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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Title	Steward	Status	Definition
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.
returned from assignment		Proposed New	The resource has returned from the assignment but is not yet available for dispatch.
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 (topographic)		Approved	A long narrow elevation of land; a steep slope or a similar range of hills or mountains.
ridge (weather)	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.
saddle (topographic)	FENC Fire Environment Committee	Approved	Depression or pass in a ridgeline.
SAFENET	RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	A form and process, used by wildland firefighting agencies, for reporting and resolving incidents relating to firefighter safety. The information collected is used to determine long-term trends and problem areas within the wildland fire industry.
Safety Advisory	RMC Risk Management Committee	Archived	A safety alert addressing wildland fire safety information that isn't related to imminent or potential threats of injury.
Safety Alert	RMC Risk Management Committee	Archived	A warning or alert concerning critical information relating to firefighter safety, that is distributed via email through an NWCG mail server. There are three types of alerts: Safety Warning, Safety Advisory, and Safety Bulletin.
safety briefing	RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	A safety briefing emphasizes key safety concerns on the incident and is presented at each briefing session. The safety briefing should contain information to alert incident personnel of potential risk/hazard considered to be most critical.
Safety Bulletin	RMC Risk Management Committee	Archived	A safety alert containing a factual confirmation of a serious wildland fire accident, incident or fatality.
safety circle	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	An obstruction-free circle around the (helicopter) landing pad.
Safety Warning	RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	A time-sensitive alert to the wildland fire community addressing wildland fire safety hazards that pose an imminent threat, or have potential to pose a threat, to life or property.  Red hash-marked bordered stationary will be associated with this type of alert.
safety zone	RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	An area cleared of flammable materials used for escape in the event the line is outflanked or in case a spot fire causes fuels outside the control line to render the line unsafe. In firing operations, crews progress so as to maintain a safety zone close at hand allowing the fuels inside the control line to be consumed before going ahead. Safety zones may also be constructed as integral parts of fuel breaks; they are greatly enlarged areas which can be used with relative safety by firefighters and their equipment in the event of blowup in the vicinity.
salvo	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Dropping by an airtanker of its entire load of fire retardant at one time.
salvo drop	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Total retardant or water load dropped all at once. Usually done to knock down a hotspot.
sample	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Part of a population; that portion of the population that is measured.
sample size	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	The number of items or observations in a sample; usually denoted by lower case letter n.

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National Wildfire Coordinating Group

PMS 205

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview