NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Fire retardant that inhibits combustion primarily by the cooling and smothering action of water. Chemicals may be added to the water to alter its viscosity or retard its evaporation, thereby increasing its effectiveness.

Method of carrying hose on the shoulders.

A woody perennial plant differing from a perennial herb by its persistent and woody stem; and from a tree by its low stature and habit of branching from the base.

The two-category (evergreen, deciduous) classification of shrubs vegetation in the 1988 version of NFDRS.

Common type of fire hose nozzle permitting stream flow to be controlled by the firefighter at the nozzle rather than only at the source of supply.

Maximum pressure a centrifugal pump will attain when water flow is clamped or shut off.

Hose fitting (preferably gated) for combining flow from two or more lines of hose into a single stream; one male coupling to two female couplings.

In the ICS209, observed fire behavior or significant incident events for the current reporting period.

An event measured by the occurrence of fire(s) that requires mobilization of additional resources from outside the fire event area.

The likelihood a wildland fire event will require mobilization of additional resources from outside the area in which the fire situation originates.

A weather phenomenon resulting in an environment that has a significant impact on fire spread, intensity, or occurrence. Example: strong wind, unstable air mass, etc.

Self-leveling helibucket slung under a helicopter which can be filled by hovering over a water source.

A hose lay consisting of consecutively coupled lengths of hose without laterals. The lay is extended by inserting additional lengths of hose in the line between pumps and nozzle.

An activity that imitates something real, but it is not real itself and it can be altered by users for the specific purpose of providing an experiential learning environment. Examples: Sand Table Exercise or CBT/WBT Forest Service Wildland Fire Simulation Scenario Editor. 

An event dealing wiht simulation of various situations to provide experience or proficiency.

An offender who intentionally sets one fire.

Technique whereby fire retardant is released from only one compartment of an airtanker.

An individual, a piece of equipment and its personnel complement, or a crew/team of individuals with an identified work supervisor that can be used on an incident.

Equipment is staffed with 1 operator or crew. A normal shift could be up to 16 hours long and may cross calendar days.

Centrifugal pump with a single impeller.

Removal or killing of unwanted vegetation, residue, etc. by use of fire, herbicides, or mechanical treatment in preparation for reforestation and future management.

Fire ignited to expose adequate mineral soil and control competing vegetation until seedlings of the desired species become established.

Analysis of factors which influence suppression of an escaped fire from which a plan of attack will be developed; includes development of alternative strategies of fire suppression and net effect of each.

An on-going process of gathering information by observation and by communication with others. This information is integrated to create an individual's perception of a given situation.

Situation Unit staff collect, process, and organize situation information, prepare situation summaries, produce maps, and develop projections and forecasts related to the incident. They gather and disseminate information for incident and agency decision processe.

An on-going process of gathering information by observation and by communication with others. This information is integrated to create an individual's perception of a given situation.

A daily safety briefing for wildland fire that focuses on high risk events found within a firefighter's scope of work that are performed on an infrequent basis.

As to size of wildfire:

Class A - one-fourth acre or less;
Class B - more than one-fourth acre, but less than 10 acres;
Class C - 10 acres or more, but less than 100 acres;
Class D - 100 acres or more, but less than 300 acres;
Class E - 300 acres or more, but less than 1,000 acres;
Class F - 1,000 acres or more, but less than 5,000 acres;
Class G - 5,000 acres or more.

The evaluation of the fire to determine a course of action for suppression.

Load of hose specially arranged on top of a standard hose load to permit dropping the working line at the fire.

Any road or trail formed by the process of skidding logs from stump to landing.

A self-contained unit consisting of a water tank, fire pump, and hose specially designed to be carried on a logging skidder for use in forest fire suppression.

Any aircraft equipped to pick up water while moving on or over water.

Amount of clouds and/or other obscuring phenomena that are detectable from the point of observation.

Debris resulting from such natural events as wind, fire, or snow breakage; or such human activities as road construction, logging, pruning, thinning, or brush cutting. It includes logs, chunks, bark, branches, stumps, and broken understory trees or brush.

Treatment of slash to reduce fire hazard or for other purposes. Preferred to "brush disposal."

A net attached by a lanyard to a helicopter cargo hook and used to haul supplies.

Any cargo carried beneath a helicopter and attached by a lead line and swivel.

A hand operated instrument for obtaining wet and dry bulb temperature readings and, subsequently, relative humidity.

A tank, a live hose reel or tray, an auxiliary pump, and an engine combined into a single one-piece assembly which can be slipped onto a truck bed or trailer.

One of five categories used to describe the topography of a fire danger rating area.

The ratio between the amount of vertical rise of a slope and horizontal distance as expressed in a percent. One hundred feet of rise to 100 feet of horizontal distance equals 100 percent.

Small scale convective winds that occur due to local heating and cooling of a natural incline of the ground.

A fire edge that crosses a control line or natural barrier intended to confine the fire.

The discharge of distinct pockets of water and air due to the insufficient mixing of foam concentrate, water, and air in a compressed air foam system.

An aircraft of 12,500 pounds (5,669 kg) or less, maximum certificated takeoff weight.

Generally considered only photochemical air pollution. Originally meant a combination of smoke and fog.

Small particles of carbon, tarry and water vapor resulting from the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials such as wood, coal or oil.

The amount of combustion products found in a specified volume of air, commonly expressed as micrograms of emission per cubic meter of air.