Adaptor A fitting used to couple different sized hoses, hoses

of the same size with different threads, or different

types of couplings.

Adsorption The taking in of water vapour from the air by dead

plant material.

Advance Burn A prescribed fire that reduces fuel through a forest

area before felling operations. It is intended to

improve the safety of timber harvesting operations

and as a silvicultural tool to protect lignotubers and

standing trees.

Aerial Detection The discovering, locating and reporting of fires from

aircraft.

Aerial Fuels The standing and supporting combustibles not in

direct contact with the ground and consisting mainly

of foliage, twigs, branches, stems, bark and

creepers.

Aerial Ignition The igniting of fine fuels for prescribed purposes by

dropping incendiary devices or materials from

aircraft.

Aerial Observer A person specifically assigned to discover, locate,

and report fires from an aircraft, and to observe and

describe conditions at a fire scene.

The use of aircraft for observing fire behaviour, the

threat to values, control activity, and other critical

factors to facilitate command decisions on

strategies needed for suppression.

An individual allocated to an incident from an

assisting agency who has been delegated full

authority to make decisions on all matters affecting

that agency’s participation at the incident.

Air Attack The direct use of aircraft in the suppression of

wildfire.

Allocated Resources Resources working at an incident.

Anchor Point An advantageous location from which a fireline can

be constructed. It is used to minimise the possibility

of being outflanked by a fire while the line is being

constructed.

Anemometer A meteorological instrument used to measure wind

speed.

Anti Cyclone (High) An area of relatively high atmospheric pressure. In

the southern hemisphere, pressure gradients and

the earth’s rotation will cause air to move in an anticlockwise

direction around the anti-cyclone.

Aspect The direction towards which a slope faces.

Assembly Area An area where resources are organised and

prepared for deployment. It includes the provision

of welfare and equipment maintenance facilities.

Assisting Agency An agency directly contributing suppression,

support or service resources to another agency.

The degree to which the atmosphere resists

turbulence and vertical motion.

Automatic Dispatch See Pre Planned Dispatch.

Available Fuel The portion of the total fuel that would actually burn

under various specified conditions.

Available Resources The resources at an incident and available for

allocation at short notice.

Back See Rear.

Backburning A fire started intentionally along the inner edge of a

fireline to consume the fuel in the path of a wildfire.

Backing Fire The part of a fire which is burning back against the

wind, where the flame height and rate of spread is

minimal.

Barometer A meteorological instrument used to measure

atmospheric air pressure. Expressed in

hectopascals.

Beaufort Wind Scale A system of estimating and reporting wind speeds

that originated in the nineteenth century for marine

applications. In its present form for international

meteorological use it equates:

· Beaufort force (or Beaufort number)

· wind speed

· descriptive term

· visible effects upon land objects or sea surface.

Blacking Out See Mopping Up.

Blow Up A sudden increase in fire intensity and rate of

spread, sufficient to preclude immediate control, or

to upset existing suppression plans. It is often

accompanied by powerful convection.

Bole Damage The damage to the trunk of a living tree by fire,

mechanical equipment or disease.

Branch An attachment fitted to the end of a hose to speed

up the water to form an effective jet or spray pattern.

Breakaway The points at which a fire, after it has been

contained, escapes into unburnt areas across a

fireline or fire edge.

Brigade A unit of personnel including officers, crews and sub

brigades.

Broadcast Burning See Prescribed Burning.

Buffer A strip or block of land on which the fuels are

reduced to provide protection to surrounding lands.

Bulk Water Carrier A large tanker used for replenishing water to

firefighting tankers.

Burn Plan The plan which is approved for the conduct of

prescribed burning. It contains a map identifying

the area to be burnt and incorporates the

specifications and conditions under which the

operation is to be conducted.

Burning Out Intentionally lit fires to consume islands of unburnt

fuel inside the fire perimeter.

Burning Program All the prescribed burns scheduled for a designated

area over a nominated period of time.

Burning Rotation The period between reburning of a prescribed area

for management purposes.

Burning Unit A specified land area for which prescribed burning

is planned.

Bush A general term for forest or woodland, but normally

used to describe indigenous forest.

Bush Fire A general term used to describe a fire in vegetation.

A numerical value reflecting the dryness of soils,

deep forest litter, logs and living vegetation, and

expressed as a scale from 0 - 200.

Campaign Fire A fire normally of a size and/or complexity that

requires substantial firefighting resources, and

possibly several days or weeks to suppress.

Candle A tree (or small clump of trees) is said to candle

when its foliage ignites and flares up, usually from

the bottom to top.

Candle Bark Long streamers of bark that have peeled from some

eucalypt species, that form fire brands conducive to

very long distance spotting.

The foliage cover from the crowns of the trees in a

forest. It is usually expressed as a percentage on

the area of ground covered.

Central Ignition A method of prescribed burning in which fires are

set in the centre of an area to create a strong

convective column. Additional fires are then set

progressively closer to the outer control lines

causing indraft winds to build up. This has the

effect of drawing the fires towards the centre.

Class A Foam See Foam.

Cloud Cover The amount of sky covered or obscured by cloud,

expressed in eighths. Eight eighths is complete

cloud cover.

Coarse Fuels Dead woody material, greater than 25mm in

diameter, in contact with the soil surface (fallen

trees and branches).

The agency, service, organisation or authority with

the legislative authority for the control of the

incident.

Combustion Consumption of fuels by oxidation, giving out heat,

and generally flame and/or incandescence.

Command The direction of members and resources of an

agency in the performance of the agency’s role and

tasks. Authority to command is established in

legislation or by agreement within an agency.

Command relates to agencies and operates

vertically within an agency.

Compartment The basic administrative unit of a forest.

Contained A fire is contained when its spread has been halted,

but it may still be burning freely within the perimeter

or fire control lines.

Control The overall direction of response activities in an

emergency situation. Authority for control is

established in legislation or in an emergency

response plan, and carries with it the responsibility

for tasking and coordinating other agencies in

accordance with the needs of the situation. Control

relates to situations and operates horizontally

across agencies.

Control Line See Fireline.

Controlled The time at which the complete perimeter of a fire is

secured and no breakaway is expected.

Controlled Burning See Prescribed Burning.

Convection Column The rising column of smoke, ash, burning embers

and other matter generated by a fire.

Coordination The bringing together of agencies and elements to

ensure effective response to an incident or

emergency. It is primarily concerned with the

systematic acquisition and application of resources

(agency, manpower, and equipment) in accordance

with the requirements imposed by the emergency or

emergencies. Coordination relates primarily to

resources and operates:

· vertically, within an agency, as a function of the

authority to command;

· horizontally, across agencies, as a function of the

authority to control.

Coupe A defined forest area in which timber harvesting

takes place.

Crew The basic unit of a wildfire suppression force. It

normally consists of five to ten personnel.

Crown Fire A fire burning in the crowns of trees and usually

supported by fire in ground fuels. It is a fast

travelling fire that usually consumes all available

fuels in its path.

Crown Scorch Browning of the needles or leaves in the crown of a

tree or shrub caused by heat from a fire.

Dead Fuels Fuels having no living tissue. The moisture content

is governed almost entirely by atmospheric moisture

(relative humidity and precipitation), air

temperature, and solar radiation.

Desorption The loss of moisture to the atmosphere from dead

plant material.

Detection The discovery of a fire. Individuals, fire towers,

reconnaissance aircraft and automatic devices may

be used, either alone or in combination.

Dew The moisture which collects in small droplets on the

surface of substances and vegetation by

atmospheric condensation, chiefly at night.

Die Back The progressive dying, from the top downward, of

twigs, branches or tree crowns.

Direct Attack A method of fire attack where wet or dry firefighting

techniques are used. It involves suppression action

right on the fire edge which then becomes the

fireline.

Dispatch The act of ordering attack crews and/or support

units to respond to a fire, or from one place to

another.

Division A portion of the fire perimeter comprising of two or

more sectors. The number of sectors grouped in a

Division should be such as to ensure effective

direction and control of operations. Divisions are

generally identified by a local geographic name.

Dozer A crawler tractor fitted with a blade which can be

transported to a fire on a tray truck or trailer.

Drip Torch A canister of flammable fuel fitted with a wand, a

burner head and a fuel flow control device. It is

used for lighting fires for prescribed burning and

backburning.

Drought Index A numerical value, such as the Byram-Keetch

Drought Index, reflecting the dryness of soils, deep

forest litter, logs and living vegetation.

Dry Firefighting The suppression of a fire without the use of water.

This is normally achieved by removing the fuel by

the use of hand tools or machinery.

Duff The mat of undecomposed or partly decomposed

vegetation matter on the forest floor, the original

vegetative structures still being recognisable.

Ecosystem The interacting system of a biological community,

both plant and animal, and its non living

surroundings.

Edge Burning A term used to describe perimeter burning of an

area in mild conditions prior to large scale

prescribed burning. This practice is used to

strengthen buffers and to reduce mop-up

operations.

Elevated Dead Fuel Dead fuel forming part of, or being suspended in,

the shrub layer.

A facility where the coordination of the response

and support to the incident is provided.

A level of wildfire behaviour characteristics that

ordinarily precludes methods of direct suppression

action. One or more of the following is usually

involved:

· high rates of spread

· prolific crowning and/or spotting

· presence of fire whirls

· a strong convective column

Predicability is difficult because such fires often

exercise some degree of influence on their

environment and behave erratically, sometimes

dangerously.

Extreme Fire Danger The highest fire danger classification.

Any fire control line which is at a distance from the

fire perimeter, and is the second control line at

which the fire perimeter may be stopped should it

cross the first fire control line.

Field Control Point A selected location at or near a fire which provides

coordination, control and communication for the

sectors at the fireground.

Fine Fuel Grass, leaves, bark and twigs less than 6mm in

diameter.

Fingers Long and narrow slivers of fire which extend beyond

the head or flanks.

Fire The chemical reaction between fuel, oxygen and

heat. Heat is necessary to start the reaction and

once ignited, fire produces its own heat and

becomes self-supporting.

Fire Access Track A track constructed and/or maintained expressly for

fire management purposes.

Fire Behaviour The manner in which a fire reacts to the variables of

fuel, weather and topography.

Fire Bombing A technique of suppressing a wildfire by dropping

water, foam or retardants on it from an aircraft.

Fire Brand A piece of burning material, commonly bark from

eucalypts.

Fire Break Any natural or constructed discontinuity in a fuel

bed used to segregate, stop, and control the spread

of a wildfire, or to provide a fireline from which to

suppress a fire.

Fire Control See Fire Suppression.

Fire Control Line See Fireline.

Fire Crew A general term for two or more firefighters organised

to work as a unit.

Fire Danger The combination of all factors which determine

whether fires start, spread and do damage, and

whether and to what extent they can be controlled.

A relative number denoting an evaluation of rate of

spread, or suppression difficulty for specific

combinations of fuel, fuel moisture and wind speed.

Fire Edge Any part of the boundary of a fire at a given time.

NOTE: The entire boundary is termed the "fire

perimeter".

Fire Effects The physical, biological and ecological impact of fire

on the environment.

Fire Hazard Any fuel which if ignited, may be difficult to

extinguish.

An area where the combination of vegetation,

topography, weather, and the threat of fire to life

and property create difficult and dangerous

problems.

Fire Intensity See Fireline Intensity.

Fire Management All activities associated with the management of

fire-prone land, including the use of fire to meet land

management goals and objectives.

Fire Perimeter The entire outer boundary of a fire area.

Fire Prevention All activities associated with minimising the

incidence of wildfire, particularly those of human

origin.

Fire Progress Map A map providing information on a fire, detailing the

location of its perimeter, deployment of suppression

forces, and the progress of suppression activities.

Fire Protection All activities designed to protect an area (including

human life, property, assets and values) from

damage by fire.

Fire Regime The history of fire use in a particular vegetation type

or area including the frequency, intensity and

season of burning. It may also include proposals for

the use of fire in a given area.

Fire Report See Report of Fire

NOTE: Not to be confused with a written report

completed after the fire for administrative purposes.

Fire Retardant A chemical generally mixed with water, designed to

retard combustion. It is applied as a slurry from the

ground or the air.

Fire Risk Processes, occurrences or actions that increase the

likelihood of fires occurring.

Fire Run A rapid advance of a fire front. It is characterised by

a marked transition in intensity and rate of spread.

Fire Scar 1) A healing or healed-over injury caused or

aggravated by fire on a woody plant.

2) A destructive mark left on a landscape by fire.

Fire Season The period (s) of the year during which fires are

likely to occur, spread and do sufficient damage to

warrant organised fire control.

Fire Storm Violent convection caused by a large continuous

area of intense fire; often characterised by

destructively violent surface indrafts, a towering

convection column, long distance spotting, and

sometimes by tornado-like whirlwinds

The management structure, usually shown in the

form of an organisation chart, of the personnel

collectively assigned to the suppression of a fire.

See Incident Action Plan.

Fire Threat The impact a fire will have on a community.

Fire Trap Any location or situation in which it is highly

dangerous to implement fire suppression activities.

Fire Whirl A spinning column of ascending hot air and gases

rising from a fire and carrying aloft smoke, debris,

and flame. Fire whirls range in size from less than a

metre in diameter to small tornados in intensity.

Fire Wind The inflow of air at the fire source caused by the

action of convection. It is not to be confused with a

prevailing wind.

Fireline A natural or constructed barrier, or treated fire edge,

used in fire suppression and prescribed burning to

limit the spread of fire.

Fireline Intensity The rate of energy release per unit length of fire

front.

Fireline Sector A defined section of the fireline being constructed

and/or used to contain or control a wildfire, or being

constructed as a backup to other lines being used to

control a wildfire.

Flame Angle The angle of the flame in relation to the ground,

caused by wind direction or the effect of a slope.

Flame Height The vertical distance between the tip of the flame

and ground level, excluding higher flame flashes.

Flammability The ease with which a substance is set on fire.

Flank Attack Obtaining control of a fire by attacking its side/s

(flank).

Those parts of a fire’s perimeter that are roughly

parallel to the main direction of spread.

Flareup Any sudden acceleration of fire spread, or

intensification of fire, or a part of the fire. A flare up

is of relatively short duration and does not radically

change existing control plans.

Flash Fire A fast moving fire consuming most of the fine fuels

available.

Foam (Class A) A chemical concentrate added to water that

combines foaming and wetting agents specifically

formulated for extinguishing wildfires. The foam is

biodegradable, non toxic and is used at very low

concentrates.

Forest An area of land thickly covered with an ecosystem

of trees and bushes.

Forest Fire A fire burning mainly in forest and/or woodland.

Forest Type An description of the predominant tree species in a

forest.

An area used as a location for administration and

command by operations personnel combating a fire.

Front See Head.

Front End Loader Earthmoving equipment designed to move loose

earth and/or loads into vehicles. A multi-purpose

bucket is fitted to articulated arms at the front of the

vehicle. May be either wheeled or tracked.

Fuel Any material such as grass, leaf litter and live

vegetation which can be ignited and sustains a fire.

Fuel is usually measured in tonnes per hectare.

Fuel Age The period of time lapsed since the fuel was last

burnt.

Fuel Arrangement A general term referring to the spacing and

arrangement of fuel in a given area.

Fuel Assessment The means of calculating total and available fuel

present in a given area.

Fuel Break See Fire Break.

Fuel Load The oven dry weight of fuel per unit area.

Commonly expressed as tonnes per hectare.

Fuel Management Modification of fuels by prescribed burning, or other

means.

Fuel Modification Any manipulation (including lopping, chipping,

crushing, mowing, piling, and burning) of fuels for

the purpose of reducing their flammability.

The water content of a fuel particle expressed as a

percent of the oven dry weight of the fuel particle.

(%ODW)

A term used to describe the situation where the

difference in the moisture content between fuels on

adjacent areas results in noticeably different fire

behaviour on each area.

Fuel Plan A plan showing areas of varying fuel quantities and

types and usually indicates past fire history.

Fuel Profile The vertical cross section of a fuel bed down to

mineral earth.

Fuel Quantity See Fuel Load.

Fuel Separation The action of separating fuel for the purpose of

providing a mineral earth firebreak.

Fuel Type An identifiable association of fuel elements of

distinctive species, form, size, arrangement, or

other characteristics that will cause predictable rate

of spread or difficulty of control under specified

weather conditions.

Fuel Weight The oven dry weight of fuel per unit area is usually

expressed in tonnes per hectare.

Going Fire Any fire expanding in a certain direction or

directions.

Grass Fire A fire in predominantly grass vegetation.

Grid Ignition A method of lighting prescribed fires where ignition

points are set individually at a predetermined

spacing through an area.

Ground Crew See Hand Crew.

Ground Fire A fire burning in thick layers of humus and

vegetation, found in forest or swampy ground or

peat.

Habitat The place in which an animal or plant lives.

Hand Crew A fire suppression crew, trained and equipped to

fight fire with hand tools.

Hand Line A fireline constructed with hand tools. Normally, it

is a narrow line constructed through country too

rough or environmentally sensitive for the use of

machines.

Hand Trail See Hand Line.

Hardwood A conventional term used to describe a tree, or the

timber of a tree, belonging to the botanical group of

flowering plants, such as red gum and jarrah.

Hazard See Fire Hazard.

Head See Head Fire.

Head Fire The part of a fire where the rate of spread, flame

height and intensity are greatest, usually when

burning downwind or upslope.

Heavy Fuels See Coarse Fuels.

Heavy Tanker See Tanker.

Heel See Rear.

Heel Fire See Backing Fire.

Heli Torch A machine slung underneath a helicopter that drips

ignited, gelled petroleum and is used to ignite

burns.

Hop Over See Breakaway.

Hose Bandage A means of affecting a temporary repair to a canvas

or synthetic hose.

Hose Strangler A crimping device for stopping the flow of water in a

hose.

Hot Spot A particularly active part of a fire.

Hygrometer A meteorological instrument used to measure

relative humidity.

Incident An event, accidentally or deliberately caused, which

requires a response from one or more of the

statutory emergency response agencies.

Incident Action Plan A statement of objectives and strategies to be taken

to control or suppress an incident, and approved by

the Incident Controller.

The location where the Incident Controller and,

where established, members of the Incident

Management Team provide overall direction of

response activities in an emergency situation.

A command structure to systematically and logically

manage suppression of emergency incidents

including wildfires, from small, simple incidents to

large, difficult or multiple situations. It is designed

to develop in modular fashion from the top (Incident

Controller) downwards.

Incident Controller The individual responsible for the management of

all incident operations.

The group of incident management personnel

comprising the Incident Controller, and the

personnel he or she appoints to be responsible for

the functions of Operations, Planning and Logistics.

Indirect Attack The use of backburning as a method of suppression

to confine the fire within a defined area bounded by

existing or prepared control lines. Control lines may

be a considerable distance ahead of the fire.

Induced Wind See Fire Wind.

Initial Attack The first suppression work on a fire.

Instability See Atmospheric Stability.

Inversion A layer of the atmosphere in which temperature

increases with increasing elevation. A condition of

strong atmospheric stability.

Island An unburnt area within a fire perimeter.

Junction Zone An area of greatly increased fire intensity caused by

two fire fronts (or flanks) burning towards one

another.

Knock Down The rapid application and concentration of water or

foam, intended to reduce fire intensity prior to

manual follow up action.

Ladder Fuels Fuels that provide vertical continuity between strata.

Fire is able to carry surface fuels into the crowns of

trees with relative ease.

Light Fuel An assessment of fuel quantity indicating a low

weight.

Light Patrol Unit See Tanker.

Light Tanker See Tanker.

Lighting Formation See Lighting Pattern.

Lighting Pattern The lighting pattern adopted by firelighters during

prescribed burning operations, or indirect attack.

Lightning Fire A fire caused by lightning.

Litter The top layer of the forest floor composed of loose

debris of dead sticks, branches, twigs, and recently

fallen leaves and needles, little altered in structure

by decomposition. (The litter layer of the forest

floor).

Living Fuels Fuels made up of living vegetation.

Logistics Provides facilities, services and materials in support

of the incident.

Mineral Earth A term used to describe the ideal condition of a

constructed firebreak, being completely free of any

vegetation or other combustible material.

Mopping Up Making a fire safe after it has been controlled, by

extinguishing or removing burning material along or

near the fireline, felling stags, trenching logs to

prevent rolling, and the like.

Needle Bed A fuel bed consisting mainly of pine needles.

Objective A goal statement of what is to be achieved.

Objective Strategy See Strategy.

Operations Officer The Officer responsible for directing and

supervising all work on the fire ground under the

direction of the Incident Controller.

Oven Dry Weight A technique used to measure the weight of wood or

other cellular material which has been dried in an

oven at

105° C until it ceases to lose moisture.

Parallel Attack A method of suppression in which fireline is

constructed approximately parallel to and just far

enough from the fire edge to enable firefighters and

equipment to work effectively. The line may be

shortened by cutting across unburnt fingers. The

intervening strip of unburnt fuel is normally burnt

out as the control line proceeds, but may be allowed

to burn out unassisted where this occurs without

undue delay or threat to the line.

See Parallel Attack.

Parallel Method See Parallel Attack.

Patch Burning Prescribed burning for the purpose of forming a

barrier to subsequent burning or for conservation

management.

Patrol 1) To travel over a given route to prevent, detect

and suppress a fire.

2) To go back and forth vigilantly over the length of

a control line during and/or after construction, to

prevent breakaways, to control spot fires and

extinguish overlooked hot spots.

3) A person or group of persons who carry out

patrol activities.

Perimeter See Fire Perimeter.

Plan Of Attack See Incident Action Plan.

Planned Burning See Prescribed Burning.

Pocket See Island.

The pre-planned dispatch of designated

suppression forces to fires in predetermined zones.

It is usually dependent on the location of the fire,

and the forecast fire danger.

See Rate of Spread.

Preparedness 1) The degree to which an agency is prepared to

respond to a potential fire situation.

2) A mental readiness to recognise changes in fire

danger and to act promptly when action is

appropriate.

Prescribed Burn Plan See Burn Plan.

Prescribed Burning The controlled application of fire under specified

environmental conditions to a predetermined area

and at the time, intensity, and rate of spread

required to attain planned resource management

objectives.

Prescribed Fire See Prescribed Burning.

Prescription A written statement defining the objectives to be

attained during prescribed burning. This statement

considers the condition of temperature, humidity,

wind direction and speed, fuel moisture, and soil

moisture under which the fire will be allowed to

burn. This is generally described within acceptable

ranges of the various indices, and the limit of the

geographic area to be covered.

Prevention See Fire Prevention.

See Fuel Moisture Content.

Pulsation See Flareup.

Pumper A firefighting vehicle equipped with a large capacity

pump, water tank and hose. Generally intended to

be operated when stationary, from reticulated or

static water supplies.

Quick-Fill Pump A high volume water pump used for filling tankers.

Rate Of Spread The forward progress per unit time of the head fire

or another specified part of the fire perimeter.

Reaction Time The time taken between the report of a fire or

incident, and the departure of the crew. See also

Response Time.

Readiness See Preparedness.

Rear The section of the perimeter opposite to and

generally upwind (or downslope), from the head of

the fire.

Reburn Burning of an area over which a fire has previously

passed but left fuel which can be ignited.

Reconnaissance Inspection of a fire area for the purpose of obtaining

information about current and probable fire

behaviour and fire suppression information.

The amount of water vapour in a given volume of

air, expressed as a percentage of the maximum

amount of water vapour the air can hold at that

temperature.

Relief Crew The replacement of personnel whose period of time

at the incident has concluded.

Report Of Fire The notification of the detection of a fire to the fire

service.

Resources All personnel and equipment available, or

potentially available, for incident tasks.

Response Time The time taken between the report of a fire or

incident, and arrival at the scene. It includes both

reaction time and travel time.

See Combatant Authority.

Retardant Chemicals mixed with water to inhibit combustion.

Risk See Fire Risk.

Safe The stage of fire suppression or prescribed burning

when it is considered that no further suppression

action or patrols are necessary.

Scorch Height The height above ground level up to which foliage

has been browned by a fire.

Scout A person who checks and reports on conditions in

the fire area.

Scrub Refers to vegetation such as heath, wiregrass and

shrubs, which grows either as an understorey or by

itself in the absence of a tree canopy.

Scrub Fire Fires burning in scrub.

See Fall Back Fire Control Line.

Sector A specific area of a fire which is under the control of

a Sector Commander who is supervising a number

of crews.

Seen Area The ground, or vegetation, that is directly visible

from an established or proposed lookout point, or

aerial detection flight route.

(SitRep)

Brief situation report of fire, usually given at regular

intervals.

Slash Unusual concentrations of fuel resulting from such

natural events as wind, fire, snow breakage, or from

such human activities as logging, cutting or road

construction.

Slash Burn A prescribed burn conducted to consume slash for

fire hazard reduction or silvicultural purposes.

Sleeper A fire that starts up again after appearing to have

been extinguished.

Slip On Tanker See Tanker.

Slip On Unit See Tanker.

Smoker An isolated small burning item such as a log, stump

or tree, in an area of fire otherwise mopped up.

Softwood A conventional term used to describe a tree, and

the timber of trees, belonging to the group of plants

with cones, such as pine and cypress.

Soil Dryness Index See Drought Index.

Span Of Control A concept which relates to the number of groups or

individuals controlled by one person. A ratio of 1:5

is recommended.

Spot Fire Isolated fires started ahead of the main fire by

sparks, embers or other ignited material, sometimes

to a distance of several kilometres.

Spotting The ignition of spot fires from sparks or embers.

Stag A large, old tree either dead or with significant dead

upper branches. Often hollow with an opening at

ground level. Once alight, a stag represents a major

hazard.

Staging Area A location close to the incident where personnel

and equipment are available.

Stand By The period during which personnel are to be

immediately available at home or other location for

fire suppression purposes.

Stevenson Screen A white painted timber box with louvred walls,

designed to give standardised conditions of

ventilation to weather recording instruments,

commonly thermometers.

Strategy A statement detailing how an objective is to be

achieved.

Strike Team A set number of resources of the same type that

have an established minimum number of personnel.

Strike Teams always have a leader (usually in a

separate vehicle), and have a common

communications system. Strike Teams are usually

made up of five resources of the same type, such as

· vehicles

· crews

· earth moving machinery.

Strip Burning Setting fire to a narrow strip of fuel adjacent to a

fireline and then burning successively wider

adjacent strips as the preceding strip burns out.

Strip Ignition See Strip Burning.

Stripping See Strip Burning.

Structure Fire A fire burning part, or all of any building, shelter, or

other construction.

Supporting Agency An agency, service, organisation or authority

providing assistance to the combatant authority.

Surface Fire A fire which travels just above ground surface in

grass, low shrub, leaves and litter.

Surface Fuel The loose surface litter on the forest floor, normally

consisting of fallen leaves or needles, twigs, bark,

cones and small branches that have not yet

decayed sufficiently to lose their identity. Also

grasses, shrubs and tree reproduction less than one

metre in height, heavier branchwood, down logs,

stumps, seedlings and forbs (simple plant

structures) interspersed with or partially replacing

the litter.

Tactics The tasking of personnel and resources to

implement the incident strategies. Incident control

tactics are accomplished in accordance with

appropriate agency procedures and safety

directives. Tactics are normally determined at

Division/Sector level with a corresponding allocation

of resources and personnel.

Tail Fire See Backing Fire.

Tanker A mobile firefighting vehicle equipped with a water

tank, pump, and the necessary equipment for

spraying water and/or foam on wildfires. Can be

designated as follows:

· Heavy Tanker - a firefighting unit often on a 4 x 4

chassis with a large water tank (over 2000 litres),

a pump, a number of lengths of hose and a range

of equipment to assist with wildfire suppression.

· Light Patrol Unit - a vehicle equipped with a small

tank and pump designed for rapid initial attack

and the patrol of fires.

· Light Tanker - a firefighting unit often on a 4 x 4

tray body vehicle with a small water tank (400 -

650 litres), a pump and short length of hose.

· Slip on Tanker - a tank, a live hose reel or tray,

an auxiliary pump, and an engine combined into

a single one-piece assembly that can be slipped

onto a truck bed or trailer.

Task A job given to any firefighting force or unit.

Task Force A combination of resources assembled for a specific

purpose. Task Forces always have a leader

(usually in a separate vehicle), and have a common

communications system. Task Forces are

established to meet tactical needs and may be

demobilised as single resources.

The ambient air temperature recorded by an

exposed thermometer.

Wet bulb temperature is measured by placing a

moist, single-layer, muslin sleeve over the bulb of a

dry bulb thermometer. The difference between dry

and wet bulb readings is used to determine relative

humidity and dewpoint values.

Test Fire A controlled fire ignited to evaluate fire behaviour.

Thermal Imagery A display or print out from an infra-red scanning

device.

Thermohygrograph An instrument that simultaneously and continuously

measures and records temperature and relative

humidity, normally by tracing each onto a revolving

chart. Charts can be either cater for one day or one

week of continuous recording.

Tongues See Fingers.

Topography The surface features of a particular area or region.

It may include mountains, rivers, populated areas,

roads and railways and fuel types.

Burning

The burning of forest debris resulting from

harvesting operations.

Travel Time The time taken between the departure of a crew,

and arrival at the scene of a fire or incident. See

also Response Time.

Under Storey The lowest stratum of a multi-storeyed forest.

Urban/Rural Interface The line, area, or zone where structures and other

human development adjoin or overlaps with

undeveloped bushland.

Values At Risk The natural resources or improvements that may be

jeopardised if a fire occurs.

Water Point Any natural or constructed supply of water that is

readily available for fire control operations.

Water Tank A container capable of storing a large volume of

water.

Wetting Agent A chemical added in low concentration to water. It is

used in firefighting to break down the surface

tension of the water and to improve its penetration

into fuels.

Wildfire An unplanned fire. A generic term which includes

grass fires, forest fires and scrub fires.

Wildfire Control Plan See Incident Action Plan.

Wind Direction The direction from which the wind blows.

Wind Strength See Beaufort Wind Scale.

Windrow A long line of piled slash or debris resulting from

forest or scrub clearing.

Windrow Burning The burning of windrows.

Woodland A plant community in which the trees form only an

open canopy, the intervening area being occupied