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NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

Term Steward Status Definition
forest protection IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Archived Forestry branch concerned with prevention and damage control to forests from human actions (unauthorized fire, grazing, felling, smoke), pests and pathogens, and damage from storm, frost, and other climatic agents.
forest residue FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved Accumulation in the forest of living or dead (mostly woody) material that is added to and rearranged by human activities such as harvest, cultural operations, and land clearing.
Forest Service assisted indicator FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved Indicates if the Forest Service provided assistance on an incident outside their jurisdiction.
Forest Service job code FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved A code used to indicate the Forest Service job accounting code for the incident. This is specific to the Forest Service and is usually displayed as two-character prefix on the FireCode.
Forest Service override code FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved A code used to indicate the Forest Service override code for the incident. This is specific to the Forest Service, and is usually displayed as a four-character suffix on FireCode.
Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) AMC Aviation Management Committee Approved Hand held or aircraft mounted device designed to detect heat differentials and display their images on a video screen. FLIRs have thermal resolution similar to IR line scanners, but their spatial resolution is substantially less; commonly used to detect hotspots and flareups obscured by smoke, evaluate the effectiveness of firing operations, or detect areas needing mopup. 
forward rate of spread IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved The speed with which a fire moves in a horizontal direction across the landscape, usually expressed in chains per hour or feet per minute.
fragile fire cause objects FISC 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.
free burning FASC Fire Analysis Subcommittee Approved The condition of a fire or part of a fire that has not been slowed by natural barriers or by control measures.
free drop AMC Aviation Management Committee Approved Cargo, not attached to a parachute, that is dropped intentionally from an aircraft in flight.
free flow (hydraulics) ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Maximum water flow rate a fire pump will attain when there are no restrictions at the pump outlet or losses due to friction or head.
freezing rain IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Rain that freezes upon contact with objects on the ground.
frequency identifier Approved Code used to ease identification of a zone.
frequency of occurrence IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Archived A quantitative expression of the presence or absence of individuals of a species in a population; the ratio between the number of sample units that contain a species and the total number of sample units.
frequency use designator RSUSC Wildland Fire Radio Standards and Use Committee Approved A designation of the kind of communications that will occur on an assigned radio frequency.
friction layer IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved The layer of the atmosphere in which the frictional force of the earth's surface exercises an appreciable influence on winds.
friction loss ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Pressure loss caused by the movement of water or solution against the interior surface of fire hose, pipe, or fittings; normally measured in pressure loss per length of hose or pipe.
friction loss (hose) MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved The result of turbulence within the water (fluids) and the resistance along the inside wall of fire hose or pipe.
Friction Reducing Agent (FRA) ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Water soluble substance that reduces frictional drag of solutions and dampens turbulent flow while being pumped through pipe or hose.
front IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved In meteorology, the boundary between two air masses of differing atmospheric properties.
frost IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Crystals of ice formed and deposited like dew, but at a temperature below freezing.
frozen FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved In the 1978 version of NFDRS, the herbaceous stage when cold temperatures kill herbaceous plants and force woody fuels into dormancy.
fuel FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved Any combustible material, especially petroleum-based products and wildland fuels.
fuel arrangement FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved A general term referring to the spatial distribution and orientation of fuel particles or pieces.
fuel bed FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved An array of fuels usually constructed with specific loading, depth, and particle size to meet experimental requirements; also, commonly used to describe the fuel composition.
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