NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Training where the students and/or instructors are not interacting with each other in real time. Typically, the students are accessing learning resources at a time of their choosing.

A back bearing is measured from the object to your position. It is the exact opposite of a direct bearing.

An imaginary line on the ground running east-west (horizontal) measured with special accuracy to provide a base for surveying.

Training that is specifically designed to meet course objectives through a combination of self-directed online training and Instructor-led training. The online component typically contains a portion of the curriculum content and must be successfully completed in order to complete the course.

North, south, east, west; used for giving directions and information from the ground or air in describing the fire (eg., the west flank or east flank, not right flank or left flank).

An instrument used for showing direction, consisting of a magnetic needle swinging freelyon a pivot and pointing to magnetic north.

A line on a map or chart indicating elevation in feet, and connects all points of the same height above sea level.

Agency employees who have actual experience dealing with a critical incident and are qualified as incident information officers.

A fatality or other event that can have serious long-term adverse effects on the agency, its employees and their families, or the community.

An adaptive short-term helping process that focuses solely on an immediate and identifiable problem to enable the individual(s) affected to return to their daily routine(s) more quickly and with a lessened likelihood of experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Declination is the difference in degrees between true north and magnetic north.

This is an informal session held immediately following the incident, within 24 hours. It is peer support led, and focuses on initial venting of feelings and stress education.

A unit of angular measurement equal to one-360th part of the circumference of a circle. The entire globe contains 360 degrees, each degree contains 60 minutes, and each minute contains 60 seconds.

An agency-contracted program that provides employees and their families’ access to a variety of counseling and other support services in certain situations.

The primary contact between the agency and the victim’s family

Instructor-led training that is conducted in field environment.

A graphic scale is a line marked off on a map which compare smap distances to the ground distance in “different”units of measurements.

A feature in the landscape which can be readily recognized; anything from a prominent tree or rock, to a church or a lake.

A key accompanying a map which shows information needed to interpret that map. Each type of map has information represented in a different way relating to its subject matter. The legend can explain map scales,symbols and color.

Bearing by magnetic north rather than true north.

The direction toward which a magnetic needle of a compass points.

A line drawing, to some scale, of an area of the earth’s surface. It shows objects and features by conventional signs.

Indicates the ratio or proportion of the horizontal distance on the map to the corresponding horizontal distance on the ground.

The Federal office, under the Department of Labor, charged with administering the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, which authorizes medical care and compensation for periods of disability for Federal employees who sustain traumatic injuries and occupational diseases in the performance of duty.

A pace is defined as the average length of two natural steps(a count is made each time the same foot touches the ground).

Employees or individuals trained in peer counseling CISM process, including CISD and defusings.

A map that shows the positions of feature swithout showing the elevations of all hills and valleys of the land. It can include rivers, lakes,roads, boundaries, or other human-made symbolic features.

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. 

The Agency Federal Tort Claims Act is the avenue a private individual has to file a claim against an employee of the Federal government or the Federal government in general.