The following terms are commonly used by the department in both written and oral communications:
1. Alarm: An incident or event that requires a response by one or more fire departments. There are several types of alarms:
A. Automatic Alarm: A request for emergency service from an alarm company or a security office on activation of a smoke or heat detector, a pull station or a fixed extinguishing system. The flow of water within a fixed system, the closure or opening of a valve or the activation of a fire pump may also result in the transmission of an alarm.
B. General Alarm: An incident that requires the response of all the department’s personnel and apparatus.
C. Mutual Aid: A request for additional assistance from a neighboring community or county to an incident to which additional resources are required.
2. All Clear: A phrase used on completion of the primary search of a fire building or motor vehicle collision, indicating to all personnel that the search is complete and that no victims were found.
3. Arson: A fire believed to be deliberately set, illegally.
4. Assignment: A predetermined designation of the units to respond to a given type of incident (e.g. Tankers to rural incidents).
5. Base Station: A fixed two-way radio located in the dispatch office of the station.
6. Call: An alarm for a fire or an emergency.
7. Callback: A telephone number provided by a call answer service or call display, to contact a person who reports a fire or emergency.
8. Charge: To turn on the water and fill the hose with water and pressure.
9. Command: The radio identifier for the officer in charge of an incident. Also known as the Incident Commander or IC.
10. Command Post: A designated location at an incident where the primary command functions are executed. The command post will be staffed by the incident commander, support personnel and representatives from other agencies as required.
11. Controlled Burn: Planned burning allowed only by permit during required months, conducted to remove fuel, remove a hazard or clear a building site prior to construction.
12. Critique: A formal process following an incident and conducted by the incident commander of the incident, to analyze the department’s actions, correct deficiencies and identify those tasks that were performed correctly.
13. Detection: The act or system of discovering or locating fires.
14. Dispatch: (1) To order additional apparatus, personnel, medical unit or additional resources to respond to a certain location, incident or event. (2) The radio identifier for the department’s emergency communication office.
15. Drill: Training session.
16. Elapsed Time: The time used to complete any assignment.
17. Emergency Traffic: A radio term used to clear the radio of all radio traffic.
18. En Route: Indicated that an apparatus or other unit is responding to an incident.
19. Exposure: A building, vehicle or other property that is endangered by fire in an adjacent building, vehicle or property.
20. False Alarm: An alarm for which no fire or emergency existed or for which fire department response was unnecessary.
21. Fire Danger: A term indicating the risk of a wildland fire due to such weather conditions as prolonged drought, high winds, low humidity, etc.
22. Fireground: The operational area of a fire.
23. Fire School: An accredited institution offering regular programs in fire sciences. May also be referred to as a training academy.
24. Forest Service: An agency with fire control responsibility for wildland fire suppression in national parks, national forests and other land owned by the federal government.
25. Fully Involved: A size-up report that indicates that the entire area of a building is so involved with heat, smoke and flame that immediate access to the interior isn’t possible until some measure of control has been achieved with hose streams.
26. Hazard: Any condition that poses a threat to property or that might result in injury or death.
27. Incident: A fire, medical call or other emergency that requires one or more department’s to be dispatched to render aid. See also Alarm.
28. Incident Command System (ICS): A systematic plan for conducting operations during an incident. See SOG# 600.02, Incident Command System.
29. Incipient: A fire of minor consequence or in initial stages.
30. Initial Alarm: The first notification received by the department indicating that a fire or emergency exists.
31. Investigation: (1) Sending an individual, team or unit personnel to check for smoke, heat, steam or other indications of fire. (2)The act of determining the cause and origin of fire. (3)The act of determining whether or not a complaint received by the department concerning the actions of one or more of its employees was proper and within the scope of his duty.
32. Location: A specifically designated place to which fire apparatus or medical units are dispatched in answer to an alarm or request for fire assistance.
33. Mutual Aid: Two-way assistance by fire departments of two or more communities freely given under pre-arranged plans or contracts so that each will when possible, aid the other in time of emergency and also provide for joint or cooperative response to alarms near jurisdictional boundaries.
34. Nothing Showing: A report given by the first arriving unit at an incident, indicating to dispatch and other responding apparatus that no smoke, fire or other emergency situation is apparent.
35. Permit: Official permission given in writing, to allow a special activity.
36. Progress report: A periodic radio report required from an incident commander to update Dispatch on the status of an incident.
37. Rehab: This term can refer to either the actual rehab vehicle or to a designated location at an incident. The purpose of rehab is to provide rest, refreshments, climate control and medical evaluation of working personnel.
38. Rekindle: An instance where due to reignition, the department is called back to a location where the fire was thought to have been extinguished.
39. Respond: To answer an alarm in accordance with a prearranged assignment or on the instruction of the incident commander.
40. Responding: A term indicating that orders to proceed to an alarm have been received and the apparatus is on the way.
41. Response time: An interval of time measured from the receipt of a request for emergency service until the first unit or apparatus arrives at the scene of an incident.
42. Riser: A vertical water pipe used to carry water for fire protection to elevations above grade, such as a standpipe or sprinkler riser.
43. Roster: A list of fire department personnel. Also a list of apparatus and vehicles owned by the department.
44. Staging: A designated location(s) at an incident where apparatus, equipment and personnel are assembled for deployment.
45. Stand Down: An order to one or more responding units that their services are not needed and that they should return to service.
46. Station: The building to which the Vegreville Fire Department is located.
47. Suppression: The total work of extinguishing a fire, beginning with its discovery.
48. Tag a Hydrant: An order to a responding engine to perform a forward lay of a supply line.
49. Time of Arrival: The time as indicated on the dispatch log that the first unit arrived at an incident. Also, the time indicated by the arrival of additional apparatus or support.
50. Under control: A fire is sufficiently surrounded and quenched so that it no longer threatens destruction of additional property.
51. Working Fire: A fire that requires firefighting activity on the part of most or all of the personnel at the incident.
