Chapter 1: The Fire Service Flashcards
Roles within the Fire Department:
- What is a Fire Marshal?
- What is a Fire Inspector?
- What is a Fire Investigator?
- What is a Fire and Life Safety Educator (FLSE)?
- What is an Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT)?
- What is a Fire Protection Engineer?
- What is a Public Information Officer?
- A Fire Marshal delivers, manages, and/or administer fire protection and life, safety related codes and standards, investigations, education, and or prevention services.
- A Fire Inspector will inspects businesses and enforced public safety laws and fire codes.
- A Fire Investigator response to fire scenes to help investigate the cause of the fire. The investigator may have full police powers to investigate and arrest, suspected arsonist, and people causing false alarms.
- A Fire and Life Safety Educator educates the public about fire, safety, and injury prevention and presents juvenile fire safety programs. The FLSE in the public information officer may be part of a larger community risk reduction program with the department.
- A Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) repairs and services Fire and EMS vehicles, keeping them ready to respond to emergencies. These individuals are usually trained by equipment manufacturers to repair vehicle engines, lights, and all parts of the fire pump and aerial ladders.
- A Fire Protection Engineer reviews plans and works with the building owners to ensure that their fire suppression and detection systems meet the applicable codes and function as needed. Some fire protection engineers design these systems, and most hold a degree in fire engineering.
- A Public Information Officer serves as a liaison between the IC in the news media.
Specialized Response Roles:
- What is an Aircraft/Crash Rescue Firefighter (ARFF)?
- What is a Hazardous Materials Technician?
- What is a Technical Rescuer?
- What is a SCUBA Dive Rescue Technician?
- EMS is the umbrella. Name the four responders from least to most experienced.
- ARFF’s are based on military and civilian airports and receive specialized training in aircraft fires, extrication of victims on aircraft, and extinguish agents. They wear special PPE and respond and specialized fire apparatus that protects them from high temperature fires caused by substances such as jet fuel.
- Hazmat Technicians have training and certification and chemical identification, leak control, decontamination, and clean up procedures.
- Tech Rescuers are trained in special rescue techniques for incidents involving structural collapse, trench rescue, swift water rescue, confined-space rescue, high angle rescue, and other unusual situations. The units they work in are sometimes called urban Search & Rescue teams.
- Many fire departments, especially those located near waterways, lakes, or an ocean, use scuba technicians who are train and rescue, recovery, and search for sages in both water and ice situations. Scuba stands for self-contained underwater, breathing apparatus.
- The four responders from past to most experienced is:
• Emergency Medical Responder (EMS): The first train, professional, such as a police officer, firefighter, lifeguard, other rescuer, to arrive at the scene of an emergency to provide in this medical assistance. EMR’s have basic training and often perform in an assistant role within the ambulance.
• Emergency Medical Technician (EMT): Most EMS providers are EMTs. They have training in basic emergency care skills, including oxygen therapy, bleeding control, CPR, automated external defibrillation, basic airway devices, and assist patients with certain medication’s.
• Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT): aEMT’s can perform more procedures than EMTs, but they are not yet paramedics. They have training in specific aspects of advanced life support, such as intravenous therapy (IV), interpretation of cardiac rhythms, defibrillation, and airway intubation.
• Paramedic: A paramedic has completed the highest level of training in EMS. They have extensive training in advance, life, support, including IV therapy, administering drugs, cardiac monitoring, inserting, advanced airways, manual defibrillation, and other advanced assessment and treatment skills.
Working Within the Community:
- What is Community Risk Reduction (CRR)?
- What is Vision 20/20?
- What are the 6 Basic steps of the CRR program?
- CRR is a comprehensive, all hazard, unifying approach that includes programs, actions, and services used by a community, which prevent or mitigate the loss of life, property, and resources associated with life, safety, fire, and other disasters within a community. CRR is different from the traditional ideas of fire prevention, because it is concerned with the comprehensive approach to reducing the overall incidents and impact of emergencies within the community.
- Vision 20/20 is a national strategic planning process for fire loss prevention to coordinate activities and fire prevention efforts. Because Vision 20/20 Will not affectively mitigate the risk for all communities, CRR assist communities by identifying and developing a combination of unique strategic interventions to address individual problems with the most efficient use of resources.
- •Identify Risk.
•Prioritize Risk.
•Develop strategies and tactics to mitigate risk.
•Prepare the CRR plan.
•Implement the CRR plan.
•Monitor, evaluate, and modify the plan.
- What is RMS?
- What is GIS?
- Record Management System: A system where data of community risk is collected, such as incidents, call volumes, locations and causes.
- Geographic Information System: Another good source for data concerning risk in the community
Educating the Public:
• Pools must be properly enclosed.
• Furniture, visions, and appliances must be properly secured to prevent tip overs.
• Medicines and chemicals must be stored where children cannot access them.
• Stairs and balcony should have handrails and guards.
• Domestic hot water temperature should not exceed 120°F.
• Test all smoke alarms and recommend adding additional alarms if some areas are not protected.
• Stress, the importance of keeping ignition sources away from combustible materials and keeping bedroom doors closed to limit fire growth and spread.
• Discuss the risk of children playing with lighters and matches, leaving food, cooking on the stove unattended, restoring, combustibles, such as towels, potholders, and cooking oils too close to the stove.
• Every kitchen should be equipped within approved ABC – rated fire extinguisher.
• if the room contains a fireplace, a woodstove, or a portable heater, ensure that no combustible materials are stored nearby. Fireplace should have a screen to keep sparks and hot embers from escaping. Solid fuse are used the chimney and pipe should be professionally expected at least once each year.
• Test smoke alarms once a month using the test button.
• Change, Alkaline batteries and smoke alarms every six months.
• Replace all smoke alarms, every 10 years, or if they fail the monthly test.
• Clean smoke alarms regularly to prevent false alarms.
Conduct a survey outside and inside the home.
Outside the house:
• Make sure that the house number or address is clearly visible from the street.
• Exits not obstructed, and recommend that fireplaces and chimneys be expected annually
Inside the house:
• Systematically inspect each room for fire hazards, and explain why different situations are considered potential fire hazards. And overloaded electrical circuit is a fire has it will be more likely to avoid overloading circuits in the future.
• Stress the importance of using power strips that contains circuit breakers to prevent overloading of extension cords.
• Help the occupant identify escape routes.
• Explain the importance of good housekeeping, and they need to clear junk out of garages, basements, and storage areas.
• Furnaces and what are he that operate with an open flame are often located in a basement or garage; they can’t ignite flammable materials that are stored too close to.
• Storage of gasoline and other flammable substances is a major concern because an open flame or pilot light can easily ignite flammable vapors. Gasoline and other flammable liquids should be stored only in approved containers and outside areas or outbuildings. Propane tanks, such as those used in gas grills, should also be stored outside or In outbuildings.
• Small quantities of flammable and combustible liquids (Such as paint, thinners, varnishes, and cleaning fluids) should be stored and closed metal containers away from heat sources.
• Oily or greasy rags should also be stored enclosed metal containers. It is recommended that homeowners maintain fully charged fire, extinguishes and basements and garages.
After you have completed a home fire safety survey or any type of inspection, you must file your report and if you identify hazards that require further action or follow up, contact code enforcement office. For more information on conducting a safety survey, see chapter 27, fire and life safety initiatives .
Residential Smoke Alarms:
- What is the most common type of residential fire alarm?
- There are two types of fire detection technologies that may be used in the smoke alarm to detect combustion. What are they?
- Single-station Smoke Alarm: It’s has A smoke detection sensor, and automatic control unit, and an audible alarm within a single device. Smoke alarms can be battery powered, hardwired to a 120 V electrical system, or both. Building codes require smoke alarms in all newly constructed dwellers to be hardwired and powered by the buildings electrical system. The smoke alarms also must be interconnected, so that all of the alarms will sound if one alarm detects smoke. Hardwired smoke alarms must also contain a back up battery in case electrical service is disrupted. For battery operated smoke alarms some communities recommend replacing them when daylight saving time begins and ends. Some smoke alarms come with the long life lithium battery that must last up to 10 years. NFPA 72 national fire alarm is signaling cold, recommends that all smoke alarms be replaced after 10 years from the date of manufacture. NFPA 72 requires new residences to have at least one smoke alarm on each level of the house, one in the corridor or hallway outside each sleeping area, and one in each bedroom. The residences built before these requirements that were established may not have enough smoke alarms to provide early detection and notification. Firefighter should recommend that the occupants install additional smoke alarms to improve their protection.
2 • Ionization Alarms & Photoelectric
- How are the two types of smoke alarms Ionization/Photoelectric, activated?
- • Ionization Alarms are activated by the smaller, invisible products of combustion, which includes electrically charged microscopic particles. They sense presence of invisible charged particles (Ions). This smoke alarm contains a very small amount of radioactive material inside its in a chamber. This radioactive material releases charge particles into the chamber, and a small electric current flows between two plates. When smoke particles into the chamber, they neutralize the charge particles and interrupt the current flow. The alarm senses this interruption and activates.• Photoelectric Alarms: are activated by the larger, visible products of combustion. It uses a light beam and a photocell to detect larger, visible particles of smoke figure 1-6. when visible particles of smoke into the inner chamber, they reflect some of the light onto the photocell, thereby activating the alarm.
Ionization smoke alarms react, more quickly than photo electric smoke alarms to fast burning fires, such as a fire in a trashcan, which may, at first, produce little visible smoke. Ionization alarms are more susceptible to nuance alarms from common activities, such as light smoke from cooking and steam from a shower. By comparison, photo electric smoke detectors are more responsive to slow, burning or smothering fires, such as a fire caused by a cigarette caught in a couch, which usually produces a large quantity of visible smoke. they are less prone to steam than an ionization smoke detector is. Combination ionization/photo electric smoke alarms are also available. These alarms quickly react to both fast burning and smothering fires. They are not suitable for use near kitchens or bathrooms because they are prune to the same nuisance as regular ionization smoke detectors. Here is a picture of a combination, ionization and photo electric alarm. Figure 1–7.
Working with Other Organizations:
- What is Unified Command?
- When multiple agencies work together at an incident.
Fire Department Governance:
- What is a Governance?
- What are Regulations?
- What are Standards?
- What is an Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)?
- What are Policies?
- What are Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)?
- The process by which an organization exercises authority and performs the functions assigned to it. The governance of a fire department depends on regulations, standards, policies, and standard operating procedures.
- Are developed by various government or government–authorize organizations to implement a law that has been passed by a government body. For example, federal occupational health and safety laws are adopted as regulations by some states. These regulations may apply to activities within the department.
- Are issued by non-government entities and are generally consensus based. A standard may be voluntary, meaning that the standards can be adopted by an authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) as a requirement for that area.
- Is a governing body that sets operational policy and procedures for the jurisdiction in which you operate. For example, organizations such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and International Code Council issue voluntary consensus-base codes and standards that set the expected construction, performance, and operation of many aspects of the fire service operations.
- Policies are developed to provide definitive guidelines for present and future actions. Fire department policies, for example, outline what is expected and stated conditions. These policies often require personnel to make judgments and determine the best course of action within the state of policy. Policies governing parts of a fire department operations may be developed by other government agencies such as personnel policies that cover all employees of a city or county.
- Provide specific information on the actions that should be taken to accomplish a certain task. SOP‘s are developed within the fire department, are approved by the chief of the department, and ensure that all members of the department perform a given task in the same manner. SOG‘s are similar to SOP’s however, SOG‘s may vary due to circumstances surrounding a particular incident. SOG are not as strict as SOP, because conditions may dictate that the firefighter or officer uses his or her personal judgment and completing the procedure. Flexibility allows, the responder to deviate from a set of procedure yet still be held accountable for that action. a practical way to organize a department SOP manual is with removable pages collected in a three ring binder, which ensures that updates can be made easily. Each department members should have an SOP manual and must updated as needed. This manual should be organized and sections, such as administration, safety, scene operations, apparatus, and equipment, station duties, uniforms, and miscellaneous, and use a simple numbering system based on section and policy numbers. Fig1-9
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FIRE SERVICE
- What are the four basic principles of an organization? Define each one.
- Discipline, Division of Labor, Unity of Command, and Span of Control.
Discipline: Is guiding and directing firefighters to do what their Fire department expects of them. Positive discipline consist of providing guidelines for the right way of doing things. Examples of positive discipline our policies, SOP‘s, training, and education. Corrective discipline consist of actions taken to discourage inappropriate behavior or poor performance. Examples of corrective discipline are counseling sessions, formal reprimand, or suspension from duty.
Division of Labor: is a way of organizing an incident by breaking down the overall strategy into a series of smaller task. Some fire departments are divided into units based on function. For example, Engine companies, establish water, supplies and pump, water; truck companies, perform, force, entry, rescue, and ventilation functions. with Division of labor, specific assignment of a task to an individual makes that person responsible for completing the task and prevent duplication of job assignments.
Unity of Command: is the concept that each firefighter answers to only one supervisor, each supervisor answers to only one boss, and so on. Fig 1–14. In this way, the chain of command ensures that everyone is answerable to the Fire Chief and establishes a direct route of responsibility from Fire Chief to Firefighter.
Span of Control: is the number of people that one person can supervise effectively. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Spand of control of personnel is between three and seven.
After Action Review:
Continued:
Definitions:
