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Note: Many of the terms defined here, particularly relating to systems of work, team names, procedures, careers and policies seem to originate in the U.S. and are not necessarily applicable to other English speaking countries' fire and rescue services. For example, Call Firefighter (U.S.) and Retained Firefighter (U.K.).

Firefighting jargon

Jargon

Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...

 includes a diverse lexicon of both common and idiosyncratic terms. One problem that exists in trying to create a list such as this is that much of the terminology used by a particular department is specifically defined in their particular standing operating procedure

Standing operating procedure

The terms standard operating procedure or SOP, is used in a variety of different contexts, such as healthcare, education, industry or the military. The military uses the term Standing Operating Procedure- rather than Standard- because an SOP refers to an organization's unique procedures, which are...

s, such that two departments may have completely different terms for the same thing. For example, depending on who you ask, a safety team may be referred to as a standby, a RIT or RIG or RIC (rapid intervention team/group/crew), or a FAST

Firefighter Assist and Search Team

A Firefighter Assist and Search Team , also known as a Rapid Intervention Team/Crew , is a team of two or more firefighters dedicated solely to search and rescue of other firefighters in distress. FAST shall have no other operational assignment during an incident...

 (firefighter assist and search team). Furthermore, a department may change a definition within its SOP, such that one year it may be RIT, and the next RIG or RIC.

The variability of firefighter jargon should not be taken as a rule; some terms are fairly universal (e.g. stand-pipe, hydrant, chief). But keep in mind that any term defined here may be department- or region-specific, or at least more idiosyncratic than you may realize.

A

• A-side: Front of the fire building, usually front door facing street, but may be facing parking area where first apparatus arrives; other sides labeled B (left), C (rear), D (right), as necessary when speaking of or staffing structure fire Sectors.
• Above-ground storage tank: Storage tank that is not buried. Compare Underground storage tank. Unburied tanks are more prone to physical damage, and leaks are released to the air or ground, rather than the soil surrounding a buried tank.
• Accelerant: flammable fuel (often liquid) used by some arsonists to increase size or intensity of fire. May also be accidentally introduced when HAZMAT becomes involved in fire.
• Accountability: The process of emergency responders (fire, police, SAR, emergency medical, etc...) checking into and making themselves announced as being on-scene during an incident to an incident commander or accountability officer. Through the accountability system, each person is tracked throughout the incident until released from the scene by the incident commander or accountability officer. This is becoming a standard in the emergency services arena primarily for the safety of emergency personnel. This system may implement a name tag system or personal locator device (tracking device used by each individual that is linked to a computer).
• AFA: Automatic Fire Alarm/Actuating Fire Alarm
• Aircraft rescue and firefighting
  Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting
  Aircraft rescue and firefighting is a special category of firefighting that involves the response, hazard mitigation, evacuation and possible rescue of passengers and crew of an aircraft involved in an airport ground emergency....
  
   (ARFF): a special category of firefighting that involves the response, hazard mitigation, evacuation and possible rescue of passengers and crew of an aircraft involved in an airport ground emergency.
• Alarm
  Alarm
  An alarm device or system of alarm devices gives an audible or visual alarm signal about a problem or condition.Alarm devices include:* burglar alarms, designed to warn of burglaries; this is often a silent alarm: the police or guards are warned without indication to the burglar, which increases...
  
  : (1) system for detecting and reporting unusual conditions, such as smoke, fire, flood, loss of air, HAZMAT release, etc.; (2) a specific assignment of multiple fire companies and/or units to a particular incident, usually of fire in nature; (3) centralized dispatch
  Dispatch (logistics)
  Dispatch is a procedure for assigning employees or vehicles to customers. Industries that dispatch include taxicabs, couriers, emergency services, as well as home and commercial services such as maid services, plumbing, HVAC, pest control and electricians.With vehicle dispatching, clients are...
  
   center for interpreting alarms
  Alarm management
  Alarm management is the application of human factors along with instrumentation engineering and systems thinking to manage the design of an alarm system to increase its usability...
  
   and dispatching resources. See fire alarm control panel
  Fire alarm control panel
  A Fire Alarm Control Panel , or Fire Alarm Control Unit , is the controlling component of a Fire Alarm System. The panel receives information from environmental sensors designed to detect changes associated with fire, monitors their operational integrity and provides for automatic control of...
  
  .
• All companies working: Status report at fire scene indicating that available manpower is busy, and more resources may become necessary if incident is not controlled soon.
• Ammonium nitrate: component of ANFO; contents of two ships that exploded in Texas City Disaster
  Texas City Disaster
  The Texas City Disaster was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history. The incident took place on April 16, 1947, and began with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp which was docked in the Port of Texas City...
  
  , killing over 500 people, including all 28 volunteer firefighters
  Volunteer fire department
  See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
  
   at the scene.
• ANFO
  ANFO
  ANFO is a widely used bulk industrial explosive mixture. It consists of 94 percent porous prilled ammonium nitrate , that acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel — six percent Number 2 Fuel Oil...
  
  : Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil combination making a high explosive.
• Apparatus
  Fire apparatus
  A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
  
  : A term usually used by firefighters describing a piece of equipment, usually a company vehicle.
• Arson
  Arson
  Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
  
  : the crime
  Crime
  Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
  
   of maliciously (or perhaps recklessly) setting fire to property, especially a dwelling
  Dwelling
  Dwelling, as well as being a term for a house, or for living somewhere, or for lingering somewhere, is a philosophical concept which was developed by Martin Heidegger. Dwelling is about making yourself at home where the home itself is a building that is a house...
  
  . Punishable in various degrees, depending upon the circumstances. Occasionally occurs as a psychotic act of a mentally ill firefighter.
• Authority having jurisdiction (or AHJ): organization or agency with legal authority over a given type of incident (e.g., fire, EMS, SAR, arson, HAZMAT); may change or overlap as incident changes, as where fire becomes arson investigation once danger is over, or Motor Vehicle Accident becomes police business after vehicle extrication
  Vehicle extrication
  Vehicle extrication is the process of removing the vehicle from around a person that has been involved in a motor vehicle accident, when conventional means of exit are impossible or unadvisable. A delicate approach is needed to minimize injury to the victim during the extrication...
  
  , fire, and HAZMAT issues are complete.
• Autoextended fire: structure fire that has gone out a window or other opening on one floor and ignited materials above, on another floor or other space (attic, cockloft).
• Available flow: total amount of water that can be put on a fire, depending upon water supply, pump size, hoses, and distance to the fire. IC must assess available flow to determine whether additional apparatus or streams are required. See Fire flow requirement.

B

• BA Set: Breathing Apparatus Set consisting of a face-mask and compressed air cylinder
• Backdraft
  Backdraft
  A backdraft is an explosive event at a fire resulting from rapid re-introduction of oxygen to combustion in an oxygen-starved environment, for example, the breaking of a window or opening of a door to an enclosed space. Backdrafts present a serious threat to firefighters, even those with a high...
  
  : A fire phenomenon caused when heat and heavy smoke (unburned fuel particles) accumulate inside a compartment, depleting the available air, and then oxygen/air is re-introduced, completing the fire triangle and causing rapid combustion.
• Backfiring: A tactic used in wildland firefighting associated with indirect attack, by intentionally setting fire to fuels inside the control line. Most often used to contain a rapidly spreading fire, placing control lines at places where the fire can be fought on the firefighter's terms.
• Back burning: Australian term, for Backfiring, above.
• Backflow preventer
  Check valve
  A check valve, clack valve, non-return valve or one-way valve is a mechanical device, a valve, which normally allows fluid to flow through it in only one direction....
  
  : Automatic valve used in hose accessories to ensure water flows only in one direction. Used in permanent fire department connections (FDC) to sprinkler
  Fire sprinkler
  A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected...
  
  s and dry standpipes, as well as portable devices used in firefighting.
• Backstretching: Doing a Fire to Hydrant procedure.
• Bank down: What the smoke does as it fills a room, banks down to the floor, creating several layers of heat and smoke at different temperatures—the coolest at the bottom.
• Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE
  BLEVE
  A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion occurs when a vessel containing a pressurized liquid above its boiling point ruptures.-Mechanism:...
  
  ): Explosion of a pressure tank containing an overheated material when the vapor expansion rate exceeds the pressure relief capacity (e.g., steam boiler or LPG
  Liquified petroleum gas
  Liquefied petroleum gas is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles. It is increasingly used as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant, replacing chlorofluorocarbons in an effort to reduce damage to the ozone layer...
  
   tank). If the contents are flammable, the rapidly released vapor may react in a secondary fuel-air explosion
  Fuel-air explosive
  A fuel-air explosive device consists of a container of fuel and two separate explosive charges. After the munition is dropped or fired, the first explosive charge bursts open the container at a predetermined height and disperses the fuel in a cloud that mixes with atmospheric oxygen...
  
  .
• Bomber: Australian Term, for fixed wing fire-fighting aircraft. Also called "water bomber".
• Box (Alarm): A mailslot or other file system containing a notecard with a planned response to an incident type. For example, a reported structure fire on Some Road would be tagged with Box 6; the notecard in Box 6 would contain the list of apparatus from various fire stations that should be dispatched to that incident. Assigning Boxes to areas (or even specific structures) significantly facilitated the process of getting the right tools to the right place on the initial dispatch, and helped eliminate the guesswork of "which department has what" on the fire scene. Boxes later evolved to contain escalation procedures - on the "2nd alarm", the Box would contain the next group of apparatus from various fire stations, etc. Modern CAD systems now abstract the Box Alarm concept, and allow box definitions to be triggered based on arbitrary geographic area, time of day, incident type, weather, and any other planned situation. For a given hydranted area, the "Summer" box will contain the usual response of Engine, Truck, and Rescue companies. In the winter, however, the box may be modified (automatically, or manually) to include Water Tankers on the initial dispatch, to handle the case of frozen hydrants. The term "Box" comes from the fire alarm pull boxes that were commonplace in major cities for well over fifty years. This was a telegraph system that involved bells to ring out the box number. This system was in place from the 1920s (or earlier) to well into the 1960s and 1970s in some cities. Boston was one of the first (if not THE first) major U.S. Cities to have a telegraph alarm system. They installed it in 1852. The Boston Fire Department still uses this system of paper rolls and bells. The modern use of "box cards" based upon an imaginary box location for dispatch or move up is often known as the "Phantom Box System".
• Bus: another term for ambulance.
• Bushfire: Australian term, for Wildfire, below.

C

• Call Firefighter: In the U.S., call firefighters respond as needed on a part time basis to all types of emergencies. Call firefighters train with their local engine companies in their districts. Call firefighters are utilized in three different ways. “First Responder" call firefighter units, are those units that are staffed entirely by paid call firefighters. These firefighters respond to all emergency incidents within their jurisdictional areas and are supported by full-time companies from adjoining jurisdictions. "Supplemental" call firefighter units are those units that staff a second engine company from a station that is also staffed by a full-time company. These units respond to all multi-unit responses in their district, and cover the station when the career companies are committed. "Augmentation" call firefighters are assigned to an existing career company and respond directly to the scene to augment that company's staffing. See also Retained firefighter (U.K.)
• Can: Slang for a fire extinguisher
  Fire extinguisher
  A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
  
  .
• Career Firefighter: (U.S.) A person whose primary employment is as a firefighter for a municipality or other agency or company and who derives the majority of his earned income working in the fire service. See also Wholetime firefighter (U.K.)
• Charge a hose: To make water pressure available on a hose in final preparation for its use. This is done on the scene after the hose is deployed, but prior to entering the fire danger area. (Also known as "Charge the line")
• Charged hose: A hose that is filled with water and pressurized; ready to use. The charged line is much more difficult to move than one not yet charged.
• Chauffeur: See Engineer.
• Chief officer: An executive officer of the fire department, as contrasted with a tactical Company officer
  Company officer (firefighter)
  In the fire service, a Company Officer is the individual in charge of a crew of firefighters and their responding apparatus. Company Officers have different titles depending on the table of organization for their particular agency, but commonly used titles in the U.S...
  
  . Typical Chief officers include the Fire chief
  Fire chief
  Fire Chief is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department, either elected or appointed...
  
  , Assistant and Deputy Fire Chief, Battalion or Division or District Chiefs (who may each supervise Fire Captains), Watch Commanders and the Scottish
  Scotland
  Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
  
   Fire Master.
• Chimney fire
  Chimney fire
  A chimney fire is the combustion of residue deposits referred to as creosote, on the inner surfaces of chimney tiles, flue liners, stove pipes, etc. The process begins with the incomplete combustion of fuel in the attached appliance, usually a wood or coal stove...
  
  : Fast and intense fire in a chimney
  Chimney
  A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
  
   flue in which accumulated creosote and other combustion byproducts ignite. These often extend fire into the roof or attic, especially with defective chimneys or when the mortar
  Mortar (firestop)
  Firestop mortars are mortars most typically used to firestop large openings in walls and floors required to have a fire-resistance rating. They are passive fire protection items...
  
   becomes hot enough to melt.
• Class A: A fire involving combustibles such as wood, paper, and other natural materials. See Fire Classes
  Fire classes
  In firefighting, fires are identified according to one or more fire classes. Each class designates the fuel involved in the fire, and thus the most appropriate extinguishing agent. The classifications allow selection of extinguishing agents along lines of effectiveness at putting the type of fire...
  
  .
• Class B: A fire involving hydrocarbons. See Fire Classes
  Fire classes
  In firefighting, fires are identified according to one or more fire classes. Each class designates the fuel involved in the fire, and thus the most appropriate extinguishing agent. The classifications allow selection of extinguishing agents along lines of effectiveness at putting the type of fire...
  
  .
• Class C: An electrical fire. See Fire Classes
  Fire classes
  In firefighting, fires are identified according to one or more fire classes. Each class designates the fuel involved in the fire, and thus the most appropriate extinguishing agent. The classifications allow selection of extinguishing agents along lines of effectiveness at putting the type of fire...
  
  .
• Class D: A fire involving metals, such as sodium
  Sodium
  Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
  
  , titanium
  Titanium
  Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
  
  , magnesium
  Magnesium
  Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
  
  , potassium
  Potassium
  Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
  
  , uranium
  Uranium
  Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
  
  , lithium
  Lithium
  Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
  
  , plutonium
  Plutonium
  Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
  
   and calcium
  Calcium
  Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
  
  . See Fire Classes
  Fire classes
  In firefighting, fires are identified according to one or more fire classes. Each class designates the fuel involved in the fire, and thus the most appropriate extinguishing agent. The classifications allow selection of extinguishing agents along lines of effectiveness at putting the type of fire...
  
  .
• Class E (Europe/Australia): A composite Class A/Class B fire that is not also a Class C fire.
• Class F (Europe/Australia): See Class K.
• Class K: A fire involving cooking oils. Technically, this is a subclass of Class B. See Fire Classes
  Fire classes
  In firefighting, fires are identified according to one or more fire classes. Each class designates the fuel involved in the fire, and thus the most appropriate extinguishing agent. The classifications allow selection of extinguishing agents along lines of effectiveness at putting the type of fire...
  
  .
• Cockloft: structural space above ceiling and below rafters, often connecting adjacent occupancies and permitting fire to spread laterally, often unseen.
• Collapse zone: The area around a structure that would contain debris if the building were to collapse. This is generally 1.5x the height of the structure.
• Combustion
  Combustion
  Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
  
  : When materials smolder or burn. See main article for technical details.
• Commissioner: Civilian administrator of the fire services, appointed or elected in some cities, such as the New York City Fire Commissioner.
• Company: Two or more firefighters organized as a team, led by a fire officer, and equipped to perform certain operational functions. Compare with platoon and unit.
• Company officer
  Company officer (firefighter)
  In the fire service, a Company Officer is the individual in charge of a crew of firefighters and their responding apparatus. Company Officers have different titles depending on the table of organization for their particular agency, but commonly used titles in the U.S...
  
  : A fire officer, typically a lieutenant or captain, who leads a team of two or more firefighters in a tactical company.
• Compartment Fire: An "Isolated" fire, or a fire which is "boxed in" or "closed off" from the rest of the structure. An example of this is a fire in a room where all the windows and doors are closed preventing the fire from spreading to other rooms.
• Confined space
  Confined space
  Confined space is a term from labor-safety regulations that refers to an area whose enclosed conditions and limited access make it dangerous.- Description :...
  
  : Usually refers to a "confined space rescue." This involves a space that may have very limited access, little or no room to maneuver, poor air or light, and very likely other hazards. A trench cave-in, a collapsed building, a sewer or utility vault rescue, or a problem in and around industrial equipment are some examples.
• Conflagration
  Fire
  Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
  
  : A large, typically urban, fire involving numerous structures; loosely defined as enveloping an area equivalent to one or more square blocks. Compare with firestorm.
• Crash Tender: A pump capable of spraying foam used at airports.
• Crew Resource Management
  Crew Resource Management
  Crew resource management or Cockpit resource management is a procedure and training system in systems where human error can have devastating effects. Used primarily for improving air safety, CRM focuses on interpersonal communication, leadership, and decision making in the cockpit...
  
  (CRM): Training developed by NASA
  NASA
  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
  
   based on the concept that the primary cause of the majority of aviation accidents is human error and problems with interpersonal communication in particular. The training has been adapted for the fire service and teaches firefighters the correct way to question orders on an emergency scene. It also helps supervisors understand that the questioning of an order should not be interpreted as a threat to their authority.
• Cross lay: Arrangement of hose on a pumper such that it can be quickly unloaded from either side of the apparatus; often pre-connected to a pump outlet and equipped with a suitable nozzle. Also known as Mattydale Lay.

D

• Dalmatian
  Dalmatian (dog)
  The Dalmatian is a breed of dog whose roots are often said to trace back to Dalmatia, a region of Croatia where the first illustrations of the dog have been found. The Dalmatian is noted for its unique black- or brown-spotted coat and was mainly used as a carriage dog in its early days...
  
  : "Firehouse dog."
• Dead lay: A load of hose on a pumper, but not connected to a pump outlet. Often used for larger supply lines.
• Defensive Attack: A primarily exterior form of attack often used when fighting the fire directly or from within a structure is not feasible due to dangers from direct flame, heat, structural collapse or the presence of hazardous materials. Often structures which are fully involved are attacked defensively with the main goal being the protection of nearby exposures. This form of attack is far less effective than an Offensive or Direct attack. Also known as "surround and drown."
• Deflagration
  Deflagration
  Deflagration is a term describing subsonic combustion that usually propagates through thermal conductivity; hot burning material heats the next layer of cold material and ignites it. Most "fire" found in daily life, from flames to explosions, is deflagration...
  
  : An explosion with a propagation front traveling at subsonic speeds, as compared to supersonic detonation
  Detonation
  Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
  
  .
• Denver Drill: A drill that essentially re-creates the rescue of Denver firefighter Mark Langvardt. It incorporates the use of a leveraged body and an inclined plane (bio-mechanics) to get a victim up and out of a narrow window in a narrow hallway (the Denver Prop).
• Denver Prop: A training prop designed after the actual dimensions of the confined area that claimed 16 year veteran fire fighter Mark Langvardt's life in 1992. Specifically, it is a 'hallway' 28" wide, 8' long with a window at one end that is 20" wide by 28" high and the sill is 42" from the floor. The prop is used for the Denver Drill.
• Direct attack: "Putting the wet stuff on the red stuff." A form of fire attack in which hoses are advanced to the fire inside a structure and hose streams directed at the burning materials.
• Discharge flow: The amount of water flowing from a fire hydrant
  Fire hydrant
  A fire hydrant , is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water...
  
   when it is opened; compare to static flow and residual flow.
• Determinate A code given by dispatch (Alpha -Echo) showing the severity of a call and how you should respond.
• Dispatch
  Dispatcher
  Dispatchers are communications personnel responsible for receiving and transmitting pure and reliable messages, tracking vehicles and equipment, and recording other important information...
  
  : Refers to person or place designated for handling a call for help
  Call for Help
  Call for Help, also known as CFH, was a computer-themed television program that first aired exclusively on TechTV , a cable and satellite television network focused on technology, and then aired on G4techTV Canada and the HOW TO Channel in Australia...
  
   by alerting the specific resources necessary.
• Draft
  Draft (water)
  The term drafting water refers to the use of suction to move a liquid such as water from a vessel or body of water below the intake of a suction pump. A rural fire department or farmer might draft water from a pond as the first step in moving the water elsewhere...
  
  : The process of pumping water from a static source below the pump.
• DOS: Death On Scene.

• Drills: training during which an emergency is simulated and the trainees go through the steps of responding as if it were a real emergency.

E

• Electrical fire: A fire in which the primary source of heat is electricity, resulting in combustion of adjacent insulation and other materials; may be hazardous to attempt to extinguish using water.
• EMS: Emergency medical service(s).
• Engine: A fire suppression vehicle that has a water pump and, typically, is designed to carry firehose and a limited supply of water.
• Engineer: A firefighter responsible for driving the engine to the scene of the call and operation of the pumps on an engine, to provide sufficient water to the firefighters on the hose. The term may be either a position title or a rank; usage varies among departments.
• Engine Company: A group of firefighters assigned to an apparatus with a water pump and equipped with firehose and other tools related to fire extinguishment.
• Engine house: [archaic] A firehouse
  Fire station
  A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
  
   housing an engine company.
• Engine pressure: The pressure in a fire hose
  Fire hose
  A fire hose is a high-pressure hose used to carry water or other fire retardant to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it is attached either to a fire engine or a fire hydrant. Indoors, it can be permanently attached to a building's standpipe or plumbing system...
  
   measured at the outlet of the pump.
• Enhanced 9-1-1
  Enhanced 911
  Enhanced 911, E-911 or E911 in North America is one example of the modern evolution of telecommunications based system meant as an easy way to link people experiencing an emergency with the public resources that can help. The dial-three-digits concept first originated in the United Kingdom in 1937....
  
  : Electronic system for automatic correlation of physical telephone lines with information about the location of the caller—a useful tool for dispatchers
  Dispatch (logistics)
  Dispatch is a procedure for assigning employees or vehicles to customers. Industries that dispatch include taxicabs, couriers, emergency services, as well as home and commercial services such as maid services, plumbing, HVAC, pest control and electricians.With vehicle dispatching, clients are...
  
   when the caller has an emergency but cannot speak.
• Evacuation
  Emergency evacuation
  Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
  
  : Removal of personnel from a dangerous area, in particular, a HAZMAT incident, burning building, or other emergency. Also refers to act of removing firefighters from a structure in danger of collapsing.
• Evolution: Uniform sequence of practiced steps by squad carrying out common tasks such as selection and placement of ladders, stowing hoses in hose bed, putting hoses and tools into service in particular patterns; intended to result in predictability during emergencies.
• Exothermic reaction
  Exothermic reaction
  An exothermic reaction is a chemical reaction that releases energy in the form of light or heat. It is the opposite of an endothermic reaction. Expressed in a chemical equation:-Overview:...
  
  : Chemical reaction giving off heat in the process, such as combustion
  Combustion
  Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
  
  .
• Explorer: a young adult, between 14 and 21, who learns the basics of firefighting.
• Exposure: Property near fire that may become involved by transfer of heat or burning material from main fire, typically by convection or radiation. May range from 40 feet (12.2 m) to several miles, depending on size and type of fire or explosion.
• Exterior attack: A method of extinguishing a fire which does not involve entering the structure. Often used when so much of the building is involved in fire that there is little or no benefit to risking firefighter safety by inserting them into the structure. May be a temporary measure when there are not sufficient personnel on scene to form an entry team and a rescue team (to rescue the entry team). Also known as Surround and drown. Compare Interior attack.
• Extrication: removal of a trapped victim such as a vehicle extrication
  Vehicle extrication
  Vehicle extrication is the process of removing the vehicle from around a person that has been involved in a motor vehicle accident, when conventional means of exit are impossible or unadvisable. A delicate approach is needed to minimize injury to the victim during the extrication...
  
  , confined space rescue
  Confined space rescue
  Confined space rescue is a subset of technical rescue operations that involves the rescue and recovery of victims trapped in a confined space or in a place only accessible through confined spaces, such as underground vaults, storage silos, storage tanks, or sewers.Confined space rescues can be...
  
  , or trench rescue
  Trench rescue
  Trench rescue is a specialized form of rescue, a subset of confined space rescue. Trench rescue involves shoring up the sides of a trench, and digging a trapped worker out of a collapsed ditch. Trench rescue is one of the most dangerous rescue operations to complete....
  
  ; sometimes using hydraulic spreader, Jaws of Life, or other technical equipment.
• ETOH: the chemical abbreviation for ethanol
  Ethanol
  Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
  
  , or ethyl alcohol, also used to describe someone believed to be intoxicated.

F

• FAST (or F.A.S.T.): Firefighter Assist and Search Team
  Firefighter Assist and Search Team
  A Firefighter Assist and Search Team , also known as a Rapid Intervention Team/Crew , is a team of two or more firefighters dedicated solely to search and rescue of other firefighters in distress. FAST shall have no other operational assignment during an incident...
  
   (also called Rapid Entry Team or Rapid Intervention Team/Crew) — firefighters assigned to stand by for rescue of other firefighters inside a structure; an implementation to support the Two-in, two-out
  Two-in, two-out
  In firefighting, the policy of two-in, two-out mandates that firefighters never go into a dangerous situation in a fire or rescue incident alone...
  
   rule; may have specialized training, experience and tools. While all of these versions of the name for a firefighter rescue crew either have been used or continue to be used in several areas, the National Incident Management System (NIMS
  National Incident Management System
  The National Incident Management System is emergency management doctrine used nationwide to coordinate emergency preparedness and incident management and response among the public and private sectors.NIMS is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable at all...
  
  ) has determined that Rapid Intervention Crew, ("RIC") will be the national term. Current U.S. federally mandated training programs are in the process of standardizing this and other terms under DHS and FEMA. F.A.S.T operations became officially mandated after the Worchester, MA Cold Storage Fire, which claimed the lives of 6 firefighters, after they became disoriented in the smoke and subsequently ran out of air.
• FDC (Fire Department Connection): Location in which pumping apparatus hooks to a buildings standpipe and or sprinkler system. Usually a 3" female connection.
• Fire Break
  Firebreak
  A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon...
  
  : Especially in hilly or mountainous areas, roads or paths cut through brush with a tractor
  Tractor
  A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
  
  , bulldozer
  Bulldozer
  A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
  
   or other construction equipment. The purpose of these is to have an area with no brush, and thus, no fuel, so that a fire will hopefully burn out rather than jumping to another area with brush. Also to ensure vehicular access to brush areas.
• Fire code (Fire safety
  Fire safety
  Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...
  
   code): regulations for fire prevention and safety involving flammables, explosives and other dangerous operations and occupancies.
• Fire complex: (U.S. Complex fire) Area of fires - many of the areas have multiple fires with multiple fronts.
• Fire engineering: Scientific design of materials, structures and processes for fire safety
• Fire escape: A building structure arranged outside to assist in safe evacuation of occupants during an emergency; may connect horizontally beyond a fire wall or vertically to a roof or (preferably) to the ground, perhaps with a counter-weighted span to deny access to intruders.
• Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program
  The Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program is administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health , part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention...
  
  (FFFIPP) - Program administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is the United States’ federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the U.S...
  
   (NIOSH), a department of the Center for Disease Control (CDC). It performs independent investigations of firefighter fatalities in the United States, also referred to as line of duty deaths (LODD). The programs goals are: 1.) to better define the characteristics of line of duty deaths among firefighters, 2.) to develop recommendations for the prevention of deaths and injuries, and 3.) to disseminate prevention strategies to the fire service.
• Firefighter
  Firefighter
  Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
  
  : People who respond to fire alarms and other emergencies for fire suppression, rescue, and related duties.
• Firefighter Assist and Search Team: See FAST.
• Fire flow: The amount of water being pumped onto a fire, or required to extinguish a hypothetical fire. A critical calculation in light of the axiom that an ordinary fire will not be extinguished unless there is sufficient water to remove the heat of the fire.
• Fireground: The operational area at the scene of a fire; area in which incident commander is in control. Also used as name of radio frequency to be used by units operating in the fireground, as in “Responding units switch to fireground.”
• Fire hazard: Materials, structures or processes that may result in creating a fire, permitting a fire to grow undetected, or preventing people from escaping a fire.
• Firehouse: Another term for Fire station
  Fire station
  A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
  
  . Where fire apparatus is stored and where full-time firefighters work.
• Fire hydraulics: The study of pumps, hoses, pipes, accessories and tools for moving water or other extinguishing agents from a water supply to a fire.
• Fire inspector: A person responsible for issuing permits and enforcing the fire code, including any necessary premises inspection, as before allowing (or during) a large indoor gathering.
• Fire line
  Firebreak
  A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon...
  
  : A boundary of a fire scene established for public safety and to identify the area in which firefighters may be working.
• Fire load (Btu/sq ft): An estimate of the amount of heat that will be given off during ordinary combustion of all the fuel in a given space; e.g., a bedroom or a lumberyard. More casually, the amount and type of contents in a given space.
• Fire marshal
  Fire Marshal
  A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a fire department but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually include fire code enforcement and/or investigating fires for origin and cause...
  
  : Administrative and investigative office for fire prevention and arson investigation.
• Fire officer - See Company officer
  Company officer (firefighter)
  In the fire service, a Company Officer is the individual in charge of a crew of firefighters and their responding apparatus. Company Officers have different titles depending on the table of organization for their particular agency, but commonly used titles in the U.S...
  
  , but may also be a Fire chief
  Fire chief
  Fire Chief is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department, either elected or appointed...
  
   or other Chief officer.
• Fire point
  Fire point
  The fire point of a fuel is the temperature at which it will continue to burn for at least 5 seconds after ignition by an open flame. At the flash point, a lower temperature, a substance will ignite briefly, but vapor might not be produced at a rate to sustain the fire...
  
  : temperature at which materials give off flammable gases that will sustain fire, typically higher than flash point
  Flash point
  The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source...
  
  . Temperature at flashover
  Flashover
  A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases...
  
  .
• Fire Police
  Fire Police
  Fire Police are Volunteer Fire Brigade/Company members who have sworn police powers. They receive special police training and are responsible for traffic control, crowd control, fire and incident scene security, apparatus security, and station security during calls for service.They also assist...
  
  : Special constable
  Special constable
  A Special Constable is a law enforcement officer who is not a regular member of a police force. Some like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police carry the same law enforcement powers as regular members, but are employed in specific roles, such as explosive disposal technicians, court security, campus...
  
  s attached to a fire department, tasked with ensuring the safety and security of emergency scenes as well as general assistance to the fire department and other agencies.
• Fire prevention: Fire safety
  Fire safety
  Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...
  
  ; standards for minimizing fire hazards. In some departments also the name of the division tasked with promoting fire safety and fire code compliance in the community.
• Fire Prevention Week
  Fire Prevention Week
  National Fire Prevention Week is observed in the United States and Canada, during the week in which October 9th falls. In the United States, the first Presidential proclamation of Fire Prevention Week was made in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge...
  
  : An annual observation of fire safety
  Fire safety
  Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...
  
   education in the United States
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
   and Canada
  Canada
  Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
  
  , often involving lectures or demonstrations by firefighters, sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association
  National Fire Protection Association
  The National Fire Protection Association is a United States trade association that creates and maintains private, copywrited, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments...
  
  , since 1925.
• Fire-resistant: Materials designed or treated to have an increased fire point.
• Firestorm: A conflagration of great enough proportions to noticeably create its own wind conditions.
• Fire tetrahedron
  Fire triangle
  The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the ingredients necessary for most fires.The triangle illustrates a fire requires three elements: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent . The fire is prevented or extinguished by removing any one of them...
  
  : The fire tetrahedron is based on the components of igniting or extinguishing a fire. Each component represents a property necessary to sustain fire: fuel, oxygen, heat, and chemical chain reaction. Extinguishment is based upon removing or hindering any one of these properties.
• Fire triangle
  Fire triangle
  The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the ingredients necessary for most fires.The triangle illustrates a fire requires three elements: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent . The fire is prevented or extinguished by removing any one of them...
  
  : Model for understanding the major components necessary for fire: heat, fuel and oxygen. See also fire tetrahedron for a more comprehensive model.
• Fire wall: Building structure designed to delay horizontal spread of a fire from one area of a building to another; often regulated by fire code and required to have self-closing doors, and fireproof construction.
• Fire warden: Appointed post for issuing rural fire permits in a given jurisdiction and maintaining equipment and manpower readiness for responding to wildland fires.
• Fire watch: Fixed or mobile patrols that watch for signs of fire or fire hazards so that any necessary alarm can be quickly raised or preventive steps taken. Commonly established at commercial or multi-occupancy structures if the fire alarm system is out of service for repairs, or a crew assigned to the scene after a large fire to stand watch for an extended period of time in the event of a rekindle. Also called "reflash watch."
• Fit test: Periodic test of how well the facepiece of an SCBA fits a particular firefighter.
• Flameover: Also known as rollover. The ignition of heated fire gasses at the ceiling level only. While dangerous to firefighters, this is not as deadly as Flashover
  Flashover
  A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases...
  
  .
• Flammable range, limits: The percentage mixture of fumes with air that will sustain fire; outside the limits the mixture is either too lean or too rich to burn.
• Flash point
  Flash point
  The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source...
  
  : Lowest temperature at which a material will emit vapor combustible in air mixture. Higher than Flame point of same material.
• Flashover
  Flashover
  A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases...
  
  : simultaneous ignition of combustible materials in a closed space, as when materials simultaneously reach their fire point; may also result in rollover.
• Foam: Extinguishing agent formed by mixing Foam concentrate with water and aerating the solution for expansion. Used for smothering large Class A or B fires. May be injected into fire streams at adjustable concentrations.
• Foam Concentrate: Raw foam liquid as it rests in it storage container before the introduction of water and air.
• Forcible entry: gaining entry to an area using force to disable or bypass security devices, typically using force tools, sometimes using tools specialized for entry (e.g., Halligan
  Halligan bar
  A Halligan bar is a special forcible entry tool commonly used by firefighters and law enforcement. It was designed by and named after Hugh Halligan, a First Deputy Fire Chief in the New York City Fire Department, in 1948...
  
  , K-tool
  K-tool
  The K-tool is a tool used by many fire departments for forcible entry. It is used in conjunction with a Halligan bar and a flat-headed axe or maul to remove a cylinder lock...
  
  ).
• Forward lay: Procedure of stringing water supply hose from a water source toward a fire scene; compare with Reverse lay.
• Freelancing: dangerous situation at an incident where an individual carries out tasks alone or without being assigned; violation of Personnel accountability procedures.
• Friction loss: Reduction of flow in a firehose caused by friction between the water and the lining of the hose. Depends primarily upon diameter, type and length of hose, and amount of water (GPM) flowing through.
• Frontage: The size of a building facing a street.
• Fully involved: Term of size-up meaning fire, heat and smoke in a structure are so widespread that internal access must wait until fire streams can be applied.

G

• GPM: Gallons Per Minute or how many gallons are being pumped out of a piece of equipment every minute
• GPM method ("gallons per minute"): Calculation of how much water, in GPM, will be necessary to extinguish a given volume of fire, under the circumstances (e.g., fuel class, containment, exposures, etc.).
• Grease fire: A fire involving any manner of cooking oil or other flammable cooking or lubricating materials. Also known as a Class B, F or K fire.
• Goer: An incident with persons reported.

H

• Hazard: a source of danger of personal injury or property damage; fire hazard refers to conditions that may result in fire or explosion, or may increase spread of an accidental fire, or prevent escape from fire. Under worker safety and health regulations, employers have a general duty to provide a workplace free of hazards. See also fire prevention, and HAZMAT.
• Hard Line
  Hard Line
  Hard Line is a 1985 album by the American band The Blasters.-Track listing:All track written by Dave Alvin unless otherwise noted.#"Trouble Bound" #"Just Another Sunday" #"Hey, Girl" #"Dark Night"#"Little Honey"...
  
  : A smaller hose about one inch in diameter used by firefighters to clean apparatus.
• HAZMAT
  Hazmat
  Hazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...
  
  : Hazardous materials, including solids, liquids, or gases that may cause injury, death, or damage if released or triggered.
• Head pressure: How the pressure of a water stream is measured. By measuring the 'breakover' point, the point where the water stream breaks apart and begins to fall back to the ground, of a stream of water aimed vertically into the air. This is typically done with a 1 inches (25.4 mm) hose and a fixed nozzle. Therefore, if a water stream breaks over at 50 ft (15.2 m), then it is said the pump has 50 feet (15.2 m) of head pressure. Current measurements of pumping capacity are now in GPM, Gallons Per Minute.
• Helitack
  Helitack
  Helitack refers to "helicopter-delivered fire resources", and is the system of managing and using helicopters and their crews to perform aerial firefighting and other firefighting duties, primarily initial attack on wildfires...
  
  : A rotary winged (helicopter
  Helicopter
  A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
  
  ) fire-fighting aircraft, such as the Erickson Skycrane which can be modified to hold 2100 gallons (9500L) of water or retardant.
• High-pressure system: A supplemental pump system used to pressurize the water supply, sometimes used during a large fire, or whenever more than one hydrant
  Fire hydrant
  A fire hydrant , is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water...
  
   is being used.
• High-rise building: Any building taller than three or four stories, depending upon local usage, requiring firefighters to climb stairs or aerial ladders for access to upper floors.
• High-rise pack: A shoulder load of hose with a nozzle and other tools necessary to connect the hose to a standpipe.
• Hose Pack
  Hose Pack
  Hose Pack A hosepack is a backpack containing fire hose in a preconfigured arrangement, sometime completely made from fire hose without a bag, which is used to quickly facilitate the construction of a hose lay. In the context of wildland fire fighting hosepacks are wildly use in areas where fire...
  
  : A hose pack is a backpack containing fire hose in a preconfigured arrangement, sometime completely made from fire hose without a bag.
• Fire Hose Vacuum
  Fire Hose Vacuum
  A Fire Hose Vacuumis a small pneumatic device that removes residue air from the inside of a fire hose, thereby making it smaller and somewhat rigid, thus allowing more hose or other equipment to be stored on a fire apparatus as well as making loads or packs deploy with increased ease....
  
  : A small pneumatic device that removes residue air from the inside of a fire hose, thereby making it smaller and somewhat rigid
• Hotshot crew
  Hotshot crew
  In the United States, an interagency hotshot crew , or simply hotshot crew, is a Type 1 handcrew of 20 firefighters specially trained in wildfire suppression tactics...
  
  : An extensively trained group of approximately twenty people which specializes in wildfire suppression with little or no outside logistical support.
• Hot zone: contaminated area of HAZMAT
  Hazmat
  Hazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...
  
   incident that must be isolated; requires suitable protective equipment to enter and decontamination upon exit; minimum hot zone distance from unknown material with unknown release is 330 feet (United Nations Emergency Response Guidebook); surrounded by "warm zone" where decontamination takes place.

I

• IDLH
  IDLH
  IDLH is an initialism for Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health, and is defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as exposure to airborne contaminants that is "likely to cause death or immediate or delayed permanent adverse health effects or prevent escape from such...
  
  : Any situation deemed Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health. More narrowly defined by OSHA
  Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
  
  . See main IDLH article. An area of maximum danger to firefighters. Often requires increased Personnel accountability.
• Incident Commander (or IC): The officer in charge of all activities at an incident. See Incident Command System
  Incident Command System
  The Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...
  
  .
• Incident Safety Officer: The officer in charge of scene safety at an incident. See Incident Command System
  Incident Command System
  The Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...
  
  . Optional at any incident other than HAZMAT
  Hazmat
  Hazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...
  
  .
• Incipient stage fire: A small fire that may be extinguished using portable fire extinguishers or other means typically at hand.
• Indirect attack: Method of firefighting in which water is pumped onto materials above or near the fire so that the splash rains onto the fire, often used where a structure is unsafe to enter.
• Initial attack: First point of attack on a fire where hose lines or fuel separation are used to prevent further extension of the fire.
• Interface zone (also wildland/structural interface or urban/wildland interface): The zone where wildfire
  Wildfire
  A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
  
  s threaten structures or structural fires threaten wildlands, such as in residential areas adjacent to forests. This requires both wildland firefighting and structural firefighting in the same location, which involve very different tactics and equipment.
• Interior attack: Inserting a team of firefighters into the burning structure, in an attempt to extinguish a blaze from inside the structure, minimizing property damage from fire, smoke, and water. Requires a minimum of four fully equipped firefighters: an entry team of at least two to enter the structure and fight the fire, and two standing by to rescue or relieve the entry team (see two in, two out). If the entry team(s) cannot extinguish the blaze, may become an Exterior Attack.
• ISO Rating: (Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification Rating) This is a rating published by the Insurance Services Office. Insurance companies, in many states, use this number to determine homeowner insurance premiums. Recently some insurance companies, including State Farm, have now adopted a per-zip-code, actual loss, based system in several states and no longer use the ISO (PPC) system.
• Irons: The flathead axe mated with the halligan bar
  Halligan bar
  A Halligan bar is a special forcible entry tool commonly used by firefighters and law enforcement. It was designed by and named after Hugh Halligan, a First Deputy Fire Chief in the New York City Fire Department, in 1948...
  
  . Firefighters often refer to these as the Crossed Irons, or Married Irons, because the Halligan Bar can fit to the Axe head.

J

• Jumping-sheet: The sheet held by a group of firefighters on which people caught in a burning building can jump on to.

K

• K-tool
  K-tool
  The K-tool is a tool used by many fire departments for forcible entry. It is used in conjunction with a Halligan bar and a flat-headed axe or maul to remove a cylinder lock...
  
  : This tool is used to break the lock on a building. The name "K" came from the shape of its jaws.

L

• Ladder company: A group of fire fighters, officers and engineers that staff a ladder truck.
• Level I, II, III Incident: A HAZMAT
  Hazmat
  Hazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...
  
   term denoting the severity of the incident and the type of response that may be necessary, where Level III is the largest or most dangerous.
• Life safety code: NFPA
  National Fire Protection Association
  The National Fire Protection Association is a United States trade association that creates and maintains private, copywrited, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments...
  
   publication. Originally known as the "Building Exits Code."
• Life line: A trademark for a wireless emergency call unit that triggers a telephone call to an emergency dispatcher when a button is pressed.
• Line or Hose Line a line of hose, referred to by its size i.e. 1"3/4, 1 inch, 2 Inch, 5 inch
• Line loss: See friction loss.
• Live line: A fire hose
  Fire hose
  A fire hose is a high-pressure hose used to carry water or other fire retardant to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it is attached either to a fire engine or a fire hydrant. Indoors, it can be permanently attached to a building's standpipe or plumbing system...
  
   under pressure from a pump. Also, an energized electrical line that may cause a hazard to firefighters.
• Loaded stream: An obsolete fire extinguisher stream that has had a chemical fire suppression agent added and is discharged by compressed gas or by inverting the tank to mix chemicals to produce gas pressure. Now outlawed by OSHA regulation 1910.157(c)(5). [Not to be confused with air pressurized water extinguishers with a Class A foam generating concentrate added at one-half of 1% by volume. Class A foam formed when mixed with air upon discharge produces surfactant-containing tiny bubbles which break surface tension to quickly penetrate and extinguish wood, paper, cloth and other common materials.]

M

• Make Pumps: To raise the number of pumps at an incident E.G. Make Pumps 10
• Maltese Cross
  Maltese cross
  The Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
  
  : The emblem of the fire service is often referred to as a “Maltese Cross”. But the actual origin of the current or common emblem in the U.S. remains uncertain. While it is true that the Knights Hospitalers of Jerusalem (AKA Knights of St. John) did wear a cross emblem and a version of that cross has been used as a fire service icon, it bears little resemblance to the current form in use in much of the United States. It is possible to accept that the current design is just a stylized artistic embellishment of the original form. The current design may have also been influenced by the design of the cross of Saint Florian
  Saint Florian
  Florian lived in the time of the Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian, and was commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum. In addition to his military duties, he was also responsible for organizing firefighting brigades....
  
  .
• Mass casualty incident (MCI): Any incident that produces a large number of injured persons requiring emergency medical treatment and transportation to a medical facility. The exact number of patients that makes an incident "mass casualty" is defined by departmental procedures and may vary from area to area.
• Master box: A primary fire alarm relay box connected to a building alarm system which monitors fire alarm pull stations and detectors throughout the building and automatically relays any in-building alarm to the local municipal fire department. Usually accompanied by an Annunciator Panel which records by indicator lights or other devices exactly where the pull station or detector that has been activated is located within the building. Common in multi-story office and apartment buildings equipped with sprinkler systems or smoke and heat detectors.
• Master stream: A large nozzle, either portable or fixed to a pumper, capable of throwing large amounts of water relatively long distances.
• Means of egress: The way out of a building during an emergency; may be by door, window, hallway, or exterior fire escape; local building codes will often dictate the size. location and type according to the number of occupants and the type of occupancy.
• Multiple alarms: A request by an incident commander for additional personnel and apparatus. [e.g. "Send me a 2nd Alarm." "Dispatch a 2nd Alarm." "Ring a 2nd Alarm."] Each additional alarm (level) typically includes a predetermined set of additional apparatus and personnel, which will vary by department and sometimes by specific type of incident.
• Mutual aid
  Mutual aid (emergency services)
  In emergency services, mutual aid is an agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. This may occur due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources, such as a disaster or a multiple-alarm fire. Mutual aid may be ad hoc, requested only when...
  
  : An agreement between nearby fire companies to assist each other during emergencies by responding with available manpower and apparatus. If these resources can be requested or dispatched without getting specific approval from a chief officer at the time of an incident, this is sometimes referred to as "automatic" mutual aid.
• MVA: Motor Vehicle Accident

N

• National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System
  National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System
  The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System was launched on August 12th 2005 by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. It was announced at a press conference in Denver, Colorado, after having completed a pilot program involving 38 fire departments across the country...
  
  - Program developed by the IAFC
  International Association of Fire Chiefs
  The International Association of Fire Chiefs is a network of more than 12,000 chief fire and emergency officers. The Association was established in 1873. The Executive Director is Mark W. Light. The Deputy Executive Director is Mary Beth Michos...
  
   that prevents injuries and saves the lives of fire fighters by collecting, sharing and analyzing near-miss experiences. It gives firefighters the opportunity to learn from each other through real life experiences, formulates strategies to reduce firefighter injuries and fatalities, and attempts to enhance the safety culture of the fire service.
• NFPA: The National Fire Protection Association
  National Fire Protection Association
  The National Fire Protection Association is a United States trade association that creates and maintains private, copywrited, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments...
  
  , a publisher which provides a methodology of developing a number of standards and practices for *firefighting, equipment, and fire protection in the United States, and also adopted in many other countries. Also, slang for "No Free Publications Available"; used as a criticism of publishers that produce "must-have" documents that are prohibitively expensive.
• NIOSH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. A U.S. agency responsible for investigation of workplace deaths, including firefighters.
• NIMS: The National Incident Management System. A federally mandated program for the standardizing of command terminology and procedures. This standardizes communications between fire departments and other agencies. It is based upon simple terms that will be used nationwide. Currently, U.S. federally required training programs, from DHS and FEMA, are in the process of standardizing many terms and procedures under NIMS.

O

• Occupancy: Zoning and safety code term used to determine how a structure is permitted to be used and occupied, which in turn dictates the necessary safety structures and procedures.
• Occupancy class: General categories of structures for purpose of safety planning, such as for hospital, assembly, industrial, single-family dwelling, apartment building, commercial, etc. Further broken down by types of hazards associated with particular occupancies, such as gas stations.
• Occupant use hose: Light-weight 1½" diameter firehose pre-coupled to standpipe for emergency use by building occupants prior to arrival of firefighters. Often accessible by breaking glass to unlock a secure enclosure.
• Offensive attack: Method of firefighting in which water or other extinguishing agent is taken by firefighters, directly to the seat of the fire, as opposed to being pumped in that general direction from a safe distance. Typified by taking hoselines to the interior of a building as opposed to remaining on the outside, aka "surround and drown."
• On-call: Personnel who can be summoned (and paid) when necessary to respond to an incident; a type of "volunteer" fire department.
• OSHA
  Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
  
  : U.S. government agency concerned with regulating employee safety, particularly in hazardous occupations such as firefighting
  Firefighter
  Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
  
  .
• Outside fire: Urban fire not inside a building or vehicle, often found to be burning trash which could extend to nearby structures or vehicles if not dealt with properly. A suburban, interface, or rural outside fire could also be a wildland fire.
• Overhauling: Late stage in fire-suppression process during which the burned area is carefully examined for remaining sources of heat that may re-kindle the fire. Often coincides with salvage operations to prevent further loss to structure or its contents, as well as fire-cause determination and preservation of evidence.
• Oxidizer: A hazardous material containing oxygen that can combine with adjacent fuel to start or feed a fire.

P

• Packables: A term used to refer to fire personnel that are certified and trained with SCBA Apparatus.
• Penciling: The penciling technique is created by adjusting the nozzle to a straight stream pattern and using series of short bursts of water directed at burning materials. This helps reduce the production of flammable gases by cooling the burning walls and ceiling below their ignition point.
• Personal alert safety system: See PASS device
  PASS device
  A PASS device also known as an ADSU , is a personal safety device used primarily by firefighters entering a hazardous environment such as a burning building, which sounds a loud audible alert to notify others in the area that the firefighter is in distress.The PASS device will automatically...
  
  in Glossary of firefighting equipment
  Glossary of firefighting equipment
  - A :* Adapter: plumbing accessories for connecting hoses and pipes of incompatible diameter, thread, or gender. See also reducer, increaser, double male, double female, water thief. May contain combinations, such as a double-female reducer...
  
  .
• Personnel Accountability Report ("PAR"): End-result of personnel accountability system. Best report is all hands, AOK, worse is squad missing. You will often hear command ask for a "PAR" when something has changed on the fire ground. Often the reply will be something like, "Engine 4, PAR." or "Engine 4 has PAR." Some incident command systems specify a PAR for all personnel on the fire ground at specific time intervals during the course of a working fire.
• Personnel accountability system: Tag, 'passport', or other system for identification and tracking of personnel at an incident, especially those entering and leaving an IDLH area; intended to permit rapid determination of who may be at risk or lost during sudden changes at the scene.
• Platoon: a subdivision of a fire company, led by a fire officer of either the rank of captain or lieutenant, such that one of several platoons is assigned to duty for a specified period. Also called a "watch". In many areas the word "platoon" is used to describe the different shifts in the fire department. For example, A, B or C Platoon.
• Plug: Slang term for a fire hydrant. This survives from the days when water mains actually had holes in the tops that, after usage, were plugged with a tapered wooden plug. Many firefighters would like to keep this word while many others think it should be replaced with the accurate term, "hydrant".
• Positive pressure: Pressure at higher than atmospheric; used in SCBA facepieces and in pressurized stairwells to reduce entry of smoke or fumes through small openings. High volume, portable Positive Pressure Ventilation fans are now carried by fire departments and used to pressurize the fire building during interior attack to control smoke and heat ventilation at desired points.
• Pre-arrival instructions: Directions given by a dispatcher to a caller until emergency units can arrive.
• Pre-fire, pre-incident planning: Information collected by fire prevention officers to assist in identifying hazards and the equipment, supplies, personnel, skills, and procedures needed to deal with a potential incident.
• Pre-planning: Fire protection strategy involving visits to potentially hazardous occupancies for inspection, follow up analysis and recommendations for actions to be taken in case of specific incidents. Not to be confused with post-planning.
• Probie: (also rookie) new firefighter on employment probation (a period of time during which his or her skills are improved, honed, tested, and evaluated).
• Professional Firefighter: All firefighters are classified as "professionals" by both the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF trade union). All firefighters are required by most state laws and general practice to meet the same training and equipment standards, take the same examinations for promotion and perform the same work under the same hazards. There are two accepted categories of Professional Firefighters: Volunteer Firefighters who may or may not receive pay for services and Career Firefighters whose primary employment and source of earned income is in the fire service.
• Public alarm: Means for public to report a fire, includes telephone, street-corner pull-boxes, building pull-stations, and manual bells or sirens in rural areas.
• Pumper: A fire truck with a water-pump and a water tank.
• Pump operator, technician: (also a chauffeur): person responsible for operating the pumps on a pumper and typically for driving the pumper to an incident.
• Pump Escape: Appliance carrying a wheeled ladder
• Pumper company: Squad or company that mans a fire engine (pumper) and carries out duties involving getting water to the fire.
• Pyrolysis: Process of converting a solid substance to combustible fumes by raising its temperature. See also vaporization
  Vaporization
  Vaporization of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid or solid phase to gas phase. There are three types of vaporization: evaporation, boiling and sublimation....
  
   of liquids.

R

• Radiant extension: fire that has transferred ignition heat to adjacent materials across open space. One reason some city fire codes prohibit windows facing each other in adjacent warehouses.
• Rapid entry team: See FAST.
• Rapid Intervention Crew/Group/Team (RIC, RIG, or RIT): This is a standby crew whose purpose is to go in for the rescue of firefighters in trouble. While all of these versions of the name for a firefighter rescue crew either have been used or continue to be used in several areas, the National Incident Management System (NIMS
  National Incident Management System
  The National Incident Management System is emergency management doctrine used nationwide to coordinate emergency preparedness and incident management and response among the public and private sectors.NIMS is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable at all...
  
  ) has adopted the term Rapid Intervention Crew/Company, ("RIC") to be the standard in the Incident Command System
  Incident Command System
  The Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...
  
   (ICS). Currently, U.S. federally required training programs, from DHS and FEMA, are in the process of standardizing many terms and procedures under NIMS. See: FAST
  Firefighter Assist and Search Team
  A Firefighter Assist and Search Team , also known as a Rapid Intervention Team/Crew , is a team of two or more firefighters dedicated solely to search and rescue of other firefighters in distress. FAST shall have no other operational assignment during an incident...
  
  
• Ready team: A company of firefighters waiting to relieve another company.
• RECEO: RECEOVES stands for Rescue, Exposures, Containment, Extinguish, Overhaul, Ventilation, Environment, Salvage. This is used at structural fires internationally, as a guide to objectives.
• Recovery: Location and removal of deceased victims. Also, the time needed for a firefighter to spend in rehab before being considered ready to continue working the incident.
• Reflash, re-kindle: A situation in which a fire, thought to be extinguished, resumes burning.
• Reflash Watch: A person assigned to observe and monitor an extinguished fire, to ensure that it does not reflash or re-kindle. Aka "Fire Watch."
• Rehab, Rehabilitation sector: An area for physical and mental recuperation at a fire scene, usually equipped with beverages, and chairs, isolated from environmental extremes (cold, heat, noise, smoke). This rest area enables firefighters to relax, cool off (or warm up) and regain hydration by way of preventing injury. An EMT may be assigned to monitor firefighter vitals when they enter and leave rehab. See: Fire department rehab
  Fire department rehab
  Fire department rehab is a vital firefighting service on the fireground, providing firefighters and other emergency personnel with immediate medical attention including rehydration, treatment for smoke inhalation, and the prevention of such life-threatening conditions as heatstroke and heart...
  
  
• Rescue
  Rescue
  Rescue refers to responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or prevention of injury during an incident or dangerous situation....
  
  : Physical removal of a live person or animal from danger to a place of comfort.
• Rescue company: Squad of firefighters trained and equipped to enter adverse conditions and rescue victims of an incident. Often delegated to a truck company.
• Residential sprinkler system: A sprinkler system arranged for fire suppression in a dwelling.
• Residual pressure: When a pumper is taking its water supply from a hydrant the engineer must make sure the pump is not taking every last bit of the pressure the hydrant is able to provide. Some residual pressure must be allowed to remain to provide a buffer so the pump does not accidentally over-draw the hydrant and potentially damage or collapse the water mains leading to the hydrant. It may also refer to the water utility boosting water pressure in the area of a working fire so that "residual pressure" remains in the entirety of the municipal water system despite the water being drawn for fire-fighting.
• Retained firefighter
  Retained firefighter
  A retained firefighter, also known as a Firefighter working the Retained Duty System , RDS Firefighter, part-time firefighter or on-call firefighter, in the United Kingdom and Ireland is a professional firefighter who may have full-time employment outside of the fire service but responds to...
  
  : (U.K.) Retained firefighters are part-time firefighters, so called because they are paid a 'retainer' every year, along with a call-out fee every time they respond to an emergency call, and a training fee for the hours of training/drill they attend. They have set 'on-call' hours, during which they must respond to emergency call-outs. Retained brigades are typically based in rural areas or large villages/small towns where there is no real need for a wholetime brigade. A retained crew may respond to a call where only they are in attendance, or they may be part of a response to a larger incident along with wholetime crews.
• Reverse lay: The process of stringing hose from a fire toward a source of water, e.g., a fire hydrant
  Fire hydrant
  A fire hydrant , is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water...
  
  .
• Rollover
  Rollover (fire)
  Rollover is a stage of a structure fire when fire gases in a room or other enclosed area ignite. Since heated fire gases, the product of pyrolysis, rise to the ceiling, this is where a rollover phenomenon is most often witnessed...
  
  : The ignition of ceiling-level fire gases. Contrast Flashover, above.
• Roof sector (Roof group, Roof division): A crew, typically a ladder company, assigned to the roof of a structure, most often for purposes of vertical ventilation during a fire. May also be assigned to check roof-mounted equipment, HVAC, etc., for fire or malfunction.
• Run card system: A system of pre-planning for fire protection in which information about specific detectors, hazards, or other emergency response plans is indexed by location, for rapid reference during an alarm.
• Running Call: A call, 'Shout', with persons reported.

S

• SAR
  Search and rescue
  Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
  
  : See Search and rescue.
• Salvage: Removing or covering personal property which could be subjected to possible smoke, fire, water or other damage during firefighting, or removal and diverting of smoke and water to prevent further damage. Stopping a broken sprinkler head
  Fire sprinkler
  A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected...
  
   is one type of salvage operation as is the closing of doors to uninvolved rooms.
• Scene safety: Steps taken at or near an emergency scene to reduce hazards and prevent further injuries to workers, victims or bystanders.
• Scuttle hatch: Ready-made opening in roof that can be opened for vertical ventilation.
• Search and rescue
  Search and rescue
  Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
  
  (or SAR): Entering a fire building or collapse zone for an orderly search for victims and removal of live victims. Becomes "recovery" if victims are not likely to be found alive. May be done in quick primary wave and more thorough secondary search.
• Secondary containment: A system to contain a hazardous material should the primary means of containment (container) fail, e.g. by leakage. The secondary container is required to hold 110% of the capacity of the primary container.
• Sector: A physical or operational division of an incident; an area supervised as a branch in the Incident Command System
  Incident Command System
  The Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...
  
  . A typical system for structure fires names the "front" of the building "sector A", and continues clockwise around the building (B, C, D), with interior sectors denoted by the floor number (1, 2, 3, etc.). A "rehab" sector is one example of an operational division at an incident, where personnel are assigned after strenuous work in another sector.
• Shoulder load: The amount of hose a single firefighter can pull off a hose wagon or pumper truck and carry toward the fire.
• Sides A, B, C, and D: Terms used by firefighters labeling the multiple sides of a building starting with side A or Alpha being the front of the structure and working its way around the outside of the structure in a clockwise direction. This labels the front side A or Alpha, the left side B or Bravo, the rear side C or Charlie, and the right side D or Delta.
• Size-up: initial evaluation of an incident, in particular a determination of immediate hazards to responders, other lives and property, and what additional resources may be needed. Example: "Two-story brick taxpayer with heavy smoke showing from rear wooden porches and children reported trapped."
• Skid unit
  Skid Unit
  A Skid Unit is the common name used to refer to a complete self-contained fire fighting apparatus designed for use on/in commercially available vehicle platforms. Vehicles such as pickup trucks, flat bed trucks, vans, off-road vehicles, trailers and others can easily be fitted with a proper size...
  
  : A Skid unit (called a "Slip-on" in Australia) is the common name used to refer to a complete self contained fire fighting apparatus designed for use on/in commercially available vehicle platforms
• Smoke explosion: See backdraft
  Backdraft
  A backdraft is an explosive event at a fire resulting from rapid re-introduction of oxygen to combustion in an oxygen-starved environment, for example, the breaking of a window or opening of a door to an enclosed space. Backdrafts present a serious threat to firefighters, even those with a high...
  
  .
• Smoke-proof stairwell: Building structure which isolates exit stairwells with relatively fire-resistant walls, self-closing doors, and positive pressure ventilation, to prevent smoke or fumes from entering the stairwell during evacuation of occupants from a fire (or other emergency).
• Solid stream: fire stream from round orifice of nozzle. Compare straight stream.
• Staging: sector of incident command where responding resources arrive for assignment to another sector. Often an essential element for incident personnel accountability program. May include temporary parking, cover, sanitation, fuel, food and other resources necessary to those apparatus and personnel waiting for immediate assignment.
• Standard operating procedure, guideline (SOP or SOG): Rules for the operation of a fire department, such as how to respond to various types of emergencies, training requirements, use of protective equipment, radio procedures; often include local interpretations of regulations and standards. In general, "procedures" are specific, whereas "guidelines" are less detailed.
• Static pressure: The pressure in a water system when the water is not flowing.
• Straight stream: Round, hollow stream formed as water passes a round baffle through a round orifice (e.g., on an adjustable nozzle.) Compare solid stream.
• Stretch: command to lay out (and connect) fire hose
  Fire hose
  A fire hose is a high-pressure hose used to carry water or other fire retardant to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it is attached either to a fire engine or a fire hydrant. Indoors, it can be permanently attached to a building's standpipe or plumbing system...
  
   and nozzle
  Nozzle
  A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow as it exits an enclosed chamber or pipe via an orifice....
  
  .
• Strike Team: a grouping of similar fire apparatus or personnel with a focused goal in a large fire situation, often commanded by a chief officer. The term is commonly used for structure protection teams during wildland fire operations.
• Structure fire
  Structure fire
  A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various residential buildings ranging from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments and tower blocks, or various commercial buildings ranging from offices to shopping malls...
  
  (or "structural fire"): A fire in a residential or commercial building. Urban fire departments are primarily geared toward structural firefighting. The term is often used to distinguish them from wildland fire or other outside fire, and may also refer to the type of training and equipment such as "structure PPE" (personal protective equipment).
• Super Fire Mega Box: An extremely large fire. Generally a term used by whackers.

T

• Tailboard: Portion at rear of fire engine
  Fire apparatus
  A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
  
   where firefighters could stand and ride (now considered overly dangerous), or step up to access hoses in the hose bed.
• Tanker: In use for a long time to refer to a truck designed solely to transport a large quantity of water. Now these trucks are more commonly referred to as "Tenders" (see Tender below) and "tanker" is reserved for aircraft equipped to carry water or fire retardant for use in wildland fire suppression.
• Taxpayer: 1 to 2 story store, or place of business, usually with a residence attached: auto repair, supermarket, tailor, etc.
• Tender (also "Water Tender"): A wheeled fire apparatus equipped to carry large volumes of water to a fire. Often used in areas without an adequate or universal water supply system, such as rural areas without hydrants. They may carry anywhere from 1500 to 7500 gallons of water. Tenders may have pumps and associated hardware to facilitate their mission. Some departments may still refer to these apparatus as "Tankers."
• Truck company: a group of firefighters assigned to an apparatus that carries ladders, forcible entry tools, possibly extrication tools and salvage covers, and who are otherwise equipped to perform rescue, ventilation, overhaul and other specific functions at fires; also called "ladder company".
• Turnout Gear: The protective clothing worn by firefighters
• Two-in, two-out
  Two-in, two-out
  In firefighting, the policy of two-in, two-out mandates that firefighters never go into a dangerous situation in a fire or rescue incident alone...
  
  (or "two in/two out"): Refers to the standard safety tactic of having one team of two firefighters enter a hazardous zone (IDLH
  IDLH
  IDLH is an initialism for Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health, and is defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as exposure to airborne contaminants that is "likely to cause death or immediate or delayed permanent adverse health effects or prevent escape from such...
  
  ), while at least two others stand by outside in case the first two need rescue — thus requiring a minimum of four firefighters on scene prior to starting interior attack. Also refers to the "buddy system" in which firefighters never enter or leave a burning structure alone.
• Type I, II, III, IV, V Building - U.S. classification system for fire resistance of building construction types, including definitions for "resistive" Type I, "non-combustible" Type II, "ordinary" Type III, heavy timber Type IV, and "frame construction" Type V (i.e., made entirely of wood).
• Truckie: Person who works on the Ladder Truck.

U

• Under Control: Fire or spill etc. is no longer spreading. The situation is contained. This term should not be confused with a report that the fire is out.
• Underground storage tank: A tank that happens to be underground.
• U.S.A.R: Urban Search and Rescue.
• United States Fire Administration
  United States Fire Administration
  The United States Fire Administration is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency which in turn is managed by the Department of Homeland Security located in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Emmitsburg.-History:...
  
  (USFA): Division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
  Federal Emergency Management Agency
  The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
  
   (FEMA), which in turn is managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
• Universal precautions
  Universal precautions
  Universal precautions refers to the practice, in medicine, of avoiding contact with patients' bodily fluids, by means of the wearing of nonporous articles such as medical gloves, goggles, and face shields. The practice was introduced in 1985–88. In 1987, the practice of universal precautions was...
  
  : The use of safety barriers (gloves, mask, goggles) to limit an emergency responder's contact with contaminants, especially fluids of injured patients.
• Utility Truck: Usually manned by an engine company and responds to utility calls like water main breaks. Some small departments use them to respond to medical calls to save gas money.

V

• Vapor pressure
  Vapor pressure
  Vapor pressure or equilibrium vapor pressure is the pressure of a vapor in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed phases in a closed system. All liquids have a tendency to evaporate, and some solids can sublimate into a gaseous form...
  
  (equilibrium vapor pressure): The pressure of a vapor in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed phases in a closed system.
• Vapor suppression: Process of reducing the amount of flammable or other hazardous vapors, from a flammable liquid, mixing with air, typically by careful application of a foam blanket on top of a pool of material.
• Vehicle fire: Type of fire involving motor vehicles themselves, their fuel or cargo; has peculiar issues of rescue, explosion sources, toxic smoke and runoff, and scene safety.
• Ventilation: Important procedure in firefighting in which the hot smoke and gases are removed from inside a structure, either by natural convection or forced, and either through existing openings or new ones provided by firefighters at appropriate locations (e.g., "vertical ventilation" is the classic cut-a-hole-in-the-roof method). Proper ventilation can save lives and improper ventilation can cause backdraft or other hazards. Car fire ventilation standards were improved by Kevin "Center Punch" Tomaszewski on Feb. 5, 2008.
• Venturi effect
  Venturi effect
  The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section of pipe. The Venturi effect is named after Giovanni Battista Venturi , an Italian physicist.-Background:...
  
  : Creating a partial vacuum using a constricted fluid flow, used in fire equipment for mixing chemicals into water streams, or for measuring flow velocity.
• VES: Vent, Enter, Search.
• Vertical ventilation: Ventilation technique making use of the principle of convection in which heated gases naturally rise. This is the classic cut-a-hole-in-the-roof method that helps release the smoke and hot gases that accumulate near the ceiling or attic space.
• Voids (building): Enclosed portions of a building where fire can spread undetected.
• Vollie: A volunteer firefighter.
• Volunteer fire department
  Volunteer fire department
  See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
  
  : An organization of part-time firefighters who may or may not be paid for on-call time or firefighting duty time, but who in nearly all states are held to the same professional training standards and take the same examinations to advance in rank as career firefighters. [In some regions, particularly eastern New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland volunteer fire departments and fire protection districts have independent taxing authority and are equally as well equipped and paid while working as career fire department members.]

W

• Water drop: A forest fire fighting technique when an airplane (also called an "airtanker
  Aerial firefighting
  Aerial firefighting is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing...
  
  ") or helicopter
  Helicopter
  A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
  
   drops a supply of water or other fire suppressant onto an exposed fire from above.
• Water hammer
  Water hammer
  Water hammer is a pressure surge or wave resulting when a fluid in motion is forced to stop or change direction suddenly . Water hammer commonly occurs when a valve is closed suddenly at an end of a pipeline system, and a pressure wave propagates in the pipe...
  
  : Large, damaging shock wave in a water supply system caused by shutting a valve quickly, or by permitting a vehicle to drive across an unprotected fire hose
  Fire hose
  A fire hose is a high-pressure hose used to carry water or other fire retardant to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it is attached either to a fire engine or a fire hydrant. Indoors, it can be permanently attached to a building's standpipe or plumbing system...
  
  .
• Well Involved: Term of size-up meaning fire, heat and smoke in a structure are so widespread that internal access must wait until fire streams can be applied.
• Wet down ceremony: A traditional ceremony for the placing of new apparatus in service. There are several versions of this but it usually includes: pushing the old apparatus out, wetting down the new vehicle and pushing it back into the station. It may also include the moving of the bell to the new apparatus, photos, etc.
• Wildfire
  Wildfire
  A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
  
  or Wildland fire: Fire in forests, grasslands, prairies, or other natural areas, not involving structure fires (although wildland fires may threaten structures or vice versa - see interface zone.) For a complete list of terms used in wildland fire, see Glossary of wildland fire terms
  Glossary of wildland fire terms
  The following is a glossary of wildfire terms. Except where noted, terms are taken from a 1998 Fireline Handbook transcribed for a Conflict 21 counter-terrorism studies website by the Air National Guard....
  
  .
• Wholetime firefighter: (U.K.) A firefighter employed full time by one of the 63 brigades in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Working fire: A fire that is in the process of being suppressed. Typically reserved for a structure fire or an outside fire with a considerable fire load that requires the Incident Command System be initiated, additional support and suppression assets dispatched, and necessary notifications made to other municipal agencies. Aka a "real" fire that will probably not be handled quickly by a single company.

Z

• Zone: Section of structure indicated on a fire alarm control panel
  Fire alarm control panel
  A Fire Alarm Control Panel , or Fire Alarm Control Unit , is the controlling component of a Fire Alarm System. The panel receives information from environmental sensors designed to detect changes associated with fire, monitors their operational integrity and provides for automatic control of...
  
  where sensor was activated, which may also have separate HVAC
  HVAC
  HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
  
   and fire suppression controls. May also refer to the act of zoning
  Zoning
  Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
  
   a geographic area in which certain types of occupancies
  Occupancy
  Occupancy in building construction and building codes is the use or intended use of a building or part thereof for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is the number of units in such a building that are rented or leased, or otherwise in-use...
  
   are restricted or preferred, due to concerns for fire safety
  Fire safety
  Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...
  
   and the availability of fire protection
  Fire protection
  Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of...
  
   and emergency evacuation
  Emergency evacuation
  Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
  
   routes.

See also

• Glossary of wildland fire terms
  Glossary of wildland fire terms
  The following is a glossary of wildfire terms. Except where noted, terms are taken from a 1998 Fireline Handbook transcribed for a Conflict 21 counter-terrorism studies website by the Air National Guard....
  
  
• Glossary of firefighting equipment
  Glossary of firefighting equipment
  - A :* Adapter: plumbing accessories for connecting hoses and pipes of incompatible diameter, thread, or gender. See also reducer, increaser, double male, double female, water thief. May contain combinations, such as a double-female reducer...