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.

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Term	Steward	Status	Definition
foaming agent	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	An additive that reduces the surface tension of water (producing wet water) causing it to spread and penetrate more effectively and which produces foam through mechanical means.
Foehn wind	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	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	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A portable, collapsible water tank with a tubular frame. Tank capacities vary in size from 500-1500 gallons.
Food Unit	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee	Approved	Food Unit staff determine the food and hydration needs of personnel assigned to the incident and plan menus, order food, provide cooking facilities, cook and serve food, maintain food service areas, and manage food security and safety.Efficient food service is especially important for extended incidents. Food Unit staff anticipate incident needs, such as the number of people who will need to be fed and whether the incident&rsquo;s type, location, or complexity predicates special food needs. The unit staff supply food to meet the nutritional needs during the entire incident, including all remote locations (e.g., camps and staging areas), and supply on-site food service to operations personnel who are unable to leave their assignments. Careful planning and monitoring helps ensure food safety before and during food service operations, including the assignment, as needed, of public health professionals with expertise in environmental health and food safety.
foot valve	MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee	Approved	Spring action check valve usually used at the lower end of suction hose often incorporating a strainer.
forb	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A plant with an herbaceous (soft, rather than permanent woody) stem, that is not a grass or grasslike plant.
forced landing	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Landing necessitated by failure of engines, systems, or components which makes continued flight impossible and which may not result in damage.
forcible entry	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Entering a structure of vehicle illegally by means or physical force, often characterized by prying doors and breaking windows.
forecast area	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Geographical area for which a fire weather forecast is specified.
foreign incident (event)	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	An event dealing with a wildland fire originating from a country outside of the U.S., which has burned onto U.S. soil.
foreign object contact	CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee	In Development	Simultaneous contact, or arching, between a foreighn object and electrical equipment, either phase-to-phase or phase-to-ground, resulting in electrucution and short circuits.
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 residue	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Accumulation in the forest of living or dead (mostly woody) material that is added to and rearranged by human activities such as harvest, cultural operations, and land clearing.
Forest Service assisted indicator	IBC Incident Business Committee	Approved	Indicates if the Forest Service provided assistance on an incident outside their jurisdiction.
Forest Service job code	IBC Incident Business Committee	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	IBC Incident Business Committee	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)	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	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.
fragile fire cause objects	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Objects that are easily susceptible to damage from head and flame and can be easily damaged or destroyed by suppression action and/or during the evidence collection process. E.g., cigarette ash.
free burning	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	Approved	The condition of a fire or part of a fire that has not been slowed by natural barriers or by control measures.
free drop	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Cargo, not attached to a parachute, that is dropped intentionally from an aircraft in flight.
free flow (hydraulics)	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	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.
freezing rain	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Rain that freezes upon contact with objects on the ground.
frequency identifier		Approved	Code used to ease identification of a zone.
frequency of occurrence	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	A quantitative expression of the presence or absence of individuals of a species in a population; the ratio between the number of sample units that contain a species and the total number of sample units.
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 layer	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	The layer of the atmosphere in which the frictional force of the earth's surface exercises an appreciable influence on winds.
friction loss	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Pressure loss caused by the movement of water or solution against the interior surface of fire hose, pipe, or fittings; normally measured in pressure loss per length of hose or pipe.
friction loss (hose)	MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee	Approved	The result of turbulence within the water (fluids) and the resistance along the inside wall of fire hose or pipe.
Friction Reducing Agent (FRA)	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Water soluble substance that reduces frictional drag of solutions and dampens turbulent flow while being pumped through pipe or hose.
front	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	In meteorology, the boundary between two air masses of differing atmospheric properties.
frost	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	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	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Any combustible material, especially petroleum-based products and wildland fuels.
fuel arrangement	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A general term referring to the spatial distribution and orientation of fuel particles or pieces.
fuel bed	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	An array of fuels usually constructed with specific loading, depth, and particle size to meet experimental requirements; also, commonly used to describe the fuel composition.
fuel bed depth	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Average height of surface fuels contained in the combustion zone of a spreading fire front.
fuel break	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A natural or manmade change in fuel characteristics which affects fire behavior so that fires burning into them can be more readily controlled.
fuel break system	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A series of modified strips or blocks tied together to form continuous strategically located fuel breaks around land units.
fuel characteristics	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Factors that make up fuels such as compactness, loading, horizontal continuity, vertical arrangement, chemical content, size and shape, and moisture content.
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	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Relative flammability of fuel as determined by fuel type and environmental conditions.
fuel continuity	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	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 depth	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	The average distance from the bottom of the litter layer to the top of the layer of fuel, usually the surface fuel.
Fuel Dryness Level (DL)	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	A quantitative measure of fuel moisture and receptability to ignition as determined by an accepted Fire Danger Rating System index that influences fire growth, intensity, or activity.
fuel group	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	An identifiable association of fuel elements of distinctive species, form, size, arrangement, or other characteristics. General fuel groups are grass, brush, timber, and slash.
fuel loading	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee, FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	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 management	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Act or practice of controlling flammability and reducing resistance to control of wildland fuels through mechanical, chemical, biological, or manual means, or by fire, in support of land management objectives.
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	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	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 analog	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	Approved	Device that emulates the moisture response of specific classes of dead fuels, constructed from organic or inorganic materials (e.g., half-inch ponderosa pine dowels representing ten-hour timelag fuels).
fuel moisture content	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	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	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	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	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	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	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	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 temperature	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The temperature reading measured from a fuel stick fully exposed to sunlight, above a representative fuel bed, using one of two methods (within a 3/4-inch or across a 1/2-inch pine dowel).
fuel tender	ETC Equipment Technology Committee, NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Any vehicle capable of supplying engine fuel to ground or airborne equipment.
fuel treatment	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	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 type	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	An identifiable association of fuel elements of distinctive species, form, size, arrangement, or other characteristics that will cause a predictable rate of spread or resistance to control under specified weather conditions.
fuel/lubricant/fluids	CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee	In Development
fuels	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Non-decomposed material, living or dead, derived from herbaceous plants.
fuels treatment polygon		In Development	A polygon representing the area(s) of unique fuels treatments during a single timeframe.
fuels wet flag	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A one-character code indicating whether or not fine fuels are wet or dry.
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	RMC Risk Management Committee	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.
fully backed	MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee	Approved	The process by which the tube is bonded 360 degrees around within the jacket.
fume	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee, RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	An airborne irritating, noxious, or toxic smoke, vapor, or any combination of these produced by a volatile substance or a chemical reaction.
function	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee	Approved	In ICS, function refers to the five major activities: command, operations, planning, logistics and finance/administration.
fusee	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A colored flare designed as a railway warning device, widely used to ignite backfires and other prescribed fires.
Gallons per Minute (GPM)	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	The measure of water flow in firefighting. It is used to measure the output of wildland and structural fire engines, pumps, hose streams, nozzles, hydrants, and water mains.
gap	IASS Interagency Aerial Supervision Subcommittee	Approved	Weak or missed area in a retardant drop or in a fireline.
gas cooking/warming/lighting device	CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee	In Development
gate valve	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A valve with a gate-like disk that moves up and down at right angles to the flow when actuated by a stem screw and hand wheel. Gate valves are best for service that requires infrequent valve operation and where the disk is kept either fully open or closed.&nbsp;
gear pump	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Positive displacement pump which uses closely meshed gears to propel water when high pressures and low volumes are desired; can be used safely only with clear water-- suspended particles of soil or rocks can quickly wear the gears and reduce pressure and volume of water.&nbsp;
gear ratio	MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee	Approved	The ratio of the input driving element (shaft) to the output element (shaft).
general cause	CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee	Approved	Agency or circumstance which started a fire or set the stage for its occurrence.
general construction			Activities related to the construction of residential, commercial, industrial buildings, infrastructure or civil engineering works.
general fire behavior	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	Grandfathered	Description of the manner in which the fire is currently reacting to the influences of fuel, weather, and topography.
general fire weather forecast	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	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)	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	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 Schedule Employee	IBC Incident Business Committee	Approved	A regular federal government employee who is compensated under the General Schedule (GS) Pay Plan.
General Staff	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee	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)	IPSC Incident and Position Standards Committee	Approved	Indicates whether the resource is available or unavailable to fill a capability request.
general winds	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Large scale winds caused by high- and low-pressure systems but generally influenced and modified in the lower atmosphere by terrain.
geographic area	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	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	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	A code that identifies one of the wildland fire geographic areas.
Geographic Area (GA) name	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	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)	NCSC National Coordination System Committee, 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	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	Shortened form of Geographic Area Coordination Center name.
Geographic Area Coordination Center (GACC) name	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	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 Area Coordination Center boundary polygon		In Development	A polygon depicting geographic area boundaries.
Geographic Area Coordination Center unit identifier		Approved	NWCG Unit Identifier for GACC Boundary
geographic coordinating area	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	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	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	A code representing a wildland fire geographic coordinating area.
Geographic Coordinating Area (GCA) name	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	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

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National Wildfire Coordinating Group

PMS 205

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview