It is often quite difficult to compare fire history studies conducted by different investigators because different terms may be used to refer to the same concept and the same term may be used to refer to different concepts. To help resolve this difficulty, an ad hoc committee was formed early in the course of the workshop with the task of (1) listing the most confusing terms commonly used in fire history studies, (2) determining which terms are actually synonymous, (3) suggesting which of several synonyms is the best term to use in future fire history studies, and (4) providing a definition for each of the preferred terms.