The Ten Standard Firefighting Orders are a set of systematically organized rules designed by a USDA Forest Service task force to reduce danger to personnel and increase fire fighting efficiency.
[1][2] They were introduced in 1957 and since then only the numbering changed, in order to make them easier to memorize.
[3] The rules were based upon the success of the United States Armed Forces' General Orders for Sentries, a set of guidelines designed for safety and efficiency for military personnel standing sentry duty.
[2] A primary consideration for firefighters addressed by these orders is to be able to gain timely warning of a danger allowing the firefighter to safely escape.
[4] The orders were developed from lessons learned in a number of major wildland fires that led to the deaths of trapped firefighters including the Shoshone National Forest Blackwater fire of 1937 and the Helena National Forest Mann Gulch Fire in 1949.