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)

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Title	Steward Sort descending	Status	Definition
set (planned)	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Burning material at the points deliberately ignited for backfiring, slash burning, prescribed burning, and other purposes.
suspended fuel	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A wildland fuel that is suspended off the ground in such a way that fire may burn both over and under it.
fire pattern indicator, foliage freeze	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Small branches, needles, and leaves swept into a position by the wind and fixed by desiccation indicating the wind direction at the time of fire passage. One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
set (incendiary)	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	An individual incendiary fire.
expert witness	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	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.
die-out pattern indicators	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Fingers or islands of less intensely burned areas or areas where the fire has self extinguished.
damage differential	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The comparative differences of damage to objects resulting from the fire’s passage.
overhaul	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Fire department procedure of inspecting premises after extinguishment of fire, to insure that fire is completely out and unable to rekindle before returning control to owner or occupants.
fire	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Rapid oxidation, usually with the evolution of heat and light; heat fuel, oxygen and interaction of the three.
wind vortex flame wrap	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A char pattern that is created by the passage of wind around the trunk of a tree or pole-like object that creates vortices on the lee side and an area of stability.  The area of stability allows the heat and char pattern to rise higher on the lee side of the object.  Generally, the stronger the wind, the higher the wind vortex flame wrap will be.  White this is not a fire pattern indicator, it is a general indication of the direction of the wind at the time the pattern was created.
crazing	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Fine cracking of glass, usually from heat of fire.
fire diagram	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A near scale depiction of the scene based on measurements and data.
time delay device	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A device employed to allow a firesetter the opportunity to leave the scene prior to the ignition of the fire.
vent	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The release of enclosed smoke and heat from a structure by creating openings in it, as by hacking a hole in the roof, to allow free passage of air.
fragile fire cause objects	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Objects that are easily susceptible to damage from head and flame and can be easily damaged or destroyed by suppression action and/or during the evidence collection process. E.g., cigarette ash.
oxidation	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Process during which oxygen combines with another substance.
level of certainty	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Describes how strongly a fire investigator holds an opinion or conclusion, includes two levels, Possible and Probable.
fire pattern indicator, cupping	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A concave or cup-shaped char pattern found on the side of fuels exposed to the oncoming fire including small stumps (generally 10 inch diameter and less are more reliable), grass stem ends and terminal ends of brush and tree limbs (generally less than 1/2 inch diameter) that indicate the direction of fire progression at that point. One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
flammable	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Easily ignitable and capable of burning and producing flames.
double arsonist	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	An offender who sets two fires at one site, at the same time, in a single event.
pithy stalk	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A vascular plant that has a usually continuous central internal stand of spongy tissue in the stem.
fire behavior context	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The fuels, weather and topographical conditions of a specific fire scene or area of the fire scene at the time of fire passage.
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.
fire pattern indicator, staining	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Objects displaying more stain deposits on the exposed surface of the object than on the protected surface of the object indicating the direction of fire progression at that location. One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
Estimated Position Error	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A measurement of horizontal position error for a GPS unit expressed in feet or meters.
arrest	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The taking or keeping of a person in custody by legal authority, especially in response to a criminal charge.
Model Fireworks Law	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Model legislation recommended by the Fire Marshals' Association of North America and adopted by many states, regulating display of fireworks.
forcible entry	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Entering a structure of vehicle illegally by means or physical force, often characterized by prying doors and breaking windows.
land occupancy fire	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Fire started as a result of land occupancy for agricultural purposes, industrial establishment, construction, maintenance and use of rights-of-way, and residences, except equipment use and smoking.
compare and contrast (investigation)	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	An investigative technique that involves comparing same sized indicators within an indicator category at separate locations; looking for either differences or similarities in appearance.
fire pattern indicator, protection	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A combustible or non-combustible object that displays differential damage or deposits on opposing sides due to the passage of the fire and indicates the direction of fire progression at that location.  One of the 11 NWCG categories of fire pattern indicators.
pyrotechnic	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A mixture of chemicals designed to produce heat, light, gas, smoke or noise.
fire risk (potential)	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A number related to the potential number of firebrands to which a given area will be exposed during the rating day.
fire investigation	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The process of determining the ignition source, materials first ignited, ignition factors, and party responsible for a fire.
arson task force	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Group of individuals convened to analyze, investigate and solve arson problems in a particular region.
exposed side	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The side of an object facing the oncoming fire.
systematic methodology	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The systematic application of methods, procedures, and techniques common to the field of wildand fire investigation as regularly applied to solve the problems of the investigation within each specifc scene's conditions and needs.
spalling	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Chipping or pitting of concrete, masonry, or stone surfaces.
ignition factor	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The individual factors which make up the ignition sequence; competent ignition source; the type and form of first fuel ignited; oxidant, plus the circumstances, actions, or natural events that allowed the factors to come together.
fire progression	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The spread of the fire from one location to another.
qualification sheet	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A written resume of an expert witness used to show that expert's sufficient special expertise in the field.
possible	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A level of certainty that is feasible but does not rise to the level of probable.
Napalm	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	An incendiary mixture with a jelling agent used in flamethrowers and bombs.
burning	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Decomposition of material by the application of heat and oxidation. Also applied to propellants and other pyrotechnic mixtures, though the proper term there is "reacting". Also often an element of the crime of arson.
perpendicular lane technique	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A search technique dividing the specific origin area into lanes that are perpendicular to the advancing fire progression for the purpose of a systematic examination.
structure (constructive)	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A constructed object, usually a free-standing building above ground.
competent ignition source	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Any item which can produce sufficient heat over a sufficient duration of time capable of bringing forest fuels to their ignition temperature and sustain open flame combustion.
incendiary fire	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A fire that is intentionally ignited in an area or under circumstances where and when there should not be a fire.
parallel lane technique	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A search technique dividing the specific origin area into lanes that are parallel to the advancing fire progression for the purpose of a systematic examination.
probable	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	A level of certainty corresponding to being more likely true than not.

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National Wildfire Coordinating Group

PMS 205

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview