NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

A map having lines of equal elevation that represent the land surface (Topographic).

Any written agreement giving one party a right, a service, or a commodity in exchange for a right, a service, or a commodity. Contracts include land use permits, purchase orders, equipment rental agreements, leases, etc.

The name of the company who, through a contract, provides resources to support incident management activities.

Agency personnel with specific delegation of procurement authority.

An individual designated by the Contracting Officer to provide technical support for the contract within specific authority and limitations as specified in the delegation. The COTR/COR must be agency certified.

Private sector personnel, vendor or business contracted to provide goods and services to a government agency.

Personnel and equipment used to control a fire.

An inclusive term for all constructed or natural barriers and treated fire edges used to control a fire.

The time a fire is declared controlled.

The completion of control line around a fire, any spot fires therefrom, and any interior islands to be saved; burned out any unburned area adjacent to the fire side of the control lines; and cool down all hotspots that are immediate threats to the control line, until the lines can reasonably be expected to hold under the foreseeable conditions. 

Airspace of defined dimensions within which air traffic control service is provided to IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) and VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flights in accordance with the airspace classification.

Shut-off nozzle that permits the nozzle operator to open or close the nozzle or adjust the pattern of the stream.

The transfer of heat by the movement of a gas or liquid; convection, conduction, and radiation are the principal means of energy transfer.

As specialized in meteorology, atmospheric motions that are predominantly vertical in the absence of wind (which distinguishes this process from advection), resulting in vertical transport and mixing of atmospheric properties.

The rising column of gases, smoke, fly ash, particulates, and other debris produced by a fire. The column has a strong vertical component indicating that buoyant forces override the ambient surface wind.

General term for manifestations of convection in the atmosphere, alluding particularly to the development of convective clouds and resulting weather phenomena, such as showers, thunderstorms, squalls, hail, tornadoes, etc.

The phase of a fire when most of the emissions are entrained into a definite convection column.

The term for horizontal air currents merging together or approaching a single point, such as at the center of a low pressure area producing a net inflow of air. When this occurs in the lower atmosphere, the excess air is removed by rising air currents. Expansion of the rising air above a convergence zone results in cooling, which in turn often gives condensation (clouds) and sometimes precipitation. 

In fire weather, that area where two winds come together from opposite directions and are forced upwards often creating clouds and precipitation.

The area of increased flame height and fire intensity produced when two or more fire fronts burn together.

Burning an area where brush has excluded forest reproduction to prepare the area for tree planting.

An agency supplying assistance other than direct operational or support functions or resources to the incident management effort. (e.g. Red Cross, law enforcement agency, telephone company, etc).

A federal, tribal, state, or local agency that participates with another agency(s) in planning and conducting fire or emergency management projects and activities.

The intersection of lines of reference, usually expressed in degrees/minutes/seconds of latitude and longitude, used to determine or report position or location.

The process of systematically analyzing a situation, developing relevant information, and informing appropriate command authority of viable alternatives for selection of the most effective combination of available resources to meet specific objectives. The coordination process (which can be either intra- or interagency) does not involve dispatch actions. However, personnel responsible for coordination may perform command or dispatch functions within limits established by specific agency delegations, procedures, legal authority, etc. 

Term used to describe any facility that is used for the coordination of agency or jurisdictional resources in support of one or more incidents.

An apparent force due to the rotation of the earth that causes a deflection of air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This force maximizes at the poles and is essentially zero at the equator.

Result of chemical reaction between a metal and its environment (i.e., air, water, and impurities in same).

The dollar amount associated with an incident.

Agreements that document the financial responsibility for incident resource costs, possibly identifying requirements of other party payments.

Cost Unit staff track costs, analyze cost data, make estimates, and recommend cost-saving measures. They ensure that equipment and personnel for which payment is expected are properly identified, obtain and record cost data, and analyze and prepare estimates of incident costs. Cost Unit staff provide cost estimates for resource use to Planning Section staff. The Cost Unit staff maintain information on the actual costs of all assigned resources.

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

Emergency firing to stop, delay, or split a fire front, or to steer a fire.

Fire set between main fire and backfire to hasten spread of backfire.

A nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory.

Political subdivisions that fall within a country

Device that connects the ends of adjacent hoses or other components of hose.

In aviation, the intended direction of horizontal flight.

The area on the ground covered by the combined aerial parts of plants expressed as a percent of the total area.

The designation of a vegetation complex described by dominant species, age, and form.

Recommended amount of aerially applied retardant keyed to the NFDRS fuel models and/or fire behavior models. Coverage level 2 represents 2 gallons of retardant per hundred square feet. Levels range from 1 to 6 for most fuel models. A coverage level of greater than 6 is for heavy fuels. The levels can be adjusted for fire behavior. 

A progressive line construction duty involving self-sufficient crews which build fire line until the end of the operational period, remain at or near the point while off duty, and begin building fireline the next operational period where they left off.

Fine cracking of glass, usually from heat of fire.

Date the feature was created.

Name of the person creating the feature.

Date and time the event record was created

Fire burning with a low flame and spreading slowly.

An organized group of firefighters under the leadership of a crew boss or other designated official.