A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Fire and safety standards organization; issues various wildfire-oriented standards related to clothing, tactics, equipment, etc.

National Hose (NH)
National Standard Thread (NST) design of threaded couplings used on fire hose in various diameters.

National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)
Coordination facility in Boise, Idaho, operated by several U.S. agencies to provide logistics, weather information and resource coordination for wildfire suppression across the U.S. (formerly BIFC).

National Wildfire Coordinating Group
Coordination agency located in Washington, D.C. which sets national standards for firefighter training and publishes training manuals.

NFPA
Acronym "National Fire Protection Association". A standards and best practice body for the fire service. Slang: Not For Practical Application. This is firefighter slang referring to the seemingly 'useless' regulations of the NFPA. This phrase is commonly used by rural fire departments whose chiefs or officers operate "old school", instead of "by the book". Slang: "No Free Publications Available" referring to publications that "all are encouraged to practice" yet are prohibitively expensive, as in "That standards document is NFPA." The NFPA slang is typically used in smaller fire departments where such a purchase would be a non-reimbursed out of pocket personal expense.

NFPA
The National Fire Protection Association, a research group which sets a number of standards and best practices for *firefighting, equipment, and fire protection in the United States, and also adopted in many other countries. Also, slang for No Free Publications Available"; used to reference any "must-have" documents that are prohibitively expensive.

NIFTI
Naval InFrared Thermal Imager. A device used aboard naval ships to help locate hotspots where fire or personnel may be located in a dense smoke environment.

NIOSH
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. A U.S. agency responsible for investigation of workplace deaths, including firefighters.

Nomex
Brand of approved, fire retardant, synthetic, aramid cloth and thread used in personal protective equipment for wildland firefighting, and jumpsuits.

Nozzle
A device attached to the end of a fire hose that directs, shapes and regulates the flow of the water or fire fighting agent pumped into the hose. May have a control valve.

Nozzle pressure
Pressure in a fire hose measured at the nozzle.

Nozzle reach
The distance a fire stream will travel from the nozzle tip before breaking up or evaporating due to air friction or heat.

Nozzle reaction
The force felt when water is pumped through a nozzle, e.g., 350 US gallons per minute (22 L/s) would produce a force of 40 pounds force (180 N) against the firefighter holding the nozzle.

Nozzle tip
Portion of firehose that forms the fire stream as it leaves the hose. Can be solid, fog, or other specialty nozzle (e.g., piercing, Bresnan cellar nozzle, wand tip, etc).