phrase
General Slang
into the black
· phrase · firefighter
Run back into the already-burned ground — it can't burn you twice.
0
Definitions
1
Retreating onto ground that has already burned — "the black" — as a survival tactic when a wildland fire blows up and overruns the line. The logic: fire needs fuel, the black has none left, so it's the safest place to be when everything else is about to ignite. One of the named safety zones in LCES (Lookouts, Communications, Escape routes, Safety zones) and a core concept in every wildland refresher.
“When the wind shifted we dropped tools and went into the black — sat there in the soot watching the head fire run past us.”
by community
0
into the black In A Sentence
When the wind shifted we dropped tools and went into the black — sat there in the soot watching the head fire run past us.
Origin & Usage
US wildland firefighting doctrine; formalised in the post-1994 South Canyon Fire safety overhaul and embedded in NWCG training (the "10 Standard Firefighting Orders" and "18 Watch Out Situations").
Comments 0