A fire camp is a

campsite A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

for

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

s and support personnel. It is typically set up for a large project fire which requires a large amount of manpower, organisation and logistics. According to the

National Incident Management System The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a standardized approach to incident management developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security. The program was established in March 2004, in response to Homeland Security Presidentia ...

(NIMS), a fire camp is one of five predesignated temporary facilities. Fire camps provide certain essential auxiliary forms of support, such as food, sleeping areas, and sanitation for

Wildland firefighter Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

s. Fire camps may also provide minor maintenance and servicing of equipment. While a fire camp is technically separate from the

Incident Command Post According to the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and the Incident Command System (ICS), the incident command post (ICP) is one of five predesignated temporary facilities and signifies the physical location of the tactical-level, on-scene ...

and

Incident Base {{short description, Location at which primary support activities are conducted for emergencies like a wildland fire According to the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Incident Base is one of five predesignated temporary facilities and ...

it is common practice in U.S. wildland firefighting to set up the fire camp at the Incident Command post or Incident Base. Spike Camps are satellites of the main fire camp, and generally draw their supplies and food from the main camp while providing their own sanitation facilities. Spike Camps are used to support operation areas that require personnel to travel extended distances to return to the main camp. They are generally seen as a safety measure to prevent excessive fatigue, and reduce the probability of a collision with a civilian vehicle or stationary object.

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