Chapter 1 – Ground Cover Fire Behavior
What are the three primary environmental factors that influence ground cover fire behavior?
Fuel, Weather, and Topography.
In the wildland safety acronym LCES (or LACES), what does each letter stand for?
Lookouts, (Anchors), Communications, Escape Routes, Safety Zones.
Who is the individual at the top of the chain of command responsible for overall incident management and strategy?
Incident Commander (IC).
What tactics method involves applying water, foam, or retardant directly onto burning fuels at the fire’s edge?
Direct attack (or wet attack / line suppression).
What is the most common type of ground cover fire, which burns low-lying grass, shrubs, and surface fuels?
Surface fire (or crawling fire).
What is the rule of thumb that indicates firefighters should take safety precautions when the time between a lightning flash and thunder is under a certain duration?
The 30/30 Rule (less than 30 seconds between flash and thunder).
What is the optimal span of control for a supervisor under ICS guidelines?
3 to 7 subordinates (with 5 being optimum).
What term describes an intentional fire set along the inner edge of a control line to burn unburned fuel between the line and the advancing fire edge?
Burnout (or firing operations / burning out).
On what compass exposures (aspects) do fires typically burn faster and with lighter, drier fuels in North America?
South and Southwest exposures.
Under NFPA 1977 guidelines, what is the minimum height required for laced wildland work boots measured from the bottom of the heel?
8 inches (200 mm).
What type of resource organizational structure consists of a set number of the same kind and type of resource with a leader?
Strike Team.
What specialized attack strategy involves two crews starting at a single secure anchor point and working in opposite directions around the fire’s flanks toward the head?
Pincer attack (or two-pronged flank attack).
Generally, relative humidity (RH) levels dropping below what percentage threshold indicate extreme fire danger and high fire behavior potential?
Below 25%-30%
What system allows frontline firefighters to report unsafe conditions, near misses, or health hazards directly to managers?
SAFENET.
What three officers make up the Command Staff reporting directly to the Incident Commander?
Public Information Officer (PIO), Incident Safety Officer (ISO), and Liaison Officer.
What strategy involves constructing a control line at a safe distance away from the advancing fire perimeter (often utilizing natural barriers or roads) and then burning out the intervening fuel?
Indirect attack.
What phenomenon occurs when a warm air layer traps cooler air beneath it, and its breaking leads to a sudden rise in temperature, drop in relative humidity, and increased wind speed?
An Inversion (specifically an inversion break/lifting).
To ensure a safety zone is effective against radiant heat without deploying a shelter, its radius should be equal to at least how many times the flame length?
4 times the flame length.
What specific planning model sequence (represented by a letter) describes the standard NIMS-ICS cycle used to formulate an Incident Action Plan?
The Operational Planning "P".
What final phase of wildland fire suppression involves extinguishing all remaining hot spots, smoldering logs, and embers near the control line after the fire is contained?
Mop-up (or overhaul).