Glossary

In aircraft fitted with an ejection system, the transparent canopy over the cockpit is jettisoned by an explosive charge prior to the ejection system launching

The police and army have specialist explosive ordnance disposal units responsible for improvised explosive device and conventional munitions disposal

Stops a user after they have fallen.

A firefighting foam that contains the hydrocarbon and fluorinated surfactant combination to create a film over the fuel surface

Fast-drying dead fuels that are less than 6mm in diameter. Fine fuels ignite readily and are rapidly consumed by fire when dry. Examples of fine fuels include grass, leaves, ferns, mosses, pine needles and small twigs.

The fire load, or fuel load is the total amount of heat energy that is available to be released in a fire

The lowest temperature at which the rate of supply of fuel gases, by evaporation, can sustain a flame

A means of supplying suitable electrical power using a permanent installation at a stand being occupied by stationary aircraft

A command and control facility near the scene of the incident, used for establishing immediate direction, deployment and security

An alternating (AC) or direct (DC) current motor that produces less than one horsepower with an output rating of 746 watts or less. They are used in precision equipment.

Protective clothing worn to protect emergency responders and chemical workers from dangerous and toxic chemicals in liquid or gaseous form

Medical responders can score a person’s level of consciousness using a tool called the Glasgow Coma Scale, which assesses eye opening, verbal response to a command and voluntary movements in response to a command

Used as a component in vehicle construction

The GHS is a single worldwide system for classifying and communicating the hazardous properties of industrial and consumer chemicals. GHS sits alongside the UN ‘Transport of Dangerous Goods’ system.

This includes: 

• Defra “ Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs 

• DAERA “ Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs 

• Scottish Government Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate

Any fuel below the surface fuel layer, normally within the soil. Examples of ground fuels include organic matter, tree roots, shrub roots, rotting wood and peat.

A mobile power unit used by stationary aircraft

Water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks called aquifers. Groundwater supplies used for drinking water is legally protected with in identified source protection zones.

Heat flux refers to the quantity of heat as thermal radiation, and measured in kW/m2, that is received at a particular point

A commercial goods vehicle designed or adapted to have a maximum weight exceeding 3500kg

A spiralling effect caused by the bank slowing the water at the edge of the river and the faster movement of mid-channel water. Helical flow pushes a person away from the bank and into the centre of the flow.

Hot spots, sometimes called bullseyes, are areas of intense heat in a fire. They may have the potential to reignite.

Hydraulic injection injury occurs when the outer layer of skin is broken by a jet of fluid under pressure

Hyperthermia is an abnormally high body temperature (included in the operational guidance under heat illness)