Firefighting & Safety

The specialized trucks, engines, and aircraft used to transport crews and pump water.

• Aerial ladderalso stick
  A mechanically operated, extendable ladder permanently mounted on a fire apparatus.
• Apparatusalso rig
  Any specialized vehicle used by a fire department for emergency response.
• Chemical enginealso soda-acid engine
  An early type of fire apparatus that used a chemical reaction to expel water.
• Crash tenderalso ARFF vehicle, airport crash tender
  A specialized fire engine designed for aircraft rescue and firefighting.
• Fire enginealso engine, pumper
  A specialized vehicle designed primarily to pump water and carry hose.
• Fire truckalso truck, ladder truck
  A specialized apparatus equipped with an aerial device, ground ladders, and heavy rescue tools.
• Pump escape
  A traditional British fire appliance carrying both a water pump and a large wheeled escape ladder.
• Quintalso quintuple combination pumper
  A fire apparatus providing five distinct functions.
• Snozzlealso piercing boom
  An articulating boom with a piercing nozzle used primarily in aircraft rescue.
• Tankeralso water tender
  A mobile water source used to supply fire engines in areas without hydrants.
• Tower ladderalso platform, aerial tower
  An aerial fire apparatus featuring a telescopic boom with an enclosed platform at the tip.
• Triplealso triple combination engine, pumper
  A fire engine equipped with a pump, a water tank, and a complement of hose. Shop talk
• Triple combination enginealso pumper, triple
  A firefighting vehicle that features an onboard water supply, a powerful pump, and storage for hoses.

The hand tools, nozzles, and mechanical devices required for forcible entry and suppression.

• Blabbermouth
  A specialized foam-dispensing nozzle used primarily in aircraft rescue and firefighting. Shop talk
• Bresnan nozzlealso Bresnan distributor, cellar nozzle
  A rotating distributor nozzle lowered through holes to fight fires in confined spaces.
• Brush blade
  A heavy-duty rake attachment used to cut and drag tough roots and brush from a fireline.
• Closet hook
  A short pike pole designed for breaching ceilings and walls in confined spaces.
• Deluge gunalso master stream, deck gun
  A high-capacity master stream device used to deliver massive amounts of water.
• Drop tankalso portable tank, folding tank
  A portable, collapsible reservoir used to store water at a fire scene.
• Duckbillalso duckbill lock breaker
  A specialized forcible entry tool designed to break heavy padlocks.
• Fire bucket
  A specialized bucket used to carry water or sand for extinguishing small fires.
• Fire cabinetalso hose cabinet, extinguisher cabinet
  A wall-mounted enclosure housing initial-response firefighting gear.
• Fire grenade
  A historic glass bulb filled with chemical suppressants designed to be thrown at the base of a fire.
• Firebellalso gong, alarm bell
  A mechanical or electronic bell used to signal an alarm or dispatch.
• Foamalso AFFF, Class A foam
  An aerated chemical blanket used to smother fires, suppress vapors, and cool surfaces.
• Halyardalso fly rope
  The rope and pulley system used to hoist the fly sections of an extension ladder.
• Hose bridgealso hose ramp
  A protective ramp placed over supply lines to allow vehicle traffic to cross without stopping water flow or damaging the hose.
• Hose jacket
  A hinged metal clamp designed to seal a leak in a pressurized fire hose.
• Jaws of Lifealso extrication tools, hydraulic rescue tools
  A system of heavy-duty hydraulic rescue tools used to cut and pry apart wrecked vehicles. Shop talk
• Polaskialso Pulaski
  A specialized wildland firefighting hand tool combining an axe and an adze.
• Spanneralso spanner wrench
  A specialized hand tool used to tighten or loosen fire hose couplings.

The fittings, lines, and drafting techniques used to move water from a source to the fire.

• Cross layalso Mattydale lay, transverse lay
  A preconnected hose bed arranged perpendicularly across a fire engine.
• Delugealso deluge system
  A fixed fire protection system that floods an entire area with water.
• Drafting
  The process of pulling water from a static source into a fire pump.
• Drafting site
  A designated natural water source where an apparatus can pump water into its tank.
• Fill sitealso filling site
  A designated location where water tenders are loaded with water to transport to a fire.
• Fire hydrantalso plug, fire plug
  An above-ground connection point to a municipal water supply system.
• Fire sitealso drafting site
  A designated location for drafting water from a static natural source.
• Firestream
  The continuous column of water or extinguishing agent leaving a nozzle and reaching the target.
• Firewater
  The dedicated water supply reserved specifically for firefighting operations at industrial sites.
• Increaser
  A brass or aluminum hose fitting that connects a smaller hose to a larger one.
• Jet siphon
  A specialized drafting appliance used to transfer water between portable folding tanks.
• NHalso National Hose, National Standard Thread
  A standardized thread specification used for fire hose couplings and hydrants in the United States.
• NST
  The national standard thread used for fire hose couplings and fittings.
• Preconnectalso preconnected line
  A hose line already attached to a pump discharge for rapid deployment.
• Stream straightener
  A tubular device with internal vanes that removes turbulence from water flowing to a nozzle.

The physical dynamics of combustion, smoke expansion, and explosive gas ignitions.

• Angel fingers
  Small, isolated tongues of flame that appear in smoke near the ceiling. Shop talk
• Autoextensionalso lap-around
  The vertical spread of fire on the exterior of a building from a lower window to an upper window.
• Backdraft
  An explosive ignition of superheated, oxygen-deprived fire gases when air is suddenly introduced.
• LFM
  The ratio of water weight to dry weight in living vegetation.
• Rolloveralso flameover
  The ignition of combustible gases accumulating at the ceiling of a burning room.
• Smoke explosionalso fire gas ignition
  The violent ignition of unburned fire gases trapped in a confined space.

The tactics, fuel classifications, and containment strategies used in forest and brush fires.

• Backfire
  To intentionally set a fire along the inner edge of a control line to consume fuel.
• Black
  The burned area of a wildland fire where fuel has already been consumed.
• Blackline
  A strip of deliberately burned fuel used to reinforce a control line.
• Boneyard
  A cleared area scraped down to mineral soil for safely dumping smoldering debris. Shop talk
• Catlinealso dozer line
  A wide fire containment line constructed by a bulldozer scraping down to mineral soil.
• Containment linealso fireline, control line
  A boundary created to stop the spread of a wildland fire.
• Counterfirealso backfire, burnout
  A fire set intentionally to consume fuel in the path of a wildfire.
• Cubiealso cubitainer
  A five-gallon cardboard box containing a plastic bladder of drinking water. Shop talk
• FFM
  Fine fuel moisture, a metric indicating the water content in small, easily ignitable vegetation.
• Firebreakalso fire line, containment line
  A gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a wildfire.
• Flash fuelalso fine fuel, light fuel
  Lightweight, highly combustible vegetation that ignites easily and burns rapidly.
• Helitorch
  An aerial ignition device slung beneath a helicopter to drop flaming fuel.
• Hosepackalso hose pack
  A bundle of forestry fire hose configured to be carried on a firefighter's back.
• LACESalso LCES
  A safety acronym for Lookouts, Anchor points, Communications, Escape routes, and Safety zones.
• LATalso Large Air Tanker
  A Large Air Tanker used to drop water or fire retardant on wildland fires.
• Mop-up
  The final phase of firefighting where remaining hot spots are extinguished.
• One-hour fuelalso fine fuels, flashy fuels
  Dead vegetation less than a quarter-inch in diameter that reacts rapidly to changes in relative humidity.
• Raking fire
  The process of manually clearing combustible ground fuel to create a firebreak. Shop talk
• Red cardalso incident qualification card
  An incident qualification card for wildland firefighters.
• Slopover
  A fire edge that crosses a control line or natural barrier.
• Torchmanalso firer, ignition specialist
  A wildland firefighter assigned to ignite vegetation for controlled burns or defensive firing.
• VLATalso Very Large Air Tanker
  A Very Large Air Tanker used for massive retardant drops on wildland fires.
• Watchoutalso watch out situation
  A recognized hazardous situation that increases the risk to wildland firefighters.
• Wetlinealso wet line
  A temporary fire control line created by soaking fuel with water or foam.

The operational methods for searching structures, extinguishing flames, and managing incidents.

• Backstretchalso reverse lay
  The process of laying a supply hose from the fire scene back to the water source.
• Bailout
  An emergency exit from a structure by a firefighter when conditions rapidly deteriorate.
• Denver drill
  A confined-space rescue drill for extracting an unconscious firefighter.
• Fire alarmalso alarm
  A dispatched response to a reported fire, categorized by the amount of equipment required.
• Fireground
  The physical area where firefighting operations are actively taking place.
• Five-alarm
  A severe fire requiring the dispatch of five distinct levels of apparatus and personnel.
• Fog outalso hydraulic ventilation
  To use a wide fog stream from a hose line to push smoke and heat out of a window. Shop talk
• Grab
  A successful physical rescue of a civilian from a hazardous environment. Shop talk
• Knock downalso darken down
  To aggressively apply water to reduce the bulk of visible flames. Shop talk
• Ladder
  To place ground or aerial ladders against a structure for access or egress. Shop talk
• Multialarmalso multiple-alarm
  Describing a fire large enough to require additional units beyond the initial dispatch.
• Overhaul
  The process of searching for and extinguishing hidden fires inside a structure.
• RECEOalso RECEO-VS
  A tactical acronym for Rescue, Exposures, Confinement, Extinguishment, and Overhaul.
• Rolling brownoutalso brownout
  The scheduled, temporary closure of different fire stations to cut costs.
• Size-up
  The rapid initial assessment of an emergency scene to determine hazards and strategy.

The specialized clothing, breathing apparatus, and protocols designed to prevent injury.

• Ankle boot
  A short protective work boot that extends just over the ankle joint.
• Bulletproof vestalso ballistic vest, body armour
  Ballistic body armour worn by emergency responders during violent incidents.
• Hard hat
  A rigid headpiece worn to protect against falling debris and impact hazards.
• Helmetalso lid
  A heavy-duty protective headpiece designed for structural firefighting.
• High-visibilityalso hi-vis, high-vis
  Designed with fluorescent colors and retroreflective materials to make personnel easily seen in dangerous environments.
• Hot zonealso exclusion zone
  The immediate area surrounding a hazardous materials spill or active danger.
• Lanyard
  A short, flexible length of rope or webbing used to secure a worker to an anchor point.
• Nip pointalso pinch point
  A hazardous spot where moving parts converge and can crush body parts or pull in clothing.
• PPE
  Personal protective equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards.
• Rehabalso incident rehabilitation
  A designated area and process for resting and medically evaluating responders.
• Tailgatealso tailgate meeting, toolbox talk
  A brief, informal safety meeting held on site before a work shift begins. Shop talk

The job titles, crew designations, and informal jargon spoken around the firehouse.

• Brownout
  The temporary closure of a fire station or specific apparatus due to budget or staffing shortages. Shop talk
• Bunker outalso turn out, suit up
  To put on complete structural firefighting protective clothing. Shop talk
• Engineeralso driver, pump operator
  The firefighter responsible for driving the apparatus and operating the pump.
• Fire brigadealso industrial fire brigade
  A private or industrial team organized to fight fires at a specific facility.
• Fire company
  A single crew of firefighters assigned to a specific piece of apparatus.
• Fire departmentalso fire brigade, FD
  The overarching municipal or regional agency responsible for emergency response.
• Fire service
  The collective profession, industry, and culture of firefighting.
• Firefighteralso fireman
  A trained first responder tasked with extinguishing fires, executing rescues, and mitigating hazardous materials incidents.
• Fireman
  A traditional occupational title for a person trained to extinguish fires and perform rescues.
• Freelancer
  A firefighter who operates independently outside the established incident command structure. Shop talk
• Goeralso working fire, worker
  A confirmed working fire or major incident that requires a full response. Shop talk
• Gravel rashalso road rash
  Abrasions and skin injuries caused by scraping against rough surfaces like asphalt or dirt. Shop talk
• Truckiealso truckman
  A firefighter assigned to a ladder truck company rather than an engine company. Shop talk
• Wetdownalso housing ceremony
  A traditional ceremony where a newly commissioned fire apparatus is sprayed with water.