NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Water storage tank for fire protection and sometimes community water service that supplies water by gravity pressure.

A supply of fire tools and equipment assembled in planned quantities or standard units at a strategic point for exclusive use in fire suppression.

A portable sprayer with hand-pump, fed from a liquid filled container fitted with straps, used mainly in fire and pest control.

An additive that reduces the surface tension of water (producing wet water) causing it to spread and penetrate more effectively and which produces foam through mechanical means.

A term used to describe the consistency and viscosity of low expansion foam as the combination of drain time and expansion.

Apparatus used to detect heat.

Flashlight, ordinarily worn by firefighter on the front of the helmet.

A substance or material which has been determined by the Secretary of Transportation to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce and which has been so designated.

This is a straight (nontapered) thread standard with the same threads per inch as the appropriate size iron pipe thread. It requires a gasket to seal and is the thread standard used by most U.S. industry.

Centrifugal pump with a single impeller.

An accessory used between the helicopter cargo hook and sling load to allow free turning of the load.

Fire retardants mixed with water and stored in tanks at air attack bases for immediate use by airtankers.

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

The concentrated foaming agent as received from the manufacturer which, when added to water, creates a foam solution; use only those approved for use in wildland fire situations by the authority having jurisdiction.

Refers to dry chemical retardants stored at air attack bases and available for mixing with water.

The foam production process of forcing air into or entraining air in foam solution, creating a mass of bubbles.

Gross vehicle weight (GVW) in excess of the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) specified by the chassis manufacturer. Also an excess of weight over the gross vehicle axle weight rating (GAWR) specified by the chassis manufacture.

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.

Any motorized vehicle designed for or capable of cross-country travel on or immediately over land, water, sand, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, or other terrain.

Long-handled combination rake and cutting tool, the blade of which is constructed of a single row of three or four sharpened teeth.

A sighting device used by lookouts to determine the horizontal bearing and sometimes the vertical angle of a fire from a lookout.

A rubber tired or tracked rider-controlled automotive vehicle, used in wildland fire management for pulling a disk or a plow to construct fireline by exposing mineral soil.

A steel tracked vehicle with or without a front mounted blade equipped with a plow for exposing mineral soil. Sometimes a tractor plow with a front mounted blade is referred to as a dozer plow.

Two attached straight stream nozzle tips of different orifice size used to increase or restrict water flow.

Fire hose with a smooth inner coating of rubber or plastic to reduce friction loss.

A control mechanism that allows a regulated quantity of foam concentrate to be introduced into the main hose line.

Hose commonly of cotton, linen, or synthetic fiber construction without rubber tube or lining, often used for wildfires because of its light weight and self protecting (weeping) characteristics; such hose is attached to first-aid standpipes in buildings. At a specified flow, friction loss in unlined hose of a stated diameter is about twice that of lined fire hose. 

A pre-determined complement of tools, equipment and/or supplies stored in a designated location, available for incident use.

Creating a seal with foam which prevents a release of flammable vapors from fuels.

The effective life span of foam bubbles.

Chemical that, when applied to a living plant, causes or accelerates drying of its aerial parts; used to facilitate burning of living vegetation by substantially lowering fuel moisture content within a few hours.

In hydraulics, the pressure loss caused by raising water through hose or pipe to a higher elevation (roughly equal to one psi for every two-foot increase in elevation above the pump) (11.3 kPa per meter).

Any steel tracked vehicle equipped with a front mounted blade used for exposing mineral soil.

A turret-type nozzle usually mounted on an engine.

A tank, usually collapsible, used as a reservoir in the relay of water from one fire pump to another.

Water with added chemicals, called wetting agents, that increase water's spreading and penetrating properties due to a reduction in surface tension.

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

Nozzle tips used to change orifice size of a hose stream.

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

A tube, constructed with deflectors or baffles, that mixes foam solution and air to produce tiny, uniform bubbles in a short distance (1 to 2 ft).

Hand tool with a narrow hoeing surface at one end of the blade and a pick or cutting blade at the other end; used for digging and grubbing.

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.

Approved protection suit worn for smokejumping.

Procedure by which the flow from two fire pumps is combined into one hose line.

Noncollapsible suction hose attached to a pump and used to draft water from a source lower than the pump. Customary hose sizes in wildland fire engines are 2 and 2-1/2 inches in diameter (51 and 64 mm).

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).

A hose connection with two outlets permitting two connections of the same coupling diameter to be taken from a single supply line.

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.

A device installed in a chimney, flue, or exhaust pipe to stop the emission of sparks and burning fragments.

Any agent which retards a chemical reaction.