This is the term used to refer to the elite firefighers who combat out of control wildland fires directly from the ground. Often they are the firefighers who are dropped via parachute in front of the fire. They are the best at what they do, and know it. Although their job is to put out fires, most love fire and are actually pyromaniacs (this is usually what draws most people to firefighting... as a real wildfire is infinitely better than lighting things on fire in the backyard). Many of them smoke because they inhale so much smoke from fires they often get lung cancer anyway. They have the riskiest job in firefighting, and one mistake can lead to rather unpleasant death. During the fire season of 2000, so many fires were burning simultaneously that they were stretched to the limits and often had to spend several days without sleep on the fireline (see taking a nap on the fireline)