7-Ops-3.9 MayDay

Question 1

According to the BFES operations Manual, What is the purpose of declaring a Mayday in emergency situations?

a) To initiate a routine communication
b) To seek assistance for in trouble personnel
c) To report minor incidents
d) To test communication equipment

Answer 1

B
The term Mayday shall be used as the designated term to declare that personnel are in trouble and only to be used for that purpose

Question 2

According to the BFES operations Manual, When should personnel declare a Mayday?
a) Only when facing life-threatening injuries
b) When they witness another person in distress
c) After exhausting all self-rescue options
d) As soon as they realize they are in trouble

Answer 2

D
Personnel should realize that even minor issues should be dealt with promptly and proactively. Even minor incidents can create awareness and learning opportunities.
If you think you should call a mayday for assistance, just do it!

Question 3

According to the BFES operations Manual, How should personnel communicate a Mayday?
a) Once over the radio or verbally
b) Three times using “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday”
c) Both a and b
d) Only when explicitly instructed by the Incident Commander

Answer 3

C
Personnel are to use the term Mayday three times by signalling “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” over the radio or by voice so that other personnel may hear.

Question 4

According to the BFES operations Manual, What information should personnel provide after declaring a Mayday?
a) Only their name
b) Their name, location, problem, and actions taken
c) Only their unit number
d) Only their assignment and air pressure

Answer 4

B
Personnel should follow up their mayday declaration with further information describing their situation including identifying their name, their location, what the problem is and what they are doing, i.e., looking for an exit, awaiting rescue, etc.

Question 5

According to the BFES operations Manual, When is the orange emergency button on a portable radio activated?
a) After declaring a Mayday
b) Before declaring a Mayday
c) As a routine practice
d) Only during communication failures

Answer 5

B
If required, personnel may opt to depress their orange emergency button on their portable radio prior to declaring their Mayday.

Question 6

According to the BFES operations Manual, How long does the initiator have on-scene transmission priority after activating the orange emergency button?
a) 30 seconds
b) 60 seconds
c) 90 seconds
d) 120 seconds

Answer 6

C
The initiator will have on-scene transmission priority for the operations channel and an open microphone on that channel for 10 seconds. If more time is required, the initiator may key the microphone where they shall maintain on-scene transmission priority for 90 seconds.

Question 7

According to the BFES operations Manual, When should personnel deactivate their PASS alarm?
a) Immediately after declaring a Mayday
b) When reaching a safe location
c) After sending and receiving critical information
d) Never deactivate the PASS alarm until located by rescuers
e) c&d

Answer 7

e) c&d

Leave the PASS alarm on until located by rescuers

Question 8

According to the BFES operations Manual, What is the acronym LUNAR used for in Mayday situations?
a) Location, Unit number, Name, Assignment, Resources needed
b) Lost, Unstable, Name, Air, Rescue
c) Leadership, Urgency, Name, Assistance, Resources
d) Location, Unit, Name, Alarm, Radio

Answer 8

A
The acronym LUNAR may be used:
Location (describes surroundings, noise etc.)
Unit number
Name
Assignment (sector, task etc.) and air (air cylinder pressure)
Resources needed

Question 9

According to the BFES operations Manual, What is the recommended action for a firefighter with a radio failure?
a) Turn off the PASS alarm
b) Activate the PASS alarm in the full alarm mode
c) Wait for rescuers without any action
d) Change to another radio channel

Answer 9

B

Where possible, personnel in distress shall activate their PASS alarm in the full alarm mode until reached by a rescuer.

Question 10

According to the BFES operations Manual, What is the role of the Incident Commander (IC) in response to a Mayday?
a) Encourage self-rescue only
b) Acknowledge the request for assistance and deploy the nearest personnel
c) Discourage additional resources
d) Ignore the Mayday until more information is available

Answer 10

B
Acknowledge the request for assistance, using LUNAR as a guide.

Notify and deploy the nearest personnel to affect a firefighter rescue.

Begin preparations for a prolonged firefighter rescue and call an additional alarm.

Question 11

According to the BFES operations Manual, When conducting a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR), where should the IC start?
a) With personnel in the immediate area of the problem
b) With the RIT personnel
c) With EMS personnel
d) With personnel at a safe location outside the hot zone

Answer 11

A

At an appropriate time, conduct a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR), starting with personnel in the immediate area of the problem.

Question 12

According to the BFES operations Manual, What action should the IC take if the initiator states they are operating in talk around mode?
a) Relay the information to Fire Control
b) Ignore the information
c) Inform all personnel operating on the scene
d) Continue with regular operations without changes
e) A and C

Answer 12

E

If the initiator of the Mayday states that they are operating in the talk around mode, this information shall be relayed to Fire Control and all personnel operating on scene if not already advised.

Question 13

According to the BFES operations Manual, What does the RIT Sector Officer (RITSO) oversee?
a) Firefighting operations
b) Fire Control communications
c) (RIT) operations
d) Incident Command

Answer 13

C
In order to be able to focus, the IC may decide to remain in command of the firefighting operations and assign another officer to oversee the firefighter rescue operations. The ISO is well suited to assume this role. The officer overseeing RIT operations will be known as the RIT Sector Officer (RITSO).

Question 14

According to the BFES operations Manual, How should communications be managed after a Mayday declaration?
a) All personnel should continue regular radio traffic
b) Limit radio traffic to emergency protocols for all personnel
c) Switch to a new operating channel for Mayday-related communications
d) Only the IC and RIT personnel should communicate
e) B or C

Answer 14

E
To enhance communications, the IC should choose one of the following two radio options.
Option 1:
a) All personnel not immediately involved with the firefighter rescue operations are directed to limit radio traffic to emergency traffic protocols.
Option 2:
a) The IC shall request another operating channel from Fire Control.
b) Personnel declaring the mayday, RIT(s) and other rescue crews shall remain on the original channel.
c) Other personnel shall be reassigned to the new channel. Fire Control or the Entry Control/Accountability Officer may perform a brief radio check of personnel assigned to the new channel.

Question 15

According to the BFES operations Manual, When should the IC request emergency alert tones from Fire Control?
a) Immediately after a Mayday declaration
b) After completing a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR)
c) If additional resources are needed
d) To increase awareness of the Mayday situation

Answer 15

D
Consider requesting emergency alert tones from Fire Control to increase awareness of the situation to all personnel operating on the scene.

Question 16

According to the BFES operations Manual, What is the purpose of the Mayday channel?
a) Routine communication
b) Emergency traffic only
c) Incident updates
d) Firefighter training

Answer 16

B
To enhance communications, the IC should choose one of the following two radio options.
Option 1:
a) All personnel not immediately involved with the firefighter rescue operations are directed to limit radio traffic to emergency traffic protocols.
Option 2:
a) The IC shall request another operating channel from Fire Control.
b) Personnel declaring the mayday, RIT(s) and other rescue crews shall remain on the original channel.
c) Other personnel shall be reassigned to the new channel. Fire Control or the Entry Control/Accountability Officer may perform a brief radio check of personnel assigned to the new channel.

Question 17

According to the BFES operations Manual, What action should control take if there is no response after IC activating the orange emergency button?
a) Initiate a reset procedure
b) Contact other officers onscene
c) Activate another emergency button
d) Continue regular operations

Answer 17

B
Should the IC be the unit initiating the emergency button activation and/or the IC does not respond to Fire Control, Fire Control shall attempt to contact another officer on the scene to confirm the details of the emergency transmission.

Question 18

According to the BFES operations Manual, What should personnel do if the orange emergency button is accidentally activated?
a) Turn off the radio
b) Report to Fire Control for reset
c) Activate the PASS alarm
d) Call for additional resources

Answer 18

B
If the activation is accidental, personnel should state, “This is Portable ____ with an accidental emergency button activation.

Question 19

According to the BFES operations Manual, How should personnel reset the orange emergency button?
a) Turn off the radio
b) Change to another channel
c) Push and hold the emergency button
d) Report to Fire Control for reset

Answer 19

C
Personnel that initiated the emergency shall reset the radio by pushing and holding the emergency button until the radio indicates it has reset.

Question 20

According to the BFES operations Manual, What action should the Sector Officer take when a Mayday is declared within their sector?
a) Continue regular assignments
b) Cease all communications on that chsnnel
c) Notify the IC via radio
d) Conduct a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR)
e) all of the above

Answer 20

E
Sector Officer
Maintain current assignments as ordered by the IC within the incident action plan.

Whenever a Mayday declaration is received, all communications on that channel, unless otherwise directed, are to cease and only communications between the firefighter initiating the emergency, the IC, RIT personnel and Fire Control are permitted. Emergency traffic shall be allowed.

Conduct a PAR within the sector.

Notify the IC via radio in the event of a Mayday.

Question 21

According to the BFES operations Manual, What is the responsibility of Fire Control upon hearing a Mayday that is not immediately acknowledged by the IC?
a) Only contact the IC
b) Announce the Mayday over all channels with alert tones, and contact IC
c) Do nothing until the IC responds
d) Switch to a new operating channel

Answer 21

B
If Fire Control hears a Mayday that is not immediately acknowledged by the IC, it is their responsibility to notify the IC and as necessary assist with the following actions:
a) Announce over all channels operating at the emergency incident that a Mayday has been received
b) Accompany this announcement with the alert tones
c) Contact the IC to ensure they are aware of the Mayday situation

Question 22

According to the BFES operations Manual, When should the IC be notified of a Mayday situation?
a) Only after the rescuer arrives
b) As soon as possible
c) After a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR)
d) During routine check-ins

Answer 22

B

Question 23

According to the BFES operations Manual, What information should Fire Control provide when notifying the IC of an orange emergency button activation?
a) Only the unit number
b) Activation time and location
c) Activation reason
d) Only the portable “alias”

Answer 23

D
After an orange button activation and no transmission is received, Fire Control shall twice attempt to contact the initiator. If there is no response, Fire Control shall notify the IC of the activation as well as the portable “alias”, I.D. number and any other information available.

Question 24

According to the BFES operations Manual, When should personnel deactivate their PASS alarm?
a) When reaching a safe location
b) While sending and receiving critical information
c) After a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR)
d) Never deactivate the PASS alarm until located by rescuers

Answer 24

B
In the event that you need to communicate critical information, personnel may deactivate the PASS alarm until the message has been sent and received and then reactivate the PASS alarm.

Question 25

According to the BFES operations Manual, What is the responsibility of Communications staff after a Mayday declaration?
a) Cease monitoring the Mayday channel
b) Continuously monitor the Mayday channel for updates and support
c) Only monitor the regular communication channels
d) Report the Mayday to Fire Control and ignore further updates

Answer 25

B
Communications staff are to continuously monitor the Mayday channel for updates and required support.

Question 26

According to the BFES operations Manual, When should Peel Regional Police and ambulance be dispatched in a Mayday situation?
a) Only if requested by the IC
b) As a routine practice
c) When the Mayday is heard over the radio
d) If not already responding or on scene

Answer 26

D

Peel Regional Police and ambulance shall be dispatched, if not already responding or on scene.

Question 27

According to the BFES operations Manual, What should the IC do to enhance communication during a Mayday event?
a) Request more radio channels
b) Limit radio traffic to emergency traffic protocols
c) Assign an additional RIT for backup
d) Ignore communication changes

Answer 27

B
Option 1:
a) All personnel not immediately involved with the firefighter rescue operations are directed to limit radio traffic to emergency traffic protocols.

Question 28

According to the BFES operations Manual, Who can call a mayday and why?
a) By personnel who are lost, trapped or in trouble.
b) By an Incident Commander, Sector Officer, or anyone who cannot account for individuals.
c) By any personnel who witnessed and/or has first-hand knowledge that other personnel are lost, trapped or in trouble.
d) By any personnel that requires immediate assistance, including medical distress.
e) All of the above

Answer 28

E
The term Mayday shall be used as the designated term to declare that personnel are in trouble and only to be used for that purpose. This shall result in a clear channel allowing personnel the ability to describe their situation. A Mayday may be communicated via radio and/or verbally.
Mayday may be declared:
a) By personnel who are lost, trapped or in trouble.
b) By an Incident Commander, Sector Officer, or anyone who cannot account for individuals.
c) By any personnel who witnessed and/or has first-hand knowledge that other personnel are lost, trapped or in trouble.
d) By any personnel that requires immediate assistance, including medical distress.

Question 29

According to the BFES operations Manual, What should a lost/Trapped firefighter do after declaring a mayday?
A) A lost firefighter should make attempts to exit the structure.
B) Find a wall and use the wall to find an exit (left/right hand search).
C) If necessary, breech a wall for escape or to access breathable air. Ensure the new location is safe.
D) all of the above

Answer 29

D
Self-Rescue
* A lost firefighter should make attempts to exit the structure.
* Find a wall and use the wall to find an exit (left/right hand search).
* If necessary, breech a wall for escape or to access breathable air. Ensure the new location is safe.