IFSTA’S STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: HIGH-RISE FIRE FIGHTING Flashcards
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, products of combustion travel upward toward the top of a building. If fire does not generate enough heat to cause the smoke to rise to the top of the building, the temperature of the smoke will eventually equal that of the surrounding air. When this equalization of temperature occurs, the smoke loses its buoyancy, ceases to rise, and forms layers of smoke within the building. This is known as:
A) Stack effect
B) Stratification
C) Heat intensity and compartmentation
D) Ceiling jets, or mushrooming
B) Stratification
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, the natural vertical movement of heat and smoke (convection) in tall structures is known as ______. This occurs because of differences in the density of the air inside and outside of these buildings (due to temperature differences inside and outside the structure). The greater the difference between the inside and outside temperature and the greater the building height, the greater the effect will be.
A) Stack effect
B) Stratification
C) Heat intensity and compartmentation
D) Ceiling jets, or mushrooming
A) Stack effect
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, when heat, smoke, and other products of combustion rise until they encounter a horizontal obstruction, they will spread laterally until they encounter a vertical obstruction, then bank downward. This is known as __________________.
A) Stack effect
B) Stratification
C) Heat intensity and compartmentation
D) Ceiling jets, or mushrooming
D) Ceiling jets, or mushrooming
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, the construction of high-rise apartment buildings helps protect adjoining apartments and common halls, but provides an extremely hot environment for firefighters. Fires in tightly sealed highrise compartments may become ventilation controlled and flash over when a window fails or when firefighters open a door to make entry to a fire room. This is known as
______________.
A) Stack effect
B) Stratification
C) Heat intensity and compartmentation
D) Ceiling jets, or mushrooming
C) Heat intensity and compartmentation
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, firefighters must remember that steel structural members elongate when heated. A 50-foot (15 m) beam may elongate by as much as ___ inches (____ mm) when heated to a room
temperature of about 1,000°F (538° C).
A) 2 inches, 50 mm
B) 4 inches, 100 mm
C) 6 inches, 150 mm
D) 10 inches, 255 mm
B) 4 inches, 100 mm
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, which of the following about wind driven fires is incorrect?
A) Wind velocity may be negligible at ground level but reach significant force at upper levels, so firefighters cannot base tactical decisions on fire conditions that may occur many stories below the emergency floor
B) This effect is triggered when a door is left ajar and a window suddenly breaks under intense heat and a blast of wind
C) The instant combination of fire and wind can blast fireballs across rooms and down corridors without warning, In these situations, tremendous volumes of fire and high heat conditions can quickly consume compartmented occupancies and
advance into public hallways
D) If windows in the fire area are intact, firefighters on attack lines do not need to maintain coordination with those tasked with ventilation from the floor above the
fire or adjacent compartmented areas
D) If windows in the fire area are intact, firefighters on attack lines do not need to maintain coordination with those tasked with ventilation from the floor above the fire or adjacent compartmented areas
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, in a report published in 2009 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a number of full-scale experiments were conducted in a seven- story building in New York City. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A) In other tests, water was applied externally from either below or outside the fire room window. In all cases, application of water suppressed enough fire in the room to reduce corridor and stairwell temperatures by at least 50 percent
B) Controlling doors is not effective way to interrupt the flow path in a building
C) Wind conditions need to be considered in size-up; wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph are high enough to create wind-driven effects in buildings with an uncontrolled flow path
D) Positive-pressure ventilation fans always improved stairwell conditions, but were not able to reverse the direction of wind-driven fires. Positive-pressure ventilation was successful when used in conjunction with controlling doors, window control
devices, and nozzles operated from the floor below the fire
B) Controlling doors is not effective way to interrupt the flow path in a building
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, standpipe systems are divided into three classes based on NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipes and Hose Systems. Which of the three classes are designed only for fire department personnel or other trained personnel?
A) Class I
B) Class II
C) Class III
D) All of the above
A) Class I
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, there are many problems to contend with during the evacuation of a high-rise building. Which of the following cause significant problems with evacuation?
A) Locking exit doors
B) Counterflow
C) Stairway exit capacity
D) All of the above
D) All of the above
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, in other special high-rise occupancies, a person’s ability to evacuate may be hindered by age or medical condition. In hospital and nursing facilities, ___________________ procedures are generally used for patients who are nonambulatory.
A) Limited/Partial evacuation
B) Shelter in place
C) Full evacuation
D) None of the above
B) Shelter in place
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, the primary responsibility of the first-arriving company is to locate and identify the emergency and determine its scope. The first arriving fire unit must address the following except:
A) Make a rapid initial size-up of readily visible conditions
B) Utilize the Voice Communication System to update residents
C) Confirm verbal occupant reports and information from the Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP)
D) Assume command and request any immediately needed resources
B) Utilize the Voice Communication System to update residents
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, firefighters have been injured or even killed as a result of misuse of elevators during a fire. Which of the following is not a safety consideration for using elevators at a high-rise call?
A) Only consider using elevators if the fire is above the 3rd floor
B) Do not use an elevator to travel to the fire floor. Stay at least two floors below the fire floor or according to department policy
C) Never use an elevator that has been exposed to water. Do not squeegee water into the elevator shaft
D) Do not overload cars; allow no more than six firefighters per car
A) Only consider using elevators if the fire is above the 3rd floor
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, which of the following about wind-driven fires in high-rises is correct?
A) The overwhelming majority of civilian fatalities in high-rise residential
occupancies occur when fire spreads beyond the room of origin
B) Wind-driven fire conditions are unique to the top floors of high-rise buildings
C) Where the door to the fire room is open and a stairwell door is also open, a flow path may be created that pulls intense heat and fire into the corridor
D) Wind-driven fires can hasten fire spread, quickly changing a room and contents fire into a ‘blowtorch’ of fire extending from the room of origin into a common corridor or stairwell with an open door
B) Wind-driven fire conditions are unique to the top floors of high-rise buildings
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, which of the following is correct about breaking glass at a high-rise fire?
A) Breaking glass in high rise buildings can be a danger to firefighters inside the structure as well as firefighters and bystanders at ground level
B) Glass falling from a high-rise may land approximately 200 feet (66m) from the base of the building
C) After the window is broken, the area in front of the window (not the opening itself) should be blocked with a desk or chair to prevent firefighters from approaching the dangerous opening
D) All of the above
D) All of the above
According to IFSTA’s Structural Fire Fighting: High-Rise Fire Fighting, the situational report given periodically as needed throughout the incident to update Incident Command is known as a __________ report.
A) C.A.N. – Conditions, Actions, and Needs
B) Status update
C) Priority radio traffic
D) P.A.N. – Position, Activities, and Needs
A) C.A.N. – Conditions, Actions, and Needs
