting from natural processes and not directly generated or altered by land management practices.

Any potential accident which, through prevention, education, hazard reduction, or luck, did not occur.

An 8-character identifier assigned by NESDIS that becomes the RAWS identification number for use with the GOES satellite.

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.

Condition in which temperature decrease with increasing altitude is equal to the dry adiabatic lapse rate (i.e., the atmosphere neither aids nor hinders large-scale vertical motion).

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.

The result of nitric oxide combining with oxygen in the atmosphere. A major component of photochemical smog.

Product of combustion from transportation and stationary sources and a major contributor to acid deposition and the formation of ground level ozone in the troposphere.

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.

An area identified by an air quality regulatory agency through ambient air monitoring (and designated by the Environmental Protection Agency), that presently exceeds federal ambient air standards.

An organizational unit that may be used for other incident types such as severity or support records.

Any fire not posing a threat to resources or property of the jurisdictional agency, regardless of whether action was taken by the agency.