Chapter 4

Question 1

When an incident requiring technical search and rescue occurs, the execution of a safe and successful response often depends on the evaluation and planning that the AHJ has undertaken before the response.

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Question 2

Identifying the potential for technical search and rescue situations within a jurisdiction is the first step in the pre-incident process

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Question 3

Any analysis of the hazards and assessment of the risks within a given response area must take into account the environmental, physical, social, and cultural factors involved.

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Question 4

Soil conditions influence the potential for cave in incidents and responders should familiarize themselves with the types of soil in all parts of their jurisdiction.

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Question 5

Visual inspections of buildings under construction will enable first responders to address or plan for concerns before they become a problem.

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Question 6

The plan for each rescue discipline must reflect the level of operational capability that the jurisdiction possesses in that discipline.

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Question 7

Planning for resource needs should include the plans for incident management personnel and the appropriate decision makers to form a unified command if indicated.

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Question 8

Both agencies entering into a mutual aid agreement should sign the agreement before there is a need for their respective resources.

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Question 9

As part of the deployment plan, various alternatives should be tested in one or more realistic training exercises.

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Question 10

Periodically exercising the plan is important to maintain operational readiness in light of changing conditions and personnel turnover.

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Question 11

Site surveys contain information that Incident commanders can use to develop an effective incident action plan and improve the ability of responders to respond in a safe and effective manner to any incident.

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Question 12

Site surveys should be developed for facilities or features that present responders with unusual hazards based on the type or frequency of responses.

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Question 13

Resources that may assist in the development of a site survey for a body of water include reports of previous incidents, flood insurance maps, tide tables, and meteorological data.

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Question 14

Most of the hazards associated with technical search and rescue operations fall into one or more of the four categories: physical hazards, environmental hazards, water hazards, and atmospheric hazards.

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Question 15

Physical hazards in confined spaces may be created by the lack of structural integrity of the space or by hazardous objects within the space.

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Question 16

Physical hazards associated with trench rescues include the lack of structural integrity or trench walls and or hazardous objects near the trench.

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Question 17

At industrial sites, fall hazards can vary from elevated work areas to subterranean pits.

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Question 18

Building collapse and trench rescues present scenarios where responders must move vertically during ingress or egress form the scene.

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Question 19

At the scene of a trench rescue, the probability of an additional collapse of the trench walls is present as long as the trench remains open.

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Question 20

The fact that a wall has already caved in is ample evidence that the soil is unstable.

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Question 21

The potential for a subsequent collapse is even greater in soil that has been disturbed or is subject to conditions such as seeping water.

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Question 22

Two factors that have a significant effect on the stability of trench walls are surcharge loads and vibration.

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Question 23

Surcharge load - any weight near the trench lip that increases instability of a trench’s walls or lip, or increases the likelihood of secondary cave in, often imposed from the soil pile or heavy equipment.

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Question 24

Spoil pile - excavated materials consisting of topsoil or subsoils that have been removed and temporarily stored during the digging of a trench.

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Question 25

Machinery that is used to move free flowing materials may further the engulfment hazard by causing the materials to fill the vessel.

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Question 26

Before responders enter areas presenting engulfment hazards, all machinery and equipment that could produce movement or shifting of materials must be shut off and marked with a lockout/tagout device.

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Question 27

Water increases the structural load of a building, decreases soil stability, and may become a drowning hazard.

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Question 28

As much as possible, responders should avoid conducting rescue operations in areas of suboptimal lighting.

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Question 29

Sound dampening and reflection in confined spaces and trenches impair communication in these environments.

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Question 30

Moisture is commonly present within confined spaces, trenches, and structural collapses.

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Question 31

Wet floors can slow rescue efforts due to poor footing and can turn the dust common in a collapsed building into a slippery slurry.

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Question 32

Decomposition of organic materials buried under rubble and debris is also a source of biological contamination.

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Question 33

The initial assessment of a swift water incident begins with a daily evaluation of conditions within the jurisdiction.

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Question 34

Two causes of currents in water include: Laminar flow - combination of gravity acting on water and water's movement against the river bottom. - smooth, non turbulent flow of a fluid that occurs at low velocities. Helical flow - Effect of water's movement against the shore. - the corkscrew like flow of water.

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Question 35

The laminar flow travels down the center of the body of water, which takes the victim or the rescuer downstream.

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Question 36

The helical flow cuts in at the shoreline pulling the victim or the rescuer out into the laminar flow.

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Question 37

River flow patterns include different types of currents that affect search and rescue operations.

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Question 38

Particulate matter, such as silt or algae, may create turbidity which limits the responders' ability to spot and avoid subsurface hazards.

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Question 39

Turbidity - muddy, cloudy, or murky condition of water caused by the stirring up of sediment.

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Question 40

An eddy is a segment of water that is moving opposite to the main flow of the current usually because of contact with a rock or other obstruction in the waterway.

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Question 41

Eddy - A current of water moving in opposition to the main stream, caused by contact with an obstacle.

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Question 42

Underwater strainers and above surface sweepers may be formed by fallen trees, abandoned vehicle chassis, or construction debris.

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Question 43

Strainers - obstructions in a waterway within the water itself just below the waterline.

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Question 44

Strainers and sweepers allow water to flow through but trap objects.

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Question 45

Also known as a diversion dam, the low head dam is one of the more dangerous hazards a water rescuer may encounter.

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Question 46

Commonly called the drowning machine, the hydraulic action of this dam is virtually impossible to escape.

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Question 47

Obstructions above and below the water surface will influence the actions possible at a search and rescue incident.

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Question 48

Low head dams create a powerful current that can trap people and objects indefinitely.

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Question 49

Examples of atmospheric hazards that may be encountered at many technical search and rescue incidents include: Accumulation of harmful gases, lack of oxygen, oxygen enrichment.

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Question 50

An atmosphere is considered to be oxygen deficient whenever the concentration of oxygen drops below 19.5 percent.

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Question 51

Oxygen deficiency can result from biological activity such as fermentation, a fire or other oxidation process, or another gas displacing the available oxygen in a space.

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Question 52

Spaces shown to be oxygen deficient should be mechanically ventilated until atmospheric monitoring shows readings within safe levels.

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Question 53

Any atmosphere within a confined space that exceeds 23.5 percent oxygen is defined as an oxygen enriched atmosphere.

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Question 54

If the atmosphere within a confined space or trench contains flammable gas, vapor, or mist in excess of 10 percent of its lower flammable limit, it is considered hazardous.

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Question 55

Mineral dust and other fine airborne particulates are common to some confined spaces.

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Question 56

In the static atmosphere of a confined space or trench, dust can remain suspended in the air for hours.

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Question 57

The LFL of airborne combustible grain dust can be approximated when the dust obscures vision at a distance of 5 feet or less.

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Question 58

The atmosphere should be sampled at the top, middle, and bottom of the space, or at four feet intervals.

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Question 59

Sampling the atmosphere helps determine the need for mechanical ventilation and the type of respiratory protection required for rescuer safety.

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Question 60

Risk benefit analysis - comparison between the known hazards and potential benefits of any operation, used to determine the feasibility of the operation.

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Question 61

An important aspect of this determination is the risk benefit analysis which evaluates the benefits to be gained compared to the risks that must be taken to complete an operation.

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Question 62

IFSTA has developed a model guideline for conducting a risk benefit analysis that is consistent with both NFPA 1500, standard on fire department occupational safety and health program.

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Question 63

Team integrity is vital to safety and must always be emphasized.

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Question 64

No property or un-savable individual is worth the life of a responder.

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Question 65

The safe and efficient response to a technical search and rescue incident requires an in depth and well thought out pre-incident plan for the response.

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Question 66

A pre-incident site survey is one tool that can assist responders with developing an incident action plan.

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Question 67

All response operations should occur within the framework of a risk benefit analysis model.

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