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.

Note: If the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire is not displaying below please report it to NWCG Webmaster.

Title	Steward	Status	Definition
resource evaluation	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	In Development
resource order	IBC Incident Business Committee	Approved	The form used by dispatchers, service personnel, and logistics coordinators to document the request, ordering or release of resources, and the tracking of those resources on an incident.
resource quantity current as of date time	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	The date and time that reflects the period for which the resource counts are current.
Resource Status Board	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Visual aid containing pertinent information regarding fire organization, current operational period resources, previous operational period resources, and next operational period resources being prepared; placed at a convenient location in fire camp for review by fireline overhead personnel on large fires.
resource system of record	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	The IRWIN username of the system that currently is the System of Record for the resource and the capabilities for that resource.
resource tracking	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee	Approved	The process that all incident personnel and equipment from associated organizations use to maintain information regarding the location and status of resources ordered for or assigned to an incident.
resource value-at-risk	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	Fire suppression planning tool providing a relative expression (in five classes) of fire effects on all resources (not the value of the resources themselves).
resources (natural)	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The natural resources of an area, such as timber, grass, watershed values, recreation values, and wildlife habitat.
resources [incident]	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee, IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	Personnel and equipment available or potentially available for assignment to incident operations and for which status is maintained. Resources are described by kind and type.
Resources Unit	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee	Approved	Resources Unit staff track the location and status of all resources assigned to an incident. They ensure all assigned resources have checked in at the incident.
respirator	RMC Risk Management Committee, ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A device that is designed to protect the wearer from the adverse effects of inhalation hazards by removing contaminants from the surrounding air or by supplying clean air from a safe source.
responding unit	DMC Data Management Committee	Approved	Administrative entity that provides resources in response to the incident.
responsible fire agency	ICSC Incident Command Subcommittee	Approved	Agency with primary responsibility for fire suppression on any particular land area.
restricted airspace	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Airspace of defined dimensions identified by an area on the surface of the earth within the flight of an aircraft, which is subject to restrictions (but not wholly prohibited).
restricted category	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Aircraft that is generally used for cargo, retardant dropping, agricultural operations, survey work and other specific projects, and may not transport passengers.
restrictions	CEPC Communication, Education, and Prevention Committee	Approved	Measures taken by jurisdictional agencies to impose bans and standards of use on certain human activities that could lead to the cause of wildland fire. Restrictions may be applied to: smoking in designated areas; open flame; mechanical operations in high-risk areas; and off-road use.
retardant	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A substance or chemical agent which reduces the flammability of combustibles.
retardant base	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Ground facilities for mixing, storing, and loading fire retardant into airtankers.
retardant coverage	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Area of fuel covered and degree of coverage on the fuel by a fire retardant, usually expressed in terms of gallons per hundred square feet (liters per square meter).
retardant drop	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Fire retardant cascaded from an airtanker or helitanker.
return and hold	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	An order to an airtanker pilot to return to the retardant base and await further instructions; mission completed, further loads not required.
Reversible Siamese	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Hose fitting that performs the functions of a Siamese or a wye (i.e., to combine the flow from two lines into a single line or to permit two lines to be taken from a single line).
Rheologic properties	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Flow characteristics of liquid fire retardants, especially their cohesiveness or ability to hold together while falling through the air.
Rheology	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Science of deformation and flow of fire retardants and other liquids, especially of the cohesiveness bodies and stress-strain relationship of their particles.
rich tool	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A long-handled combination rake and cutting tool, the blade of which is constructed of a single row of mowing machine cutter teeth fastened to a piece of angle iron.
ridge	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	An elongated area of relatively high atmospheric pressure extending from the center of a high-pressure region.
right angle transect	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A method to document a fire scene using right angle measurements off of a base line.
ring fire	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A fire started by igniting the full perimeter of the intended burn area so that the ensuing fire fronts converge toward the center of the burn. Set around the outer perimeter of a resource to establish a protective black-line-buffer.
risk (agent)	IPSC Incident and Position Standards Committee, FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A causative agent.
risk (fire danger)	IPSC Incident and Position Standards Committee, FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A number related to the potential of firebrands to which a given area will be exposed during the rating day.
risk (harm or loss)	IPSC Incident and Position Standards Committee, FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A chance of suffering harm or loss.
risk (ignition)	IPSC Incident and Position Standards Committee, FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	The chance of fire starting as determined by the presence and activity of causative agents.
risk assessment (fire planning)	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Proposed New
risk assessment (WUI)	WUIMC Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Committee	Approved	Systematic process to comprehend the nature of risk, express and evaluate risk, with the available knowledge.
risk index	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A number related to the probability of a firebrand igniting a fire.
Risk Management	RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	A continuous, five-step process that provides a systematic method for identifying and managing the risks associated with any operation.
risk source	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Identifiable human activity that historically has been a major cause of wildfires on a protection unit; one of the eight general causes listed on the standard fire report.
risk source ratio	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Portion of human-caused fires that have occurred on a protection unit chargeable to a specific risk source; calculated for each day of the week for each risk source.
rocker lug coupling	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Hose coupling in which the lugs used for tightening or loosening are semicircular in shape and designed to pass over obstructions.
roll cloud	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	A turbulent altocumulus-type cloud formation found in the lee of some large mountain barriers. The air in the cloud rotates around an axis parallel to the range. Also sometimes refers to part of the cloud base along the leading edge of a cumulonimbus cloud; it is formed by rolling action in the wind shear region between cool downdrafts within the cloud and warm updrafts outside the cloud.
rotor	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Assembly of airfoils (rotor blades), together with a hub and attachments, that rotates about an axis to provide lift and/or thrust on a helicopter.
rotor blast	IHOPS Interagency Helicopter Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Air turbulence occurring under and around the main rotor of an operating helicopter.
rotor diameter	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	The main rotor arc in feet and inches (meters). Used for planning helispot clearance.
rough	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	The accumulation of living and dead ground and understory vegetation, especially grasses, forest litter, and draped dead needles, sometimes with addition of underbrush such as palmetto, gallberry, and wax myrtle. Most often used for southern pine types.
rough reduction	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Reduction of fire hazard in rough, usually by prescribed burning.
run (of a fire)	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	Approved	Rapid advance of the head of a fire, characterized by a marked transition in fireline intensity and rate of spread with respect to that noted before and after the advance.
running fire	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	Approved	Behavior of a fire spreading rapidly with a well defined head.
rural	WUIMC Wildland Urban Interface Mitigation Committee	Archived	Any area wherein residences and other developments are scattered and intermingled with forest, range, or farm land and native vegetation or cultivated crops.
Rural Fire District	IBC Incident Business Committee	Approved	An organization established to provide fire protection to a designated geographic area outside of areas under municipal fire protection. Usually has some taxing authority and officials may be appointed or elected.
rural fire protection	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Fire protection and firefighting problems that are outside of areas under municipal fire prevention and building regulations and that are usually remote from public water supplies.

First
Previous
…
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
…
Next
Last

National Wildfire Coordinating Group

PMS 205

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview