Fire Officer Flashcards
A metro size fire dept is based on having more than ____ FF’s.
400
The science of using available resources to achieve desired results is:
Management
The standard organizational structure that is used to manage assigned resources in order to accomplish stated objectives for an incident is:
Incident Management System (IMS)
The emphasis at this level is placed on accomplishing the depts goals and objectives by working thru subordinates to achieve desired results.
Fire Officer 1
Max number of personnel or activities that can be effectively controlled by one individual, usually 3-7, is:
Span of control
The behavioral method that represents the lowest level of concern for both results and people is:
Indifferent - evade and elude
The physical mark left by the fire, are known as:
Fire patterns
The formula based on a flow equivalent to 1 gallon per minute per 100 cubic feet for 30 seconds is:
Iowa State University rate of flow
Developed by various government organizations to implement a law that has been passed by a government body:
Rules and Regulations
Which type of promotional activity was developed for use in the German Army in the 1920’s?
Assessment Center Process
One of the greatest demands on the fire officer is the effective use of:
Time
In career depts, more than ____% of a budget is allocated to salaries and benefits.
90%
An effective method to assist with on scene emergency decisions is thru the use of:
SOP’s
The _________ Act established the Civil Service System.
Pendleton Act
The standard for Fire Officer qualifications is:
NFPA 1021
What is Pyrolysis?
Chemical decomposition
The purchase of a durable item that will last for more than one budget year is considered a:
Capitol Expenditure
National statistics indicate that ____ in every _____ fires is of incendiary origin.
1 in every 4
A six point model of Crew Resource Management (CRM) serves the fire service well, they are:
- Communication skills
- Teamwork
- Task allocation
- Critical decision making
- Situational awareness
- Debriefing
The initial responsibilities of the Incident Commander include these 5 steps:
- Scene size up
- Action plan
- Assign resources
- Command structure
- Plan is safe
Three areas where a Fire Officer needs to keep his supervisor informed are:
- Progress towards performance goals and project objectives
- Matters that may cause controversy
- Attitudes and morale
Standpipes are subdivided into three classes based on their expected use:
Class 1 - 2.5” outlets for FD
Class 2 - 1.5” preconnect for occupant
Class 3 - 1.5” and 2.5” for occupants use until FD arrive
If a model code is adopted by a local jurisdiction, it may occur in one of two ways:
- Adoption by reference (partial)
2. Adoption by transcription (entire)
This motivational theory is based on people acting in a manner they believe will lead to an outcome they value:
Expectancy Theory
What does right to work mean?
Workers can’t be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment.
This type of management shifted the focus to pay more attention to the workers and working conditions to make them more productive.
Humanistic
The discipline that starts out to correct a problem with positive discipline and then increasing the intensity of the discipline is:
Progressive Discipline
This code regulates new construction buildings:
Building code
This theory, the manager believes that people do like to work and that they need to be encouraged not controlled:
Theory Y
First step in the discipline process is usually:
Informal verbal discussion
________ refers to the purpose for which a building is used.
Occupancy
When dealing with a complaint from a citizen, the first thing the Officer should do is:
Remain calm and professional
Psychomotor skill levels fall into four categories:
- Initial (basic understanding)
- Plateau (competent)
- Latency
- Mastery (confident)
The two documents used to define the KSA’s that are required for every classified position within the municipality are:
- Narrative job description
2. Technical class specification
Brainstorming is a method used to develop ideas and would be used in what step of the decision making process?
Second
What are the backbone of order in the Fire Department?
Policies
One of the basic foundations of Crew Resource Management is that crew members can:
Speak up if they see something that causes concern
There are two types of fire patterns:
- Movement (V or U shaped)
2. Intensity
The four federal laws that regulate the collective bargaining system are:
- Norris-Laguardia
- Wagner-Connery
- Taft-Hartley
- Landrum-Griffin
What type of leadership is effective at the firehouse when assigning work duties?
Democratic
Some states could require binding arbitration, what is this?
Dispute resolution by a third & neutral party
One of the most critical areas in decision making is how to deal with situations that involve:
Conflicts or complaints
Money spent on services or goods such as insurance and fuel is known as:
An expenditure
The IMS general staff below command are:
There are 4
- Operations
- Planning
- Logistics
- Finance/Admin
This motivational theory suggests that employees evaluate outcomes they receive for their inputs and compare with others:
Equity Theory
This describes how commanders can recognize a plausible plan of action:
Recognition Primed Decision making (RPD)
An evaluation error that tends to rate all FF’s either higher or lower than their work performance deserves, thus reducing conflict.
Leniency
The generic term that can be applied to either geographical or a functional component:
Sector
A systematic process of gathering and processing info and determining a plan of action is:
Size up
The triangle of Leadership is comprised of three things:
- Effective Leadership
- Trust and respect
- Leadership skills
A motivating theory that relies on the natural competitiveness of people.
Goal setting
The total quantity of all combustible products in a structure is known as:
Fuel load
The NFPA 704 marking system is used for:
Buildings
This code applies to existing buildings:
Fire code
Five construction types per NFPA 220 are:
Type 1 - Fire Resistive (concrete)
Type 2 - Non Combustible (cinder block walls, unprotected steel columns)
Type 3 - Ordinary Combustible (ext walls masonry)
Type 4 - Heavy Timber (unprotected wood)
Type 5 - Wood Frame (regular house)
An important part of the communication process in CRM is focusing on:
What is right vs who is right
What is one step the Officer can do that will assist in Brainstorming?
Function as the scribe
The complex system of inherent attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions is:
Integrity
This summarizes the scope of the job and provides examples of the typical tasks that a person holding that position would be expected to perform:
Narrative Job Description
The three basic priorities for an Incident Action Plan are:
- Life Safety
- Incident Stabilization
- Property Conservation
Which step of the decision making process is considered the most challenging?
Implementation
A way of organizing an incident by breaking down the overall strategy into smaller tasks:
Division of labor
Information about the makeup of a community based on race, gender and other factors is known as:
Demographics
Taylor’s breaking down of work tasks into constituent elements and standardizing work tasks was called this type of management:
Scientific
Four management principles of most Fire Departments:
- Unity of Command
- Span of Control
- Division of Labor
- Discipline
Maslow - Hierarchy of need:
There are 5
- Physiological needs
- Safety, security
- Social, affection
- Esteem, status
- Self actualization
The theory that each FF answers to only one supervisor, each supervisor answers to only one boss:
Unity of Command
This theory, the manager believes that people do not like to work so they need to be closely watched and controlled:
Theory X
An evaluation error that occurs when the evaluators personal bias skews the evaluation is:
Personal bias
An evaluation error that occurs when the officer compares the performance of one with that of another is called?
Contrast effect
A system designed to train team members how to achieve maximum mission effectiveness under stress is:
Crew Resource Management (CRM)
McGregor developed this concept to define the problem in terms of managers or the organizations view of the workers:
Theory X and Theory Y
There are 3 specific situations where the Fire Officer must behave as a Theory X manager:
- Operating at a fire or high risk activity
- Taking control of a conflict
- Nears the end of a series of negative disciplinary measures
This Act provides the minimum standards for both wages and Overtime entitlement is:
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Specific information on actions that should be taken to complete a task is:
Standard Operating Procedure
The communication cycle contains 5 parts:
- Message
- Sender
- Medium (with noise)
- Receiver
- Feedback
This tactical level management represent geographical Ops, such as one floor or one side of a building:
Divisions
What accounting process must a Fire Dept budget go thru each year?
An Audit
Two to five single resources that are assembled to accomplish a specific task
Task force
The behavioral method that demonstrates a high concern for results and a low concern for others is:
Controlling- direct and dominate
Of all the promotional examination components the most common is ___________ and the most complex, expensive one is ______.
In-Basket, Simulation
NFA’s three phases of size up are:
- Pre-incident information
- Initial size up
- Ongoing size up
Which step in the communication process ensures the message was received and understood?
Feedback
Before the civil war, most government jobs were awarded according to the patronage or _______.
Spoils System
A moral, mental and physical state in which all ranks respond to the will of the leader is:
Discipline
The ability of an officer to project an image of being in control of the situation is:
Command presence
A plan that includes the interior view of the building and identifies doors, hallways and storage closets is a:
Floor Plan
Specific information on actions that should be taken to complete a task is:
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s)
A general decision making process has 5 steps, what are they?
- Define the problem
- Generate alternative solutions
- Select a solution
- Implement solution
- Evaluate result
Most errors on an incident scene can be broken down into two categories:
- Crew performance
2. Mechanical breakdown
How many options are there for the FD to consider in constructing a written exam? What are they?
Three
- Local test committee
- Private companies/generic exam
- Consultant/Specific exam
The standard that defines four levels of Fire Officer
NFPA 1021
What is the first step in the CRM task allocation phase?
Knowing ones limits
Three command modes:
- Investigation mode
- Fast Attack mode
- Command mode
The ______ is the energy source that caused the material to ignite.
Source of ignition
These represent functional operations such as ventilation:
Groups
A lighter found in the room of origin would be considered ______ evidence.
Demonstrative
Three levels of command are:
- Strategic
- Tactical
- Task-level
What entity developed CRM in 1979?
NASA
The behavioral method that see’s no contradiction in demonstrating a high concern for both people and results at the same time. This is also the preferred method to become a successful Fire Officer.
Sound - contribute and committ
The behavioral method that believes there is an inherent contradiction between the two concerns, but does not value one over the other is:
Status Quo - balance and compromise
The overall direction and goals for the incident are set at the:
Strategic level
What is the next step once a new IC has taken command of an incident?
Dispatch and all crews notified
The general staff function responsible for the creation of the incident action plan is:
Planning
A formal statement that provides guidelines for present and future actions, often requiring personnel to make judgement is:
Policies
The physical or geographical areas of operation like the third floor is:
Divisions
The four parts to the NFA formula for determine fire flow are:
- Length X Width / 3
- Mult # of floors
- Mult % involved
- Add 25% for each exposure
The determination of the appropriate strategy to mitigate an incident and the development of tactics to execute the strategy are two major components of a, what?
Incident Action Plan
The communication cycle contains 5 parts, they are:
- Message
- Sender
- Medium
- Receiver
- Feedback
One of the most significant factors in performing a scene evaluation is:
Visualization
What percent of FF die in MVA’s? Of those, 1/3 are _______.
20%, 1/3 are Ejected.
Three Fire Officer responsibilities for Safety are?
- Be physically fit
- Wear seat belts
- Maintain company integrity at incidents
Employers required workers to sign a pledge that they would not join a union as long as the company employed them, it was called a what? And what Act ended this?
Yellow Dog Contract
The Norris-Laguardia Act ended it
Under this Act, workers have the right to refrain from joining a union:
Taft-Hartley Act
This Act established the procedures that are commonly called collective bargaining.
Wagner-Connery Act
Four basic tasks that Fire Officers consider vital are:
- Morning report
- Notifications
- Decision making
- Problem solving
Budget expenditures for the day to day activities for a Fire Dept are called:
Operating Expenditures
A system that defines the roles and responsibilities to be assumed by personnel and the operating procedures to be used in the management and direction of emergency ops
Incident Management System (IMS)
Four functions of management:
- Planning
- Organizing
- Leading
- Controlling
The type of leadership style that could be used during a technical rescue incident is:
Democratic
NFPA week was started after a major fire in what city?
Chicago
The Fire Officer works as a _______ when providing training to an individual or team.
Coach
In addition to the federally required training; blood borne pathogens, Hazmat and SCBA; the FD needs to provide:
Emergency Scene Awareness Training
NFPA 1403 identifies three activities that are absolutely prohibited in Live Fire Training:
- No live victims
- No flammable liquid used as fuel
- No more than one fire evolution in an acquired structure at a time
The discipline that moves from mild to more severe punishments if the problem is not corrected is:
Progressive Negative Discipline
A moral, mental and physical state in which all ranks respond to the will of the leader is:
Discipline
The evaluation error that evaluates a FF based on the Fire Officers personal ideals instead of job standards is:
Frame of reference
Leaders can be effective only to the extent that others a willing to accept their leadership, this is described as:
Followership
The discipline that is directed toward motivating individuals is:
Positive Discipline
The first task in creating a fire prevention program for a community is to
Identify a fire or life safety problem
One way of using info found in a demographic report is to:
Adjust fire prevention programs to address cultural differences
The root cause of almost every labor disturbance is:
A failure to properly manage the relationship between labor & management
The best known motivational theory is:
Reinforcement Theory
The process of influencing others to accomplish a mission, task or objective is known as:
Leadership
In the Supreme Court ruling of Michigan vs Clifford, it was determined that once the area of origin is determined, the scope of the search is:
Limited to that area
The control of evidence from the time it is found until it is presented in court is known as:
Chain of evidence
The first step in determining the cause of a fire is to locate the:
Point of Origin
After the individual and the Fire Officer, the third line of defense is who?
Incident Safety Officer
One of the most effective strategies of positive discipline is:
Empowerment
The Supreme Court ruling that requires the FD to remain on scene of a fire under investigation without a search warrant is:
Michigan vs Tyler
The cause determination of a fire can be approached as a three step process (only after the point of origin has been located)
- Determine source of ignition
- Determine fuel that ignited
- Determine circumstances or human actions
This refers to the purpose for which a building is used or intended to be used
Occupancy type
The four part calculation based on square feet fire flow is the:
NFA formula
The third most frequent category of FF fatalities are:
Asphyxiation & burns
Loyd Layman’s five steps for analyzing emergency situations are:
- Facts
- Probabilities
- Own situation
- Decisions
- Plan of Operations
The behavioral method that demonstrates a low concern for results with a high concern for other people is:
Accommodating - yield and comply
Leadership in routine situations is accomplished in three ways:
- Influencing
- Operating
- Improving
A free style approach that moves the decision making from the Fire Officer to the FF’s is:
Laissez-Faire
The first step in using a depts EAP is for the officer to:
Recognizing a problem
After designing a fire prevention program, the next step is to:
Deliver a pilot class to a target audience
RECEO VS stands for:
Rescue Exposures Confinement Extinguishment Overhaul
Ventilation
Salvage
The types of problems that an officer could be expected to encounter in four broad categories are:
- In House
- Internal
- External
- High profile incidents
Unions and employers determine the conditions of employment through direct negotiations:
Collective Bargaining
In designing a new training program, use the four step method:
- Preparation
- Presentation
- Application
- Evaluation
When the officer concentrations on only one aspect of the FF’s performance and applies the perception across the board to all aspects is called
Halo & Horn Effect
The four grievance procedure steps are:
- Present complaint
- Submit written grievance
- Another written to BC
- Can present to Chief
Augustus Caesar created what was probably the first fire department in 24 BC called
Familia Publica
Almost every Fire Officer task depends on the ability to:
Effectively communicate
The deadliest fire in US history killing more than 2200 people was the:
Peshtigo Fire
An accusation or feelings of resentment expressed by a citizen is considered a:
Complaint
The continuous line of authority that exists from the top of the organizational structure to the lowest level is:
Chain of Command
The leading cause of fires in residential structures is:
Cooking
Requiring FF’s to be seated and wearing seat belts could prevent _____ to ______ fatalities every year.
10 to 15
Five units of the same type with an assigned leader is:
Strike team
Two general house rules for non emergency activities are:
- Don’t compromise companies ability to respond
2. Don’t jeopardize publics trust in FD
The primary responsibility of a Fire Officer is to _______ the company while assigned tasks are being performed.
Supervise
Which type of power is based on a persons special knowledge?
Expert
According to NFPA 1710, the recommended number of FF’s on scene before an interior attack on a single family structure is _____ and should be assembled within 9 min from dispatch.
14
The loss of _______ is frequently the first link in a chain of errors that leads to calamity. It is the accurate perception of what is going on around you.
Situational awareness
This level of command are assignments, the actions req’d to achieve the tactical objectives.
Task-level
The opportunity for a crew to replay an incident and discuss what happened is known as:
Debriefing
________ _________ objectives define the actions that are necessary to achieve the strategic goals
Tactical-level
The power given to the company officer by the dept to conduct his duties is:
Legitimate Power
A worksheet that quantifies the KSA’s components of every classified municipal job is a:
Technical Class Specification
The key factor in selecting the appropriate strategic mode for the incident is:
Risk vs Benefit
When a FF is rated in the middle of the range for all dimensions of work performance is called:
Central Tendency
An eval error in which the FF is evaluated only on recent incidents rather than on all events that occurred thru the eval period is called
Recency
Fire incident reports are completed by the company officer and sent to this government agency:
US Fire Admin
Two components that are essential to a FF’s work performance development are:
Evaluation & Discipline
The difference between a current situation and the desired situation is the definition of what?
A problem
Making a decision and demonstrating behavior that is consistent with the dept core values, mission statement and value statement is an example of:
Ethical behavior
An infection control officer must be notified within _____ of the exposure.
2 hours
The triggering factor for a heart attack and one of the leading causes of fire deaths is:
Stress
The starting point of Positive Discipline is to:
Establish expectations for behavior & performance
Three activities that make it effective working with a supervisor are
- Keep supervisor informed
- Make decisions at your level
- Consult with supervisor before making major disciplinary actions or policy changes
Human resource management is built from two generalized schools of management thought:
- Scientific
2. Humanistic
The four fire cause classifications are:
- Accidental
- Natural
- Incendiary
- Undetermined
According to US Fire Admin ____% of vehicle fires were caused by mechanical failure. The second leading cause for almost ____% was Arson.
66% and 20%
The type of leadership used on the fire ground when a decision is to be made without discussion is:
Autocratic
A fire work force that reflects the community it serves is:
Diversity
Determining the point of origin requires analysis from four sources:
- Physical marks
- Observations from witness
- Analysis of Physics/Chemistry
- Noting location of electrical arc damage
The second most common way that local governments lose harassment or hostile workplace complaints is:
Blaming the person bringing the complaint to you
The largest fire cause category is _______ because the cause is ______ _______ for nearly half of all fires.
Unknown
Never determined
The third leading cause of residential fires is:
Heating
The exact location where a heat source and a fuel came in contact with each other is known as:
Point of Origin
NFPA standard that sets the requirements and competencies for Fire Investigator is:
NFPA 1033
FF’s can gauge an officers level of commitment by the characteristics of:
Self discipline
The Fire Officer can maintain appropriate work environment by:
- Educating employees on Rules & Regs
- Promote use of on duty speech
- Be the designated adult
FF’s initiating a harassment complaint have a choice of three methods:
- Federal Government
- Local Government
- Within Fire Dept
NFPA codes and standards are example of ______ ______.
Consensus Documents
Review of the preincident plan and making observations about the current conditions produce:
Incident Action Plan
A competent ignition source has three components:
- Generation
- Transmission
- Heating
Statements that do not allow for latitude are:
Rules
The range, scope and tasks of a Fire Officers supervisory activities are defined by three primary components:
- Local labor contract
- Cities personnel regs
- FD’s rules, regs & procedures
Developed to provide definite guidelines for present and future actions:
Policies
The basic concept behind the cert program is that citizens need to help themselves in the first ____ hours.
72
The rough rule of thumb for estimating fire flow at 3gpm per 100 cubic feet is:
The Kimball
Employee behaviors that require an immediate corrective action by the supervisor are:
Actionable Items
The leading cause of LODD accounting for 44%
Heart Attacks
The second leading cause of FF fatalities is:
Traumatic Injuries
The three federal regulations that affect every FF is:
- Blood borne Pathogens
- Hazmat Awareness & Ops
- SCBA fit test
It’s estimated that there are approx _____ FF injuries for every FF _______.
1000 injuries, for every fatality
A pre-disciplinary conference that occurs before a suspension, demotion or termination is issued. This term is a Supreme Court decision.
Loudermill Hearing
