WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER TRAINING
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS(RATED A+)
Anchor Point - ANSWERAn advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread,
from which to start constructing a fire line.
The anchor point is used to minimize the chance of being flanked by the fire while
the line is being constructed.
Flanking Fire Suppression - ANSWERAttacking a fire by working along the flanks
either simultaneously or successively from a less active or anchor point and
endeavoring to connect two lines at the head
Flash Fuels - ANSWERHighly combustible fine fuels such as grass, leaves, draped
pine needles, fern, tree moss and some kinds of slash, which ignite readily and are
consumed rapidly when dry.
Rear of a fire - ANSWERThat portion of a fire spreading directly into the wind or
down slope; that portion of a fire edge opposite the head; slowest spreading portion
of a fire edge; also called heel of a fire.
Three elements of the fire triangle. - ANSWERFuel, Air, Heat.
Fuel (to burn); Air (to supply oxygen for the flame); Heat (to start & continue the
combustion process)
Grass Fire - ANSWERIs any fire in which the predominant fuel is grass or grass-like.
Head of a fire - ANSWERThe most rapidly spreading portion of a fire's perimeter,
usually to the leeward or up slope
Three methods of heat transfer. - ANSWERRadiation, Convection, Conduction.
Radiation - ANSWERThink of radiant heat as a ray or wave. Example: Radiant heat
warms you as you stand close to a campfire or in the sunlight.
Radiant heat can dry surrounding fuels and sometimes ignite them
Convection - ANSWERThink of convection as a smoke column above a fire.
Convection occurs when lighter warm air moves upward. The hot gases and embers,
which compose the smoke column, can dry and ignite other fuels.
Conduction - ANSWERHeat is moved from one fuel source to another through direct
contact.
6 (major) Fuel Types - ANSWER• Grass
, • Grass - Shrub
• Shrub
• Timber - Understory
• Timber Litter
• Slash - Blowdown
A simple definition of FUEL is any burnable (combustible) material. - ANSWERSuch
as: live and/or dead plant material.
Houses, sheds, etc., can also be fuels.
Fuels are a source of energy that drives the fire.
Ground Fuels - all combustible materials lying beneath the surface. - ANSWER•
Deep duff
• Tree roots
• Rotten buried logs, other organic material.
Surface Fuels - all combustible materials lying on or immediately above the ground. -
ANSWER• Needles or Leaves
• Duff (decayed organic matter on the forest floor)
• Grass
• Small dead wood
• Downed logs
• Stumps
• Large limbs
• Low shrubs
Ladder Fuels - ANSWERCombustible materials that aid the spread of fire from the
surface to the upper canopy.
Surface litter, shrubs, and other moderate height vegetation provide a pathway from
the surface to the canopy.
Dead Fuels - ANSWERFuels with no living tissue in which moisture content is
governed almost entirely by absorption or evaporation of atmospheric moisture
(relative humidity & precipitation).
Two types of hose lays are? - ANSWER• Simple
• Progressive
Simple Hose Lay - ANSWEROne that comes straight off the pump and goes directly
to the (fire) nozzle with no junctions in between.
Progressive Hose Lay - ANSWERIs a hose lay that comes from a pump (source) to
the fire with a series of lateral junctions (gated wye) put in place as the hose lay is
extended.
Gated Wye (Y) Line - ANSWERA method of dividing a single hose line into two or
more lines.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS(RATED A+)
Anchor Point - ANSWERAn advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread,
from which to start constructing a fire line.
The anchor point is used to minimize the chance of being flanked by the fire while
the line is being constructed.
Flanking Fire Suppression - ANSWERAttacking a fire by working along the flanks
either simultaneously or successively from a less active or anchor point and
endeavoring to connect two lines at the head
Flash Fuels - ANSWERHighly combustible fine fuels such as grass, leaves, draped
pine needles, fern, tree moss and some kinds of slash, which ignite readily and are
consumed rapidly when dry.
Rear of a fire - ANSWERThat portion of a fire spreading directly into the wind or
down slope; that portion of a fire edge opposite the head; slowest spreading portion
of a fire edge; also called heel of a fire.
Three elements of the fire triangle. - ANSWERFuel, Air, Heat.
Fuel (to burn); Air (to supply oxygen for the flame); Heat (to start & continue the
combustion process)
Grass Fire - ANSWERIs any fire in which the predominant fuel is grass or grass-like.
Head of a fire - ANSWERThe most rapidly spreading portion of a fire's perimeter,
usually to the leeward or up slope
Three methods of heat transfer. - ANSWERRadiation, Convection, Conduction.
Radiation - ANSWERThink of radiant heat as a ray or wave. Example: Radiant heat
warms you as you stand close to a campfire or in the sunlight.
Radiant heat can dry surrounding fuels and sometimes ignite them
Convection - ANSWERThink of convection as a smoke column above a fire.
Convection occurs when lighter warm air moves upward. The hot gases and embers,
which compose the smoke column, can dry and ignite other fuels.
Conduction - ANSWERHeat is moved from one fuel source to another through direct
contact.
6 (major) Fuel Types - ANSWER• Grass
, • Grass - Shrub
• Shrub
• Timber - Understory
• Timber Litter
• Slash - Blowdown
A simple definition of FUEL is any burnable (combustible) material. - ANSWERSuch
as: live and/or dead plant material.
Houses, sheds, etc., can also be fuels.
Fuels are a source of energy that drives the fire.
Ground Fuels - all combustible materials lying beneath the surface. - ANSWER•
Deep duff
• Tree roots
• Rotten buried logs, other organic material.
Surface Fuels - all combustible materials lying on or immediately above the ground. -
ANSWER• Needles or Leaves
• Duff (decayed organic matter on the forest floor)
• Grass
• Small dead wood
• Downed logs
• Stumps
• Large limbs
• Low shrubs
Ladder Fuels - ANSWERCombustible materials that aid the spread of fire from the
surface to the upper canopy.
Surface litter, shrubs, and other moderate height vegetation provide a pathway from
the surface to the canopy.
Dead Fuels - ANSWERFuels with no living tissue in which moisture content is
governed almost entirely by absorption or evaporation of atmospheric moisture
(relative humidity & precipitation).
Two types of hose lays are? - ANSWER• Simple
• Progressive
Simple Hose Lay - ANSWEROne that comes straight off the pump and goes directly
to the (fire) nozzle with no junctions in between.
Progressive Hose Lay - ANSWERIs a hose lay that comes from a pump (source) to
the fire with a series of lateral junctions (gated wye) put in place as the hose lay is
extended.
Gated Wye (Y) Line - ANSWERA method of dividing a single hose line into two or
more lines.
