NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview

The NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire provides an extensive listing of approved terms and definitions used by the NWCG community. It contains terms commonly used by NWCG in the areas of wildland fire and incident management and is not intended to list all terms used by NWCG groups and member agencies. The NWCG has directed that all committee and subgroup product glossaries be contained within the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire to maintain definition consistency and clarity among documents.

Comments, questions, and recommendations shall be submitted to the appropriate agency program manager assigned to the Data Standards and Terminology Board (DSTB).

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205 (Quick View)

EDG Explorer is a database platform used for managing NWCG Glossary terms. The following table is a quick view of the terms found in EDG. More detailed information such as rules, documentation, and term relationships may be viewed in EDG Explorer.

Note: If the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire is not displaying below please report it to NWCG Webmaster.

Title	Steward	Status	Definition
manual weather station	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	A non-telemetered weather station that provides one observation every 24 hours for manual entry into WIMS.
manually regulated	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A proportioning method or device that requires a manual adjustment to maintain a desired mix ratio over a changing range of water flows and pressures.
map		Approved	A line drawing, to some scale, of an area of the earth’s surface. It shows objects and features by conventional signs.
map method	GSC Geospatial Subcommittee	Approved	How the geospatial feature was derived
map scale		Approved	Indicates the ratio or proportion of the horizontal distance on the map to the corresponding horizontal distance on the ground.
marine accident (event)	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	An event dealing with an accident or mishap involving watercraft.
marine air	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Air which has a high moisture content and the temperature characteristics of an ocean surface due to extensive exposure to that surface. An intrusion of marine air will moderate fire conditions. Absence of marine air in coastal areas may lead to more severe fire danger.
marine climate	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Regional climate under the predominant influence of the sea, that is, a climate characterized by marine air; the opposite of a continental climate.
marine search/rescue/recovery (event)	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	An event dealing with a search, and/or rescue, and/or recovery in a marine setting.
maritime air	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Air which has assumed high moisture content and the temperature characteristics of a water surface due to extensive exposure to that surface.
mass arsonist	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	An offender who sets three or more fires at the same location during a limited period of time.
mass fire	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	A fire resulting from many simultaneous ignitions that generates a high level of energy output.
master fire chronology	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Chronological listing of the dates of fires documented in a designated area, the dates being corrected by crossdating. Size of the area must be specified.
material first ignited	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	The fuel that is first set on fire by the heat of ignition.
mathematical model	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	A model that is a quantitative and mathematical representation or simulation which attempts to describe the characteristics or relationship of physical events.
mattock	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Hand tool with a narrow hoeing surface at one end of the blade and a pick or cutting blade at the other end; used for digging and grubbing.
maximum certified gross weight	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Absolute maximum allowable gross weight for an aircraft as established by the manufacturer and approved by the FAA.
maximum computed gross weight	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Computed gross weight for an aircraft, obtained from the appropriate performance chart, which is the maximum gross weight appropriate to the applicable circumstance of configuration and/or environmental conditions.
maximum dry bulb temperature	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The highest value for dry bulb temperature measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
Maximum Manageable Area	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	The maximum geographic limits of spread within which a wildland fire is allowed to spread.
maximum relative humidity	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The highest value for relative humidity measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
may day	RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	International distress signal/call. When repeated three times it indicates imminent and grave danger and that immediate assistance is required.
Mcleod	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	A combination hoe or cutting tool and rake, with or without removable blades.
mean fire return interval	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Arithmetic average of all fire intervals in a given area over a given time.
Mean Sea Level	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Average height of the surface of the sea for all stages of the tide over a 19-year period.
measured woody fuel moisture	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	Moisture content of the small branch wood and foliage of live woody plants, expressed as a percentage of the oven dry weight of the sample, collected monthly and used to supplement NFDRS modeled outputs.
medical assist (event)	NCSC National Coordination System Committee	Approved	An event dealing with a rescue, and/or recovery, and/or service for a non-accident medical emergency (e.g., heart attack, illness, etc.).
Medical Unit	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee	Approved	Medical Unit staff are responsible to plan for and provide health and medical services for incident personnel.
medium expansion	ETC Equipment Technology Committee	Approved	Foam with an expansion between 21:1 and 200:1.
medium-range forecast	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	A forecast for a period extending from about two days to five days or a week in advance; there are no absolute limits to the period embraced by this definition.
medivac	RMC Risk Management Committee	Approved	Mobile medical treatment and transportation.
merge identifier		Approved
merged wildfires	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Approved	Two or more wildfires that burn together to form a single burned area and which, by management action, may be declared merged and managed as a single incident to improve efficiency and simplify incident management processes.
mesa (topographic)		Approved	A flat-topped mountain with steep sides.
message center	NIMSIC National Incident Management System Integration Committee	Archived	The message center is part of the incident communications center and is collocated or placed adjacent to it. It receives, records, and routes information about resources reporting to the incident, resource status, and administrative and tactical traffic.
methodology	DPMS Dispatch Position and Curriculum Management Subcommittee	Approved	A set of standardized procedures and practices that have been peer-reviewed and have received general acceptance by the profession.
Micro-Remote Environmental Monitoring System	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	Mobile weather monitoring station. Each unit consists of a shipping container, solar panel, battery, temperature/relative humidity sensor, wind mast, wind direction/speed sensor, data logger and radio. A Micro-REMS usually accompanies an incident meteorologist and ATMU to an incident.
microscale fire pattern indicator	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Fire pattern indicators that are generally only visible when viewed within close proximity.
mid-flame windspeed	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	The speed of the wind measured at the midpoint of the flames, considered to be most representative of the speed of the wind that is affecting fire behavior.
middle name	DMC Data Management Committee	Approved	The middle name of the resource as it appears on a government issued ID. Applies only to overhead resources.
Military Operations Area	NIAC National Interagency Aviation Committee	Approved	Military Operations Area found on aeronautical charts.
military time	IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee	Archived	The 24-hour clock system where midnight is 2400, one minute after midnight is 0001 and progresses to 2400 daily.
millibar	FWS Fire Weather Subcommittee	Approved	A unit of pressure equal to a force of 1,000 dynes per square centimeter. (A dyne is the force that would give a free mass of one gram an acceleration of one centimeter per second per second).
mineral ash	FBSC Fire Behavior Subcommittee	Approved	The residue of mineral matter left after complete combustion of wood (wood ash) or other organic material; consists largely of oxides, carbonates, and phosphates of Ca, K and Mg, together with other compounds.
mineral soil	FUSC Fire Use Subcommittee	Approved	Soil layers below the predominantly organic horizons; soil with little combustible material.
minimum cost suppression alternative	IBC Incident Business Committee	Approved	The alternative that achieves incident objectives, consistent with priority for firefighter and public safety, and is least expensive when considering expected costs for fire suppression and emergency stabilization and/or rehabilitation.
minimum dry bulb temperature	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The lowest value for dry bulb temperature measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
Minimum Impact Strategy and Tactics	IFPC Interagency Fire Planning Committee	Approved	The application of strategy and tactics that effectively meet suppression and resource objectives with the least environmental, cultural and social impacts
minimum relative humidity	FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee	Approved	The lowest value for relative humidity measured at the observation site during the preceding 24-hour period.
miscellaneous fire	WFISC Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee	Approved	Fire of known cause that cannot be properly classified into any of the eight standard causes of fires.

First
Previous
…
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
…
Next
Last

How to Print or Download Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

The Print PDF button below allows you to print only the visible glossary terms as a PDF or send them to a printer (not the full glossary).
Click to download the current version of the full glossary in Excel (.csv) format.

National Wildfire Coordinating Group

PMS 205

NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

Overview