1st Class PCT Flashcards
Purpose of a primary search and the considerations when conducting in a structure scenario
- Fundamental reason, to remove any occupants of the building to safety. But unsafe rescues should never be attempted
- Take a charged line of hose.
- For FF & casualty safety.
- As a guideline to identify an exit path.
- For casualty protection.
- To knock down the fire if required.
- A Primary search should include checking internal indicators such as.
- Internal doors locked.
- Meals on tables.
- Appliances or lights left on.
- Indicators of recent habitation.
Search & Rescue operations are usually carried out in an extremely dangerous environments. Discuss the precautions FF’s should take when searching a contaminated, darkened environment.
- Wear BA.
- Work in pairs.
- Communicate:
1. with partner as to intended movements.
2. with BA control on contents & location. - Maintain physical contact.
- Mark any unsafe areas. Such as holes or weakened parts of a structure with whatever is available, e.g. place an item of furniture across the opening to an unsafe area. Inform all of actions & reason for action.
- Shuffle don’t walk, extend arms & use the back of the hand to feel for obstructions, ascend stairs carefully & slowly with weight on lower foot, and descend stairs backwards with weight on the higher foot.
Identify a multi-level or commercial structure in their station area. Discuss the hazards associated with this structure.
- Location of the structure.
- Most suitable route, (consider time of day).
- Means of accessing & exiting the structure.
- Construction type & materials used.
- Building purpose, what’s it used for?
- Staff attached to the building.
- Hours of operation, (day or night).
- Contents of the building.
- Isolation points for services.
- Fire protection systems installed in the building.
- Building security, (do we have keys?).
- Special requirements, e.g. operating theatres & embassies.
identify an Urban Interface area within your station area. Discuss the potential risks associated with this area & what other considerations are important when dealing with a fire in this area.
- Identify the hazards within the nominated area, e.g. grasslands or plantation forest, substations, rubbish tips, etc.
- Fuel load & type.
- Topography of the area.
- Prevailing wind direction.
- Access to the area. (Keys to gates etc.)
- Roadways within the area.
- Availability of water supplies.
- Urban structures/risks located adjacent to the interface.
- CFU’s in the area.
- Legislative responsibility for the area.
You are Motor Driver on Pumper X, your pumper has been assigned to the Aerial sector at a Multi-level incident, discuss your considerations when pumping into an Aerial Appliance
- Pumper is dedicated to Aerial operations only.
- Site Pumper suitably.
- All pumping operations to be communicated through the Aerial appliance Pulpit operator.
- Purpose of pumping operations, (monitor or hose lines).
- Pressure is required at the outlet.
- Max pressure 1400 kpa (set relief valve).
- Minimum of 2 delivery lines into Aerial.
Draw & describe the Decontamination corridor & identify the various zones located within the corridor
On the diagram, indicate where the Airline equipment used at this type of incident would be located & the path the Airline hose would take. Discuss the operational procedures associated with using Airline equipment.
- Ensure airline trolley is located in the Cold zone.
- All connections are made & tested prior to entering the Warm or Hot zone.
- Airline hose must pass through the Decontamination shower.
- A qualified officer must be present at the Airline trolley when members are using Airline equipment.
- Maximum of four (4) users.
- Have replacement cylinders adjacent to airline trolley.
- Handle Airline equipment carefully. Dropping hose ends & fittings may cause damage that will not allow connection.
Discuss in detail the changeover process when a member in a Chem-Suit goes from BA to Airline & back to BA.
- Chem-suit wearer must be at the entrance of the De-con zone with a minimum of 80 bar.
/// Above answer is for chem suit.
For encapsulated suit it states in TRK Breathing Apparatus states:
Totally encapsulated suit wearers must be at the entrance to the decontamination zone at the conclusion of 20 minutes or when the cylinder contents reaches 120 bars. This will allow sufficient air for decontamination and undressing.
If a wearer reaches the decontamination zone entrance with 120 bars or less and it is necessary to wait for decontamination to commence, they will be connected to an external airline supply.
/////
- Airline hose connected to external connection point by cleaning officer.
- Chem-suit wearer instructed to close main wheel valve on BA.
- After De-con, Chem-suit wearer instructed to open main wheel valve.
- Airline hose disconnected
4 main properties of foam that have a bearing on its fire resistance & suitability. Name & briefly discuss these properties.
Expansion: depends on the amount of air in the Foam bubbles, the greater the amount of air the higher the expansion.
To optimise Foam expansion, the correct type of concentrate must be selected & mixed at the correct percentage.
Shear Strength: is the strength of Foam to hold its self together. Shear strength is improved by efficient mixing.
The higher the shear strength the greater the fire resistance of the Foam.
Drain Time: The amount of time from application to loss of effectiveness. The longer the drain time the better the Foam.
Viscosity: is the measurement of a liquids resistance to flow against the combined effects of Cohesion, (sticking to itself) & adhesion, (sticking to something else).
Viscosity effects expansion, shear strength & drain time.
Good Foam must flow freely enough to cover the fuel whilst having enough shear strength to provide a vapour tight blanket.
list the advantages & disadvantages of using Foam
Advantages
* Less water required to extinguish the fire, resulting in less damage.
* Reduced risk of re-ignition.
* Foam may be used to totally fill the affected area and to displace the air.
* Used to extinguish fires where the seat is not accessible to FF’s.
* Foam is the only practical extinguishing agent for B class fires.
* Breaks down the surface tension of water to allow for greater penetration on A class fires.
* Enhances the wetting ability of water.
Disadvantages
* Requires total flushing of all equipment used in the production of foam.
* Requires injection, induction & proportioning equipment.
* Cost of foam concentrate.
* Foam concentrate has a use by date.
* May be corrosive, particularly in high concentrations.
* Mildly toxic, has a drying effect on skin.
* Environmental effects
* Clean up
In relation to Fire Investigation, list & briefly discuss some observations.
- Doors, were they open, closed or locked.
- Windows, were they open, closed or locked.
- Lights, on or off.
- Shades, open or closed.
- Odours.
- Signs of activity, e.g. preparing meals.
- Date & time indicators, e.g. spoiled food, stopped clocks, mail items, newspapers etc.
- Occupants, home or away.
- Entry, how was it gained?
- Location of the Fire.
- Number of separate or unconnected fires.
- Area of most intense burning.
- Abnormal rate of fire spread.
- Fire’s reaction to water.
- Obstacles designed to hinder firefighting.
- Artificial conditions designed to assist fire spread.
- Unusual absence of personal belongings.
- Unusual absence of contents.
- Apparent substitution of contents.
- Tampering of fire detection or suppression equipment.
- All unusual or suspicious observations should be reported & documented.
- Increased fuel loads
- Fuel layout
b) What are the basics of scene preservation in relation to fires?
- Treat all fires as suspicious until proven otherwise.
- Consider the water stream used in firefighting activities. Use spray & fog patterns wherever possible.
- Authorised persons only to enter the scene.
- Cordon off the scene as soon as possible. (Barrier tape).
- Remove all tools from scene as soon as possible.
- Report & document all activities in relation to turning or removing items on scene.
- Do not contaminate the scene with items such as water bottles & cigarette butts.
An What is the process by which we receive AFA?
- Fire or like condition at the detector head.
- Through FIP to local alarm & 3rd party provider.
- Comcen notified via 3rd party provider.
- CAD automatically activated.
- Appropriate appliance(s) dispatched
Discuss the systems that may have activated (if present) at the building in alarm
- Local alarm ringing or strobe light flashing.
- Fire doors released.
- EWIS system activated.
- Air conditioning system alters to extraction mode.
- Fire stairs pressurised.
- Fire Wardens commence practiced procedures.
- Emergency lighting.
What are the advantages of a sprinkler system?
- Automatically detects the fire.
- Automatically notifies the Fire Brigade.
- Linked to other fire protection systems in the building.
- Provides a high level of property protection.
- Reliable system.
- Operates only in the vicinity of the fire.
- Decreases the amount of heat & smoke in the building.
- Early knockdown of the fire
- Decrease physical damage
