Q1-25

Question 1

According to STP - What are the 3 Golden rules to follow when applying foam?

Answer 1

1) Do not begin to apply foam unless you have enough to extinguish the fire or cover the fuel spill

2) Point branch away from fire until good finished foam is being produced

3) You cannot mix different foam concentrates

Question 2

According to STP - List 3 hazards/considerations when using CAFS at a structure fire.

Answer 2

CAFS hose lines have a build up of pressure when the branch is closed, this causes a larger jet reaction than a standard hose

Slug flow – When the proportion of foam, air and water is wrong. It will cause the finished foam to “shudder” or “pulsate” as it is exiting the branch

Does not contain enough water for internal attack

Question 3

According to STP - List 5 actions to take when combatting a natural gas leak with no fire involved.

Answer 3

Structural PPE and SCBA

Evacuate all persons from the immediate area

Remove all sources of ignition

Respond Gas company

Only use intrinsically safe equipment

Dampen ground around the site of the gas release to prevent static electricity

Keep protection line in place using fog

If possible, crimp line to stop release of gas

Question 4

According to STP - Acetylene is a very volatile gas, exploding cylinders can penetrate double brick walls or metal freight containers & land 200m away. How many hours after the cylinder is removed from the fire or heat source, if it is not cooled, can this explosion occur?  

Answer 4

The explosion can occur up to 24 hours after the cylinder is removed from the fire or heat source, if it is not cooled

Question 5

According to STP - When reading a fire, we need indicators to base our decisions on, what are the most important indicators?  

Answer 5

B - S A H F

Building - SMOKE, AIR TRACK, HEAT & FLAME

Question 6

According to STP - What techniques enable us to control the interior environment during a structure fire? 

Answer 6

Gas cooling and hose stream techniques ‘

SHORT PULSE : To cool and dilute the flammable gases thereby preventing the fire gases from reaching their auto ignition temperature. The short pulse is used as soon as there is hot fire gases above (or around) a hose crew. It is also used to dilute and cool gases that may present a FGI risk.

LONG PULSE : To cool and dilute the flammable gases thereby preventing the fire gases from reaching their auto ignition temperature. The long pulse should always be used aggressively when there are large amounts of fire gases and/or compartment size requires greater penetration.

Question 7

According to STP - List 2 common hose laying techniques that can be used by firefighters?

Answer 7

Hose Laying – “S” Lay

Cleveland Load

Question 8

Complete the following in relation to the Fire and Rescue NSW Act 1989 Part 3, Division 1, Section 11 Brigades to proceed with speed to suspected fires or hazardous material incident………? 

Answer 8

(1) When there is an alarm of fire, a fire brigade must, despite anything to the contrary in any Act, proceed with all speed to the fire and try by all possible means to extinguish it and save any lives and property that are in danger.

(2) When there is a report of a hazardous material incident, a fire brigade must, despite anything to the contrary in any Act—

(a) proceed with all speed to the site of the incident, and

(b) try by all possible means to render the site of the incident safe and save any lives and property that are in danger.

Question 9

Complete the following in relation to the Fire and Rescue NSW Act 1989 Part 3, Division 1, Section 12 of the FRNSW Act, Investigation of reported fires and Hazardous material incident………?

Answer 9

(1) The officer in charge may, with or without members of a fire brigade, enter any place—

(a) in respect of which an alarm of fire is raised to ascertain whether there is a fire at the place, or

(b) in respect of which a report of a hazardous material incident has been made to ascertain whether there is any hazardous material at the place that is, or is about to be, the subject of a hazardous material incident.

(2) Reasonable force, whether by breaking down gates or fences or breaking open doors or otherwise, may be used to gain entry.

Question 10

Section 13, of the FRNSW Act states the “General Powers of Officers at fires and hazardous material incidents”. State this provision.  

Answer 10

(1) At a fire, the officer in charge—

(a) may take such measures as the officer thinks proper for the protection and saving of life and property and for the control and extinguishing of the fire, and

(b) is to control and direct the operations of any fire brigade.

(1A) At the site of a hazardous material incident, the officer in charge—

(a) may take such measures as the officer thinks proper for the protection and saving of life and property, for confining and ending the incident and for rendering the site safe, and

(b) is to control and direct the operations of any fire brigade.

The site is taken to be such area in the vicinity of the incident as is for the time being determined by the officer in charge.

(2) If the fire is a bush fire (including a grass fire), the officer in charge is, as far as practicable, to carry into effect any plan of operations in force under section 52 of the Rural Fires Act 1997 in relation to the place where the fire occurs.

Question 11

Section 19 of the FRNSW Act lists the powers at fires and hazardous material incidents. State the provisions of this Section: “General power to remove persons or obstacles.”  

Answer 11

The officer in charge at a fire or hazardous material incident may cause to be removed any person, vehicle, vessel or thing the presence of whom or which at or near a fire or hazardous material incident might, in the officer’s opinion, interfere with the work of any fire brigade or the exercise of any of the officer’s functions

Question 12

At an incident that has been declared a crime scene, a member of the public seeks details from you, the senior firefighter/officer on duty, about the incident. State your response according to the Fire Brigades Regulation (2014) Clause 22, Disclosure of information. 

Answer 12

A firefighter must not disclose any information obtained in the firefighter’s capacity as a firefighter unless the disclosure is made: (a) in the exercise of the firefighter’s functions, or (b) about factual matters that are generally available to the public, or (c) by an approved firefighter to media representatives concerning operations at a fire or other incident, or (d) at the direction or with the permission of the Commissioner, or (e) with other lawful excuse.

Question 13

Section 17 of the Fire Brigades Regulation (2014) refers to unacceptable behaviour. List five circumstances when a firefighter’s behaviour would be deemed unacceptable. 

Answer 13

1) A firefighter must not:

(a) come on duty while under the influence of alcohol or a drug, or

(b) while on duty, consume, use or possess any alcohol or drug, or

(c) while on duty, gamble in circumstances that adversely affect the discipline or efficiency of Fire and Rescue NSW, or

(d) smoke at a fire or drill, in any departmental premises or in any departmental vehicle, or

(e) smoke in any public place while in uniform, or Page 10 Fire Brigades Regulation 2014 [NSW] Part 3 Functions of firefighters Published LW 22 August 2014 (2014 No 551)

(f) while off duty, enter or remain on departmental premises without authority, or

(g) while on or off duty, by words or action, behave in a manner that is subversive of discipline or calculated to bring discredit on Fire and Rescue NSW, or

(h) while on duty, by words or action, harass, intimidate or threaten another firefighter, or

(i) while on duty, by words or action, harass or discriminate against any person on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, age, ethnic or national origin, physical or intellectual impairment, sexual preference, transgender status, carer’s responsibilities or any other ground in respect of which discrimination is prohibited by the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.

Question 14

As stated in the Standing Orders, to avoid serious accidents at intersections when responding to an emergency, What actions should drivers of responding vehicles approaching a stop sign or red signal take?  

Answer 14

1. With a view to avoiding serious accidents at intersections when responding to an emergency, drivers of responding vehicles approaching a stop sign or red signal light must slow down and enter the intersection at a speed of not more than 8 kph. Having assessed the traffic conditions, and determined that it is safe to proceed, the driver may then continue across the intersection.
2. Whenever passing through the stop sign or red light would involve the vehicle in an accident, the driver must come to a halt and not move off again until it is safe to proceed

Question 15

According to Standing Orders, when are seatbelts required to be worn when travelling in FRNSW vehicles (including tankers)?  

Answer 15

All Fire and Rescue NSW employees are required to wear a seat belt, properly adjusted, when travelling in Fire and Rescue NSW vehicles. Any member travelling on a vehicle (including a water tanker) is to be seated inside the vehicle and must wear a seat belt.

Question 16

According to Standing Orders, with no impact of the service delivery, List the procedures to be followed if drivers of FRNSW vehicles are involved in an accident. 

Answer 16

When anaccident occurs involving a FRNSW vehicle or appliance , advise the other driver to contact FRNSW ‘s fleet unit in the first instance to obtain the relevant claim number . And contact details for FRNSW insurer .

Question 17

Fire Brigades Regulation, Part 3, Section 14: Firefighters to acquire and maintain knowledge of legislation, orders, and functions. List the provisions. 

Answer 17

(1) A firefighter must acquire and maintain a thorough knowledge of, and must comply with the requirements of, the Act, this Regulation and the Commissioner’s Orders.

(2) A firefighter must acquire and maintain the knowledge and skills that are relevant to the performance of the firefighter’s functions

Question 18

According to STP -The National Construction Code classes buildings “Class 1” through to “Class 10”. The class of building is a measure of the buildings likely:  List these four points.

Answer 18

The use

fire load

Population

Mobility of occupants , such as whether they are sleeping or alert

Question 19

According to the Fire Investigation toolkit on the Intranet, when should you request FIRU for assistance? 

Answer 19

Contact the Fire Investigation and Research Unit (FIRU) for assistance if:

There has been a loss of life at a fire, or a person is not expected to live from their injuries, or

The fire is considered major (i.e. 4th Alarm or above, significant community impact or unusual fire behaviour), or

The Origin and Cause of the fire is not apparent.

Question 20

As listed in STP - What form populated by firefighters gives the Fire Investigator a summary of firefighter actions at an incident.

Answer 20

SOFA Forms – a form populated by firefighters that gives the Fire Investigator a summary of the firefighters actions at an incident.

Question 21

STP - Details how a structure fire will burn within one of two burning regimes. List and describe the regimes. 

Answer 21

Fuel Controlled

In this initial phase of fire development the fire grows as a direct function of the fuel itself with little or no influence from the compartment environment. ie. The size, shape or number of openings.

If we continue to add fuel the fire will grow in size. If we remove fuel, the fire will decrease in size.

Therefore fires with more than enough air for combustion are said to be Fuel Controlled.

Ventilation controlled

Most structure fires will reach a stage where fire development and the Heat Release Rate (HRR) is now dictated by the availability of oxygen.

This occurs during a fully developed fire when the fire is pyrolyzing more fuel than can be burnt with the available oxygen in the compartment.

It will also occur prior to this if the enclosure has insufficient openings.

Simply put, fire growth (and HRR) is limited by the available air (O2) supply

Question 22

STP - Identifies the search priority in multi storey buildings, list the priorities.

Answer 22

The fire floor

The floor above and

The top floor

Question 23

STP - Outlines when a working at a task/tactical level and a firefighter becomes trapped, injured missing or overdue. What message should be sent to draw attention to the situation? 

Answer 23

A mayday message draws attention to a life-threatening situation at a task/tactical level. It is used when:

• A firefighter is trapped, injured, missing or overdue.
• A firefighter cannot be accounted for (ie there is a loss of PAR).
• A previously unknown life or safety hazard is discovered; e.g. imminent wall collapse.
• A SCBA warning whistle, Distress Signalling Unit (DSU), or call for assistance is heard

Question 24

According to STP - When is an Incident Management System required to be used at incidents FRNSW attends?

Answer 24

An IMS is a standardised method used to manage all types of incidents.

This method is used at every incident FRNSW attends

Question 25

According to STP -There are eight strategic functions of command the Incident Commander needs to address. List all eight. 

Answer 25

1. Deployment – ensuring a steady, adequate and timely stream of appropriate resources at the incident, and knowing the position and function of each resource at all times.
2. Command – having a strong command presence from the outset of an incident.
3. Situation evaluation – continuously collecting and evaluating information about the incident in order to determine critical factors.
4. Incident action planning – having an incident action plan that addresses the critical factors.
5. Incident communications – having efficient and effective incident communications to describe the flow of information within and out of the incident.
6. Incident structure – having an incident structure that is flexible and able to be scaled to meet the incident size and needs, with the ability to delegate functions and responsibilities as span of control is reached.
7. Review and revision – once in operation, reviewing and revising the strategy and plan, to keep it current with the changing needs of the incident.
8. Escalation and de-escalation – as additional officers or an Incident Management Team arrive, scaling up the strategic management level of the incident; and scaling down as operations conclude.