Wildland Firefighting Questions and
Answers Latest Version Already Passed
What is the most common reason wildland firefighters are injured during suppression
operations?
✔✔ Falling trees or limbs
Why should firefighters never turn their back on a wildfire?
✔✔ Fire behavior can change rapidly and without warning
What color are fire retardants typically dropped from aircraft?
✔✔ Red
What is the name of the natural barrier like a river or rocky area used to help contain a fire?
✔✔ Control line
What is one sign that fire behavior may increase suddenly?
✔✔ Sudden wind shift
1
,What does the term “green” refer to on the fireline?
✔✔ Unburned vegetation
What is one danger of constructing firelines downhill?
✔✔ Fire can spread rapidly uphill toward firefighters
What is the most important safety practice before entering the fireline?
✔✔ Briefing and situational awareness
Why are hand signals used on the fireline?
✔✔ For silent communication when verbal commands are difficult
What is the term for a location where resources are gathered during fire operations?
✔✔ Staging area
What does it mean when a fire "spots ahead" of the main front?
✔✔ Embers ignite new fires in front of the main fire
2
,What are fine fuels?
✔✔ Small fuels like grass or leaves that ignite quickly
Why are bulldozers used in wildland firefighting?
✔✔ To clear vegetation and create wide firebreaks
What is the main danger of working in dense brush during a wildfire?
✔✔ Limited visibility and escape routes
What is the goal of indirect attack in wildfire suppression?
✔✔ To control the fire from a distance using pre-established control lines
What does torching refer to?
✔✔ When individual trees ignite from ground fire
Why must firefighters avoid fatigue during long incidents?
✔✔ Fatigue can lead to mistakes and increased injury risk
3
, What does the term “hotshot” refer to?
✔✔ Elite crew specializing in high-priority fire suppression
What natural factor causes fire to move uphill faster than downhill?
✔✔ Convection and radiant heat preheat uphill fuels
Why is it important to remove brush from around structures in WUI zones?
✔✔ To reduce ignition risk and increase defensible space
What does a lookout use binoculars for on a fire incident?
✔✔ To monitor distant fire behavior and spot new ignitions
What happens when relative humidity drops below 20%?
✔✔ Fuels dry out and fire spreads more rapidly
What does a red flag warning advise firefighters to prepare for?
✔✔ Critical fire weather conditions
4
Answers Latest Version Already Passed
What is the most common reason wildland firefighters are injured during suppression
operations?
✔✔ Falling trees or limbs
Why should firefighters never turn their back on a wildfire?
✔✔ Fire behavior can change rapidly and without warning
What color are fire retardants typically dropped from aircraft?
✔✔ Red
What is the name of the natural barrier like a river or rocky area used to help contain a fire?
✔✔ Control line
What is one sign that fire behavior may increase suddenly?
✔✔ Sudden wind shift
1
,What does the term “green” refer to on the fireline?
✔✔ Unburned vegetation
What is one danger of constructing firelines downhill?
✔✔ Fire can spread rapidly uphill toward firefighters
What is the most important safety practice before entering the fireline?
✔✔ Briefing and situational awareness
Why are hand signals used on the fireline?
✔✔ For silent communication when verbal commands are difficult
What is the term for a location where resources are gathered during fire operations?
✔✔ Staging area
What does it mean when a fire "spots ahead" of the main front?
✔✔ Embers ignite new fires in front of the main fire
2
,What are fine fuels?
✔✔ Small fuels like grass or leaves that ignite quickly
Why are bulldozers used in wildland firefighting?
✔✔ To clear vegetation and create wide firebreaks
What is the main danger of working in dense brush during a wildfire?
✔✔ Limited visibility and escape routes
What is the goal of indirect attack in wildfire suppression?
✔✔ To control the fire from a distance using pre-established control lines
What does torching refer to?
✔✔ When individual trees ignite from ground fire
Why must firefighters avoid fatigue during long incidents?
✔✔ Fatigue can lead to mistakes and increased injury risk
3
, What does the term “hotshot” refer to?
✔✔ Elite crew specializing in high-priority fire suppression
What natural factor causes fire to move uphill faster than downhill?
✔✔ Convection and radiant heat preheat uphill fuels
Why is it important to remove brush from around structures in WUI zones?
✔✔ To reduce ignition risk and increase defensible space
What does a lookout use binoculars for on a fire incident?
✔✔ To monitor distant fire behavior and spot new ignitions
What happens when relative humidity drops below 20%?
✔✔ Fuels dry out and fire spreads more rapidly
What does a red flag warning advise firefighters to prepare for?
✔✔ Critical fire weather conditions
4
