Chapter 6 Me Flashcards
The goal of fire protection is to?
to contain the fire within a building or area
A document developed by gathering data used by responding personnel in effectively managing emergencies for the protection of occupants, participants, responding personnel, property, and the environment
Pre incident planning
NFPA 1620
What do pre incident plans provide?
- Identifies in advance strategies/tactics/actions to consider
- Makes fire fighters familiar with the building
- Useful at the company level of practicing initial operations
What represents the exterior of a structure?
Plot plan
Interior views of a building; features are in direct relationship to each other
Floor plan
The pre incident plan should identify the location and details of every?
- Fire department connection
- Fire pump
- Standpipe system
- Automatic sprinkler system
Also
Smoke management and hazard protection systems
Total quantity of combustible products found within a room or space. Determines how much heat and smoke will be produced by a fire, assuming that all of the combustible fuel in that space is consumed
Fuel load
Fire develops in what 4 stages?
- Incipient stage
- Growth stage
- Fully developed stage
- Decay stage
Establishes legally enforceable regulations that relate specifically to fire and life safety, including related subjects such as regulation of hazardous materials and process protection and operating features
A fire code
AHJ for a state fire code is usually the?
state fire marshal
Inspections are conducted by?
- State fire marshals office
- Local fire department
- Code enforcement officials
Regulations that apply to the construction of a new building or an extension or major renovation of an existing building
building code
A fire code applies to?
Existing buildings and to situations that involve a potential fire risk or hazard
Local fire codes are enacted by?
Ordinance
A law enacted by an authorized subdivision of a state, such as a city, county, or town
Developed by standards organization, such as NFPA, and made available for adoption by AHJs. Developed through consensus process using a network of technical committees.
Model codes
Model codes can be adopted in what 2 ways?
- Adoption by reference
- Adoption by transcription
Series of pipes with small discharge nozzles located throughout a building
Automatic sprinkler system
What are the different sprinkler types?
- Wet pipe: water is always in pipes; requires less maintenance; faster reaction
- Dry pipe: installed in cold climates; uses air pressure to release water
- Deluge: found in occupancies with flammable liquid hazards; ready to discharge water as soon as the control valve opens
- Preaction: similiar to dry pipe but includes separate detection system that fills pipe; designed to reduce risk of water damage
Arrangement of piping, valves, hose connections, and allied equipment that allow water to be discharged through hoses and nozzles to reach all parts of the building
Standpipe system
What are the 3 standpipe classes?
-Class 1 provides 2 1/2 inch male coupling, intended for use by fire department or fire brigade members trained in the use of large hose streams
-Class 2 provides 1 1/2 inch hose coupling with a pre connected hose and nozzle in a house station cabinet. The hose is designed for occupant use
-Class 3 provides both connections. The 1 1/2 inch connection may have a pre connected hose line that can be used by the occupants until the fire department arrives
Increases water pressure in standpipe and automatic sprinkler systems
Fire pumps
-Designed to start automatically when the water pressure drops in a system or a fire suppression system is activated
What are some special extinguishing system?
- Carbon dioxide: fixed system; from pressurized tanks; displaces oxygen
- Dry or wet chemical: fixed system; protects commercial cooking devices and industrial processes; wet is preferred
- Halon/ clean agent: more efficient than carbon dioxide; banned since 1994; depletes ozone layer;
- Foam system: low expansion foam system used to protect hazards involving flammable or combustible liquids
Fire alarm systems are activated by?
- Manual fire alarm box
- Smoke detectors
- Heat detectors
- Water flow or pressure switch in a sprinkler system
Type I construction
- Fire resistive
- Construction elements are non combustible
- Level of protection is described by number of hours a building can resist fire effects
- Most durable and lasting structure
- Often uses compartmentation instead of sprinklers
- Metal elements can fail due to age and rust
Type II construction
- Non combustible
- Classified into subdivisions based on fire resistance; Type IIA resists fire for 1 hour; Type IIB is not expected to resist fire effects
- Common 20th century construction
- Durable but not a legacy building
- Requires replacement every 30-40 years
- Frequently updated with Type V structural elements
Type III construction
- Ordinary
- Exterior load bearing walls are non combustible masonry
- Interior elements may be combustible or combination
- Different levels of fire protection possible; Type IIIA: Fire-resistive rating of 1-2 hours; Type IIIB: no fire resistance rating
- Used to build commercial, multi-family , mercantile buildings through 1980s
- No higher than 4 stories
- Designed to preserve load bearing walls
Type IV construction
- Heavy timber
- Exterior walls are non combustible (masonry)
- Interior elements are unprotected wood with large cross sectional dimension
- Mill construction
- Durable as Type I structures
- Most surviving structures have been converted
- A well seated fire in a non-sprinklered Type IV building may exceed capability of municipal water supply
Type V construction
- Wood frame
- Sometimes masonry veneer is applied
- Structural elements consist of wood frame
- Most common structures
- Include single- and multi-family residential
- Can injure or kill first-arriving fire fighters via weakened floor
- Flashover in 3-5 minutes
- Foundation for future innovative building methods and materials
The purpose for which a building or portion of a building is used or is intended to be used
Occupancy type
Occupancies are classified into use groups based on the?
- Characteristics of the occupants
- Activities that are conducted
- Risk factors associated with the contents
An assembly is?
Used for gathering of people
Ex: churches, bars, theaters
Industrial building are?
Where products are manufactured, processed, assembled, mixed, packaged, etc
Ex: automobile plants, clothing manufacturers, food processing plant, cement plant
Institutional occupancy are?
Occupancy used for the purposes of medical or other treatment or for care where residents are incapable of self-preservation
Ex: hospitals, nursing homes; correctional facilities
A mercantile occupancy is?
Used for display and sale of merchandise
Ex: retail stores, department stores, drug stores
Special properties are?
Unusual structures
Towers
Water tanks
Barns
In the NFPA 704 marking system, what do the colors represent
Blue: health hazards
Red: flammability hazards
Yellow: material instability hazards
In the NFPA 704 marking system, what do the numbers represent
Numbers are 0-4
0: essentially no hazard
4: extreme danger
The last color in the diamond is white which is used
for special hazard and could include letters or numbers
NFPA 704 marking systems also requires labels to be affixed to containers inside the structure to indicate what hazards?
- Corrosive
- Flammable
- Poison
NFPA 704 marking system requires markers where?
- At each entrance
- On doorways to chemical storage areas
- On fixed storage tanks
While conducting an inspection, less critical issues can be corrected within a reasonable time generally?
30-90 days
Which occupancy must meet the most stringent requirements?
Mixed
Business on bottom, residential on top
Proves or disproves a fact or issue
Evidence
Includes material objects as well as documentary or oral statements that are admissible as testimony in a court of law
Tangible items that can be identified by witnesses, such as incendiary devices and fire scene debris
Demonstrative evidence
Witnesses speaking under oath
Testimonial evidence
Evidence in written form, such as reports, records, photographs, sketches, and witness statements
Documentary evidence
Material first ignited. Ignition source. Other items related to fire ignition/development/spread. Items on which fire patterns are present
Artifacts
When to request a fire investigator
- When a death or serious burn injury occurs
- For large loss fires
- For situations that could have caused great harm
The fire officers looks at buildings from 2 different perspectives
- First, prepares to handle emergency by developing a pre-incident plan
- Second, performs a fire and life safety inspection to ensure that the building meets the appropriate fire prevention code requirement
Pre-incident planning and code enforcement require similar skill sets including:
Fire growth and development, building construction, and built in fire protection systems
Fire officers play multiple roles in relation to properties within their communities, including handling the following critical tasks
- Identifying and correcting fire safety hazards through safety checks or code enforcement
- Developing and maintaining pre-incident plans
- Promoting fire safety through public relations
During pre-incident planning fire officer and firefighter should be on the lookout for ?
Fire and life safety hazards