Q6

Question 1

Name the signs and symptoms of a flashover.

Answer 1

1. Well ventilated free burning fire
2. High heat conditions
3. Ghost flames overhead
4. Sudden lowering in smoke layer
5. Rapid rising heat temperatures possibly causing windows to fail.
6. Low level materials starting to pyrolyse
7. Change in fire conditions with fast moving smoke seen from the exterior to the exit at high velocity, as if under pressure and a steady darkening of smoke colour.

Question 2

What are the BA team options within a compartment?

Answer 2

1. Stay - protect position using gas cooling and control conditions before moving forward.
2. Advance - Attack the fire gasses and/or using correct branch techniques to make progress.
3. Withdraw - if conditions deteriorate withdraw protecting themselves with gas cooling to a safer position to re assess actions.

Question 3

Effects when dealing with compartment fires?

Answer 3

1. Working in hot conditions whilst wearing PPE/BA restricts body ability to regulate body temperature.
2. Manual handling tasks increase body temp and fluid loss.
3. The ability of BA wearers to make critical decisions and sound judgement is compromised by heat related conditions.

Question 4

What are the effects of raised body temperature?

Answer 4

1. Anxiety
2. Work rate increases so performance drops
3. Increased sweat production to cool the body leading to dehydration
4. If the blood cannot be cooled by the body and brain temperatures rise to potentially critical and fatal levels.

Question 5

You have been deployed as a BA team to locate and extinguish a fire inside a 2 storey house. As you progress you enter a new compartment and have noticed a change in the environment so you inform your partner that there is potential for a flashover.
1. What would have led you to make this statement
2. What actions would you take and why would you take these actions?
3. What else would you need to consider.

Answer 5

1. Signs and symptoms of flashover elaborate
2. Stay-Withdraw-Advance. Elaborate why.
3. Consider the effects of dealing with compartment fires such as raised heat and what this does to the body.