Here are some Firefighting acronyms that every firefighter should know. If you have more, add them to the comments. I know that there are hundreds more than this list, I just thought I would save us time and publish the difficult ones as well as some of the most common.
Some are good, some are stupid, others are funny, and yet there are a few that our outdated. Enjoy
ABC Fire – Arm Chair, Binoculars, Coors.
AFA – Automatic Fire Alarm/Actuating Fire Alarm.
AFFF – Aqueos Film Forming Foam
ANFO – Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil combination making a high explosive.
ARFF – Airport (or Aircraft) Rescue Fire Fighting.
BC – Battalion Chief.
BLEVE – boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.
BTU – British Thermal Unit.
CAD – Computer Aided Dispatch.
CC – Cancel Christmas.
CHAOS – Chief Has Arrived On Scene.
COAL WAS WEALTH – Construction, Occupancy, Area, Life Hazards; Weather, Apparatus/Manpower, Special Conditions; Water Supply, Exposures, Age/Access, Location, Time, Height.
CPAT – Candidate Physical Ability Test
DHS – Department of Homeland Security.
DOA – Dead on Arrival.
DTRT – Do The Right Thing. More here.
EDITH – Exit Drills In The Home
EGH – Everybody Goes Home. More here.
EMS – Emergency Medical Services.
EMT – Emergency Medical Technician.
ERG – Emergency Response Guide.
ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival.
ETOH – the chemical symbol for ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, also used to describe someone believed to be intoxicated.
FADO – Fire Apparatus Driver Operator.
FAST (or F.A.S.T.): Firefighter Assist and Search Team (also called Rapid Entry Team or Rapid Intervention Team) — firefighters assigned to stand by for rescue of other firefighters inside a structure; an implementation to support the Two-in, two-out rule; may have specialized training, experience and tools.
FDC – Fire Department Connection – where the pumping apparatus hooks up to a standpipe and/or sprinkler system on a building.
FDID – Fire Department Identification Number.
FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FF – Fire Fighter. Some use firefighter others use fire fighter.
FFFP – Film Forming Fluoroprotein Foam.
FIRE SCALDS – Fire Weather, Instructions, Right Things First, Escape Plan, Scouting, Communication, Alertness, Lookout, Discipline, Supervision. More here (.pdf)
FL – Friction Loss.
FNG – F’ing New Guy; Rookie; Recruit.
FTM – PTB – For the Men – Protect the Brothers. More here.
FUBAR – F’d Up Beyond All Recognition.
GPM – Gallons per minute.
HAZMAT – Hazardous Materials.
HAZWOPER – Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response.
IDLH – Any situation deemed Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health.
KTF – Keep The Faith. More here.
LCES – Lookouts, Communications, Escape Routes, Safety Zones.
LACES – Lookouts, Awareness, Communications, Escape Routes, Safety Zones
LDH – Large Diameter Hose.
LODD – Line of Duty Death.
LUNAR – Location, Unit, Name, Assignment, Resources. Better explained by FFHourly here.
MCI – Mass Casualty Incident.
MVA – Motor Vehicle Accident.
MVC – Motor Vehicle Collision.
NFA – National Fire Academy.
NFPA – National Fire Protection Association.
NFPA – Not For Practical Application.
NIOSH – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
NIMS – The National Incident Management System.
MUTT – Someone or thing that abuses firefighters.
OIC – Officer in Charge.
OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
OS&Y – Outside Screw & Yoke (Valve).
PAR -Personnel Accountability Report.
PASS – Personal Alert Safety System.
POV – Personally (or privately) Owned Vehicle.
PPE – Personal Protective Equipment. Turnout Gear and SCBA for example.
PPV – Positive Pressure Ventilation.
RECEO or RECEOVES – Rescue, Exposures, Containment, Extinguish, Overhaul, Ventilation, Environment, Salvage.
RECEO-VS – Rescue, Exposures, Extinguish, Overhaul, Ventilation,
Salvage.
REVAS – Rescue, Evacuation, Ventilation, Attack, Salvage.
RFB – Remember Fallen Brothers.
RIT or RIC – now more commonly referred to as the FAST team above.
SAR – Search and Rescue.
SCBA – Self Contained Breathing Apparatus.
SCREEO – Size Up, Call for help, Rescue, Exposures, Extinguishment, Overhual.
SLEEVS – Situation, Life safety, Exposures, Extinguish, Ventilate, Salvage.
SNAFU – Situation Normal All F’d Up
U.S.A.R – Urban Search and Rescue.
USFA – United States Fire Administration.
VES – Vent, Enter, Search.
WALLACE WAS HOT – Water, Area, Life hazard, Location-extent,
Apparatus-personnel, Construction-collapse, Exposures, Weather, Auxiliary appliances, Special matters, Height, Occupancy, and Time.
There is also a list of 300 over at Firehouse.com here.
The Fire Critic Wants You
12 commentsThe Fire Critic is looking for Fire and/or EMS Bloggers out there in the blogosphere. I have many blogs I read daily and am looking for more to keep an eye on. If you want to be crawled by the Fire Critic spider then let us know. We hope to include links to posts we find ambitious and news worthy. Let us know via comment, the contact us page found above, or email at firecritic at firecritic dot com.
For those of you just joining us, the comments are listed at the TOP of each post. You can view them by clicking on the number next to “comments:”!