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NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

Term Steward Status Definition
source IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved A point, line, or area, at which mass or energy is added to a system, either instantaneously or continuously. Examples of sources in the context of air pollution are as follows: a smoke stack is a point source; a freeway is a line source; field or slash burning are area sources.
source (documentation) Approved Supporting documentation on process used to map or collect data.
source agency Approved Land management agency with responsibility for creating and administering the data.
source depth (water) Approved Depth in feet of the water source.
source gallon capacity (water source) Approved Capacity in gallons of the water source.
source hyperlink (mapping) GISC Geospatial Information Subcommittee A link to documentation about the mapping effort
spalling FISC Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved Chipping or pitting of concrete, masonry, or stone surfaces.
span AMC Aviation Management Committee Approved Distance equal to the wingspread of the airtanker being used; used for corrections right or left of the flight path.
span of control QMC Qualifications Management Committee, NISC NIMS Integration Subcommittee Approved The number of subordinates for which a supervisor is responsible, usually expressed as the ratio of supervisors to individuals. The optimum ratio is five-to-one.
spanner ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Metal wrench used to tighten and free hose connections.
spark arrester ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved A device installed in a chimney, flue, or exhaust pipe to stop the emission of sparks and burning fragments.
Special Interest Group (SIG) FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved In WIMS, a group of weather stations.
special land designator IRSC Incident Reporting Subcommittee Approved Officially designated special land types within the fire perimeter.
Special Visual Flight Rules (VFR) AMC Aviation Management Committee Approved Aircraft operating in accordance with clearances within control zones in weather conditions less than the basic Visual Flight Rules weather minima.
specific fire behavior FASC Fire Analysis Subcommittee Approved A more specific category of fire behavior describing the general fire behavior.
specific heat IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved The heat required to raise a unit mass of a substance one degree kelvin. It is the heat capacity of a system per unit mass; i.e., the ratio of the heat absorbed (or released) to the corresponding temperature rise (or fall).
Specific Origin Area (SOA) FISC Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved The smaller area within the general origin area where the fire's direction of spread was first influenced by fuel, weather, and/or topography.
speed of attack IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Archived Elapsed time from origin of fire to arrival of the first suppression force.
spike-out IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved Standby crew in an area of expected high fire occurrence, generally on a day of critical fire weather.
split drop ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Retardant drop made from one compartment at a time from an airtanker with a multi-compartment tank.
split flow IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved A divergent wind field. Storms moving into a split field tend to lose strength. Winds are generally light in such a flow field.
spontaneous combustion FISC Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved Combustion of a thermally isolated material initiated by an internal chemical or biological reaction producing enough heat to cause ignition.
spot burning FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved A modified form of broadcast slash burning in which the greater accumulations of slash are fired and the fire is confined to these spots.
spot change FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved The second continuous day of an incident, a regular government employee's normal daily tour of duty is 'spot changed' to where the first 8, 9, or 10 hours worked are base hours.
spot fire FASC Fire Analysis Subcommittee Approved Fire ignited outside the perimeter of the main fire by a firebrand.
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