Mission Statement
The Fire Behavior Subcommittee (FBSC) provides national leadership in fire behavior assessment and prediction in support of effective fire management decision-making.
Primary Objectives
- Establish and maintain standards for fire behavior assessment and prediction.
- Provide subject matter expertise for fire behavior modeling and related decision support applications.
- Provide technology transfer around new models, modeling practices or research.
- Establish and regularly update wildland fire incident position standards related to FBAN and LTAN. This includes incident position descriptions and position requirements for training, experience, physical fitness, and position currency.
Overview
Guidance
Orientation
This video provides an overview of several orientation methods and exactly how we project flat maps from a round Earth. Watch this video before diving in to the Latitude and Longitude, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Grid, or the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) videos.
Latitude and Longitude
This video shows how we use latitude and longitude to map the Earth using degrees. We cover several topics, including the difference between latitude and longitude, converting from degrees minutes seconds to degrees decimal minutes to decimal degrees, and back, and reading a map using latitude and longitude.
Public Lands Survey System
This video gives a brief history of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), also known as Township Range Section. It shows how the sections are mapped in many areas of the United States using initial points, baselines, and meridians. We cover how to find your location on a map using the township, range, and section, as well as some of the pros and cons of this mapping system.
