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Advanced Life Support (ALS) Ambulance
An ambulance service capable of delivering advanced skills performed by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) practitioners (e.g., intravenous [IV] fluids and drug administration).

Air Ambulance
A rotary-wing aircraft configured, staffed, and equipped to respond, care for, and transport patients.  A rotary-wing aircraft must be approved/licensed by a State to do so.

Air Conditioner/Heater
A specialized climate-controlled piece of equipment used to support cooling and/or heating requirements within enclosed structures.  Requires mobilization to the desired site, along with set-up requirements, such as power hookup and duct installation.  Amps can range from 24 to 260 or more.  Equipment used to accommodate schools and malls to small office and tent settings.

Air Search and Rescue Team
Team provides search and rescue emergency airlift and other special services at the request of, and to support, State and county agency needs.

Air Search Team (Fixed-Wing)
Team provides airborne search, emergency airlift, airborne communications, and other special services.  Varying levels of specialized management support and command and control capabilities are included in team structures. 

Air Tanker (Fixed-Wing Firefighting Aircraft Tanker)
Any fixed-wing aircraft certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as being capable of transport and delivery of fire retardant solutions.

Airborne Communications Relay Team (Fixed-Wing), Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
A CAP Airborne Communications Relay Team provides airborne communications relay using fixed-wing platforms to support Federal, State, and local agency needs. Relays are primarily conducted through aircrews, but can also be accomplished through electronic repeaters carried aboard Civil Air Patrol (CAP) aircrafts.  Varying levels of specialized management support and command and control capabilities are included in team structures.

Airborne Reconnaissance (Fixed-Wing)
An airborne reconnaissance fixed-wing observation aircraft is capable of flying back video or still imagery from an incident/disaster scene.

Airborne Transport (Fixed-Wing) Team, Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
A CAP Airborne Transport (Fixed-Wing) Team provides limited airborne transportation and emergency airlift to support Federal, State, and local agency needs using light fixed-wing platforms owned by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Varying levels of specialized management support and command and control capabilities are included in team structures.

Aircraft Rescue Firefighting (ARFF)
A motor-driven vehicle, designed and constructed for the purpose of aircraft rescue and fighting fires and capable of delivering Class B Foam, providing a specified level of pumping, water, hose, and rescue capacity and personnel.

All-Terrain Cranes
A self-propelled, all-terrain, hydraulic crane capable of traveling over primary, secondary, and off-road surfaces at the tactical support level.  Technical characteristics include diesel engine, power shift trans­mission, three-mode steering, and independently controlled hydraulic outriggers telescoping boom.  Comes in various lifting capabilities and is used for construction, maintenance, bridging, and resupply activities.  Mobilization of larger all-terrain cranes requires tractor-trailer support for booms and jibs along with additional escort services.

Alpine Search and Rescue Team (Snow and Ice Rescue)
Team conducts search and rescue operations for individuals in a high-altitude alpine environment.

Ambulance Strike Team
An Ambulance Strike Team is a group of five ambulances of the same type with common communications and a leader.  It provides an operational grouping of ambulances complete with supervisory elements for organization command and control.  The strike teams may be all ALS or all BLS. 

Ambulance Task Force
An Ambulance Task Force is a group of any combination of ambulances, within span of control, with common communications and a leader.

Animal Health Incident Management Team
Team provides overall management of animal-related volunteers and donations.

Animal Rescue Team
A team proficient in animal handling and capture and management (minimum teams of two).  Environ­ments include water (swift water and flood), wildfire, and hazardous materials (HazMat) conditions.  Operations include communications and/or evacuations to effect animal rescue.

Animal Health Technician
Technician performs variety of animal healthcare duties to assist veterinarians in settings such as veterinarians’ clinics, zoos, research laboratories, kennels, and commercial facilities.  Prepares treatment room for examination of animals and holds or restrains animals during examination, treatment, or inoculation.

Animal Sheltering Team
A team proficient in animal handling, animal care, and animal shelter management and manages the setup, man­agement, and staffing of temporary animal shelters.

Animal Treatment Team – Small
A self-equipped team proficient in the medical treatment of companion animals affected by disasters.

Area Command Team, Firefighting
An Area Command Team is an interagency organization under the auspices of NWCG (1) oversee the management of multiple incidents that are each being handled by an incident management team (IMT) organization; or (2) to oversee the management of a very large incident that has multiple IMTs assigned to it.  Area Command has the responsibility to set overall strategy and priorities, allocate critical resources based on priorities, ensure incidents are properly managed, and that objectives are met and strategies followed.