NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

An organization that oversees the management of multiple incidents or oversees the management of a very large or evolving situation with multiple ICS organizations.

A source category of air pollution that generally extends over a large area. Prescribed burning, field burning, home heating, and open burning are examples of area sources.

Reduction in water pressure between a pump or hydrant and a nozzle due to expenditure of pressure energy required to move water through a hose; includes losses due to back pressure, friction loss, elevation loss, and/or losses in fittings.

The organizational level having functional or geographical responsibility for major aspects of incident operations. A Branch falls between the Section Chief and the division or group in the Operations Section, and between the section and units in the Logistics Section. Branches are identified by Roman numerals or by functional area.

Objective ranking of protection units within an administrative group based on the number of human-caused fires for at least the past five years.

Approved protection suit worn for smokejumping.

Spacing of personnel while performing line construction activities.

A task given to a person or team to perform based on operational objectives defined in the IAP.

A set of physics and empirical equations that form a mathematical representation of the behavior of fire in uniform wildland fuels.

Rapid increase in water flow which may result in a corresponding pressure rise.

A component of NWCG standards. They enable consistent and uniform performance by personnel mobilized by position under NIMS-ICS principles. Position qualification requirements include training, experience, physical fitness, position currency and incident position descriptions (duties and responsibilities).

Prescribed burning early in the dry season before the leaves and undergrowth are completely dry or before the leaves are shed, as an insurance against more severe fire damage later on.

Defect on the surface of a tree resulting from a wound where healing has not re-established the normal cross-section.

An area that has reburned.

Limit the spread of fire by any appropriate means.

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

Agencies and bureaus may have their own SOR for their data. An ISORs are identified by an interagency business area as the official application source of interagency data. An ISOR is the source that resolves duplicate records that may arise from various IADSs and ensures the data meets defined quality standards before it is included in official historical data sets. An ISOR can be an external source of data used by wildland fire.

The processes and procedures for activating, assembling, and transporting resources that have been requested to respond to or support an incident.

Supply Unit staff order, receive, process, store, inventory, and distribute all incident-related supplies. The Supply Unit staff are responsible for all off-incident ordering.

The dispatch center associated with a resource’s home unit. The Home Dispatch Center is responsible for initial mobilization and is the Center associated with the resource when an assignment is completed.

Communication that does not use codes.

Act of clearing brush and other material from around the base of trees and where trees are to be bucked, prior to falling or bucking, as protection against saw kickback and to provide safe footing.

Wind, in miles per hour, measured at 20 feet above ground, or above the average height of vegetation, and averaged over at least a 10-minute period.

A statement of declaration in writing and affirmed before an official with authority to administer an oath; a statement of declaration alleging fact to support the issuance of a search or arrest warrant.

Average forward horizontal distance from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight at which prominent unlighted objects may be seen and identified by day and prominent lighted objects may be seen and identified by night.

A temporary fireline constructed at right angles to the control line and used to hold a backfire in check as a means of regulating the heat or intensity of the backfire.

A situation in which a tree is lodged in another, preventing it from falling to the ground.

The reduction in forest floor thickness due to consumption by fire.

A map showing location of supplies of water readily available for pumps, tanks, trucks, camp use, etc.

A planned, systematic procedure for collecting, recording, and evaluating prefire and fire management intelligence data for a given planning unit or preattack block. The planning phase is usually followed by a construction and development program integrated with other resources and activities. 

A number used to indicate relative (not actual) rate of spread.

Rapid combustion and/or explosion of unburned gases trapped at some distance from the main fire front. Usually occurs only in poorly ventilated topography.

Combustion of a thermally isolated material initiated by an internal chemical or biological reaction producing enough heat to cause ignition.

Reduction of fire hazard in rough, usually by prescribed burning.

Acceptance of information as true without proof or demonstration.

For ground observation purposes, a change of at least 45 degrees in the direction of a significant wind, which occurs in a relatively short time frame.

NWCG standards establish common practices that enable efficient and coordinated national interagency wildland fire operations. These standards may be comprised of requirements, guidelines, procedures, processes, best practices, specifications, techniques, and methods. NWCG standards are interagency by design; however, the decision to adopt and utilize them is made independently by the individual member agencies and communicated through their respective directives systems.

An ignition device suspended under a helicopter, capable of dispensing ignited fuel to the ground for assistance in burning out or backfiring.

The number and size of fires historically experienced on a given unit over a given period (usually one day) at a given index of fire danger.

Someone with sufficient skill, knowledge, or experience in a given field so as to be capable of drawing inferences or reaching conclusions or opinions that an average person would not be competent to reach. The expert's opinion testimony should aim the judge or jury in their understanding of the fact at issue. 

Act of connecting a control line to another fireline or an intended firebreak.

Mobile medical treatment and transportation.

A hose tip spout designed to provide the maximum reach of water without feathering.

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’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.

A unified area command is established when incidents under an area command are multijurisdictional.

At common law, the malicious and willful burning of another's dwelling, outhouse or parcel; by most modern statutes, the intentional and wrongful burning of someone else's, or one's own, property. Frequently requires proof of malicious or wrongful intent.

Flow characteristics of liquid fire retardants, especially their cohesiveness or ability to hold together while falling through the air.

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

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.

The number assigned to an incident. This number follows a standard format where the first two letters indicate the state, the next letters are the incident agency, and the last six digits are agency assigned.