Emergency Response Terminology

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Hot Zone

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Potentially hazardous area immediately surrounding the incident site; requires appropriate protective clothing and equipment and other safety precautions for entry.

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Warm Zone

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Area between the hot and cold zones that usually contains the decontamination corridor at hazardous materials incidents.

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Cold Zone

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Safe area outside of the warm zone where equipment and personnel are not expected to become contaminated and special protective clothing is not required; the Incident Command Post and other support functions are typically located in this zone.

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Generator

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Portable device for generating auxiliary electrical power; generators are powered by gasoline or diesel engines and typically have 110- and/or 220-volt capacity outlets.

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Power Take-Off (PTO) System

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Mechanism that allows a vehicle engine to power equipment such as a pump, winch, or portable tool; it is typically attached to the transmission.

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Inverter

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Step-up transformer that converts a vehicle’s 12- or 24-volt DC current into 110- or 220-volt AC current.

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Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)

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Device designed to protect against electrical shock; when grounding occurs, the device opens a circuit to shut off the flow of electricity.

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Intrinsically Safe

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Describes equipment that is approved for use in flammable atmospheres; must be incapable of releasing enough electrical energy to ignite the flammable atmosphere.