Chapter 21 Wildland and Ground Cover Fires

Chapter 21 Wildland and Ground Cover Fires

Fundamentals of fire fighter skills and hazardous materials response (fourth edition)

Aerial Fuels

Fuels located more than 6 feet (2 m) off the ground, usually part of or attached to trees.

Anchor, flank, and pinch attack

A direct method of suppressing a wildland or ground cover fire that involves two teams of fire fighters establishing anchor points on each side of the fire and working toward the grad of the fire until the fire working toward the head of the fire until the fire gets "pinched" between them; also known as the pincer attack.

Anchor point

A strategic and safe point from which to start construction a fire control line. An anchor point is used to reduce the chance of fire fighters being flanked by fire.

Area of origin

A structure, part of a structure, or general geographic location within a fire scene, in which the "point of origin" of a fire or explosion is reasonably believed to be located. (NFPA 921)

Backfire

A fire set along the inner edge of a fireline to consume the fuel in the path of a wildfire and/or change the direction of force of the fire's convection column. (NFPA 901)

Backpack fire extinguisher

a portable fire extinguisher usually consisting of a 5-gal (19-L) water tank that is worn on the user's back and features a hand-powered piston pump for discharging the water.

Black

An area that has already been burned.

Compressed air foam system (CAFS)

A foam system that combines air under pressure with foam solution to create foam. (NFPA 1091)

Council rake

A long handled rake constructed with hardened triangular shaped steel teeth that is used for raking a fire line down to the soil with no subsurface fuel, for digging, for rolling burning logs, and for cutting grass and small brush

Defensible space

An area as defined by the authority having jurisdiction [typically a width of 9.14 meters (30 feet) or more] between an improved property and a potential wildland fire where combustible materials and vegetation have been removed or modified to reduce the potential for fire on improved property spreading to wildland fuels or to provide a safe working area for fire fighters protecting life and improved property from wildland fire. (NFPA 1051)

Direct attack

A method of wildland fire attack in which fire fighters focus on containing and extinguishing the fire at its burning edge.

Eighteen watch out situations

A list of situations published by the National Wildland Coordinating Group (NECG) and used to assess heater or not a wildland firefighting assignment is safe to conduct.

Fine fuels

Fuels that ignite and burn easily, such as dried twigs, leaves, needles, grass, moss, and light brush

Finger

A narrow point of fire whose extension is created by a shift in wind or a change in topography.

Fire control line

Comprehensive term for all constructed or natural barriers and treated fire edges used to control a fire. (NFPA 901)

Fire shelter

An item of protective equipment configured as an aluminized tent utilized for protection, by means of reflecting radiant heat, in a fire entrapment situation. (NFPA 1500)

Firing out

A wildland firefighting technique that involves setting a fire along the inner edge of a fire control line to consume the fuel between a fire control line and the fire's edge.

Flanking attack

A direct method of suppressing a wildland or ground fire that involves placing a suppression crew on one flank of a fire.

Flank of the fire

The edge between the head and heel of the fire that runs parallel to the direction of the fire spread.

Fuel compactness

The extent to which fuels are tightly packed together

Fuel continuity

The relative closeness of wildland fuels, which affects a fire's ability to spread from one area of fuel to another.

Fuel moisture

The amount of moisture present in a fuel, which affects how readily the fuel will ignite and burn.

Fuel orientation

The position of a fuel relative to the ground.

Fuel volume

The amount of fuel present in a given area.

Green

An area if unburned fuels.

Ground cover fire

A fire that burns loose debris on the surface of the ground.

Ground duff

Partly decomposed organic material on a forest floor; a type of light fuel.

Hazel hoe

A hand tool used to grub out heavy brush to create a fire control line; also known as an adze hoe.

Head of the fire

The main or running edge of a fire; the part of the fire that spreads with the greatest speed

Heavy fuels

Fuels of a large diameter, such as large brush, heavy timber, snags, stumps, branches, and dead timber on the ground. These fuels ignite and are consumed more slowly than light fuels.

Heel of the fire

The side opposite the head of the fire, which is often close to the area of origin.

Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG)

A job and training reference for personnel operating at a wildland fire. It may also be used for all-hazard incident response.

Indirect attack

A method of wildland fire attack in which the control line is located along natural fuel breaks, at favorable breaks in the topography, or at considerable distance from the fire, and the intervening fuel is burned out.

Island

An unburned area surrounded by fire.

Ladder fuels

Fuels which provide vertical continuity between the ground and tops of trees or shrubs, thereby allowing fire to move with relative ease.

LCES

A mnemonic that stands for Lookouts, Communications, Escape routes, and Safety zones. Fire fighters should ensure that the components of LCES are in place before attacking a wildland fire to reduce the risk associated with fighting these types of fires.

McLeod

A hand tool used for constructing firl control lines and overhaul eildland fires. One side of the head consists of five-toothed to seven-toothed fire rake; the other side is a hoe.

Parallel attack

A method of attack in which the control line is located parallel to the fire edge, at a distance of about 5 to 50ft (1.5 to 15 m) from the fire. The intervening fuel usually burns out as the fire control line move moves alongside the fire but can also burn out with the main fire.

Pocket

A deep indentation of unburned fuel along the fire's perimeter, often found between a finger and the head of the fire.

Power take-off shaft

A supplemental mechanism that enables a fire engine to operate a pump while the engine is still moving

Pulaski axe

A hand tool that combines an adze and an axe for brush removal.

Rear of the fire

The side opposite the head of the fire. Also called the heel of the fire.

Reinhart

A hand tool used for constructing fire control lines and overhauling wildland fires. The tool similar to an oversized garden hoe.

Relative humidity

The ratio between the amount of water vapor in the gas at the time of measurement and the amount of water vapor that could be in the gas when concentration begins, at a given temperature. (NFPA 79)

Slash

Debris resulting from natural events such as wind, fire, snow, or ice breakage; or form human activities suck as building or road construction, logging, pruning, thinning, or brush cutting. (NFPA 1144)

Spot fire

A new fire that starts outside of the main fire, usually caused by flying embers and sparks.

Subsurface fuels

Partially decomposed matter that lies beneath the ground, such as roots, moss, duff, and decomposed stumps.

Surface fuels

Fuels that are close to the surface of the ground, such as grass, leaves, twigs, needles, small trees, logging slash, and low brush. Also called ground fuels.

Ten Standard firefighting orders

A set of systematically organized rules developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service task force of reducing danger to for firefighting personel.

Topography

The land surface configuration. (NFPA 1051)

Wildland

Land in an uncultivated, more or less natural state and covered by timber, woodland, brush, and/or grass. (NFPA 901)

Wildland fire

An unplanned fire burning in vegetative fuels. (NFPA 1051)

Wildland/urban intermface

The line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. (NFPA 5000)

wildland-urban intermix

An area where improved property and wildland fuels meet with no clearly defined boundary. (NFPA 5000)