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NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

Term Steward Status Definition
time delay device FISC Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved A device employed to allow a firesetter the opportunity to leave the scene prior to the ignition of the fire.
time in service AMC Aviation Management Committee Approved With respect to maintenance time records, the time from the moment an aircraft leaves the surface of the earth until it touches at the next point of landing.
time point IMC Integration Management Committee, DISC Data Integration Subcommittee Approved A point in time during a 24-hour Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) day.
time recording FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved Recording all time presented by others. Personnel time recorders record time from the Crew Time Report, SF-261, to the Incident Time Report, OF-288. Equipment time recorders record time from the Emergency Equipment Shift Ticket, OF-297, to the Emergency Equipment Use Invoice, OF-286.
Time Unit FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved Functional unit within the Finance/Administration Section responsible for recording personnel time and managing the commissary.
time-temperature curve IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Graph showing the increase in temperature at a specified point in a fire as a function of time, beginning with ignition and ending with burnout.
timekeeping FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved Tracking on-shift time of incident resources. Timekeeping is accomplished on the Crew Time Report, SF-261, or the Emergency Equipment Shift Ticket, OF-297.
Timelag (TL) FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved Time needed under specified conditions for a fuel particle to lose about 63 percent of the difference between its initial moisture content and its equilibrium moisture content. If conditions remain unchanged, a fuel will reach 95 percent of its equilibrium moisture content after 4 timelag periods. 
timelag fuel moisture content FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved The dead fuel moisture content corresponding to the various timelag fuel classes.
tinder FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved Burnable organic material (duff, peat, rotten wood, etc.) with a high surface to volume ratio.
tips ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Nozzle tips used to change orifice size of a hose stream.
topographic map PMC Fire Planning Management Committee, QMC Qualifications Management Committee, QSSC Qualifications Systems Subcommittee, LMC Logistic and Equipment Management Committee Approved A map that shows the positions of features, and also represents their vertical position in a measurable form.
torch (envelopment) ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Ignition and subsequent envelopment in flames, usually from bottom to top, of a tree or small group of trees.
torch (professional) ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved A professional firesetter-for-hire.
torch (set fire) ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved To set fire to property deliberately and maliciously.
torching FASC Fire Analysis Subcommittee Approved The burning of the foliage of a single tree or a small group of trees, from the bottom up.
total fuel FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved All plant material both living and dead that can burn in a worst case situation.
total mobility IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved The capability to move, position, and utilize established forces to meet existing and anticipated fire protection needs nationwide.
total risk FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved Sum of lightning and human-caused risk values.
Total Suspended Particulate Matter (TSP) FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved Particles emitted from a pollution source regardless of size. Federal and state ambient and emission standards exist for TSP.
touchdown pad RWSC Rotor Wing Subcommittee Approved That portion of a heliport or helispot where the helicopter lands.
tour-of-duty FBC Finance/Business Management Committee Approved The hours of a day (a daily tour-of-duty) and the days of an administrative workweek (a weekly tour-of-duty) that constitutes an employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek.
township PMC Fire Planning Management Committee, QMC Qualifications Management Committee, QSSC Qualifications Systems Subcommittee, LMC Logistic and Equipment Management Committee Approved An area of land divided by township lines and range lines which is approximately 36 miles square. Each township is divided into 36 parts, each approximately one mile square, called sections. Township lines, which are 6 miles apart, run east and west parallel to the Base Line (and also parallel to lines of latitude).
toxic SRC Safety/Risk Management Committee Approved Relating to a harmful effect by a poisonous substance on the human body by physical contact, ingestion, or inhalation.
toxic substance SRC Safety/Risk Management Committee Approved A chemical or mixture that may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.
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