Residential and Commercial Townhouses and Rowhouse Manual, 4th Edition, September 2022 Flashcards
This is a room or space just below the roof of a building that is often used for storage. This space may be unfinished or finished and may consist of a living space.
Attic
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This term refers to a townhouse consisting of two or more occupancies under one roof that are connected by a common wall.
Back-to-back
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This is a the material covering the area where the first-floor floor joists meet the exterior wall.
Band Board
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This term refers to a void space created between the top-floor ceiling and the building’s roof decking.
Cockloft
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This is a structure with two dwellings located under one roof that share a common wall.
Duplex
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This refers to the movement of heat and smoke from the higher air pressure within the fire area to all other lower air pressure areas both inside and outside the fire building.
Flow Path
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This type of building construction can include various types of townhouse styles (piggyback, back-to-back, and over-under) under one roof.
Hybrid
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This is a round or square, thin-walled structural steel column used to support beams or timbers stretching over long spans.
Lally Column
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This townhouse style consist of two stacked dwellings (one over the other). These usually involve a 2-level occupancy over 1-level occupancy with entrances on opposite sides, but other floor plan variations may exist.
Over-under
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This type of townhouse consist of two stacked dwellings (one over the other), each with a separate address and entrance. These occupancies share a common floor and are separated by a fire wall on that floor.
Piggyback
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This type of townhouse involves four connected dwellings under one roof, each with a separate address. It may have entrances on four different sides.
A Quadplex (a.k.a. Quad)
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This is one multistory dwelling attached to at least two other dwellings. These dwellings may or may not be separated by firewalls. Typically, dwellings have a common cockloft under one flat roof.
Rowhouse
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This is a multistory dwelling normally attached to several other units. Typically, adjacent occupancies have fire-rated floor and wall assembly separation. They most often have an attic with a pitched roof.
Townhouse
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This type of townhouse is also called a ____________. It is a 4-story townhouse with two separate addresses and entrances. One address occupies the first two floors, and the second occupy the third and fourth floor.
Two-over-two
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Townhouse design typically utilized _______________ materials and ______ construction method.
wood-framed materials
platform-frame construction
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Wood-framed townhouses build prior to the 1930s may have utilized what type of construction?
Balloon-framed construction
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These roofs utilize triangular trusses that rest on load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls on the top floor.
Alternatively, parallel chord trusses or plywood I-beams form the roof peak that spans from the front and rear load-bearing walls to a ____________.
Lightweight roofs
ridge pole
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These roofs rely on sawn wood rafters that form a the roof peak from the front and rear load-bearing walls to a ridge pole.
Wood frame roofs
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A typical residential townhouse has a low fire load, requiring _____ gpm per ____ sq. ft.
10 GPM
100 sq. ft.
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A commercial townhouse may have a medium fire load, requiring ______ gpm per _____ sq. ft.
20 GPM
100 sq. ft.
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Strategic positions for additional command officers include the following:
Division Supervisor
Group Supervisor
Branch Director
Section Chief
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Primary search operations should focus on ______________.
The area near the fire, as well as bedrooms and means of egress.
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The following townhouse fire situations should cue the IC to request a second alarm:
Known rescues
Fire in two separate occupancies
Fire on more than one level of the townhouse
Fire in the Attic Space
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In most cases, the first-arriving engine company should position at least _______ addresses past the involved unit.
2 Addresses.
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If the truck enters the block from the opposite direction as the engine company, it must stop at least how many addresses short of the involved unit?
2 Addresses short
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The first-arriving unit officer, typically that of the first due engine company, should provide the first due command-level officer the following information in the on-scene report:
Unit identification and side of structure where the apparatus is positioned
Building height (i.e., number of stories above ground)
Occupancy type
A detailed report of evident conditions, to include side of structure where conditions are evident, quadrant location, and conditions description.
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During the size-up, unit officers should complete a 360-degree lap of the structure. The use of a _________________ during this lap can help determine the location and intensity of the fire.
The officer should also use the lap to determine:
Thermal Imaging Camera
Number of above-grade floors in front
Number of above-grade floors in rear
Specific location of fire, if visible
Presence of a basement, conditions present in the basement, and location of basement access.
Floor labeling
Hazards observed
Presence of exposures
Occupant status (if able to obtain)
The need for additional resources
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When fires in townhouses require the deployment of aerial master streams, the first-arriving truck’s turntable should be positioned where?
Where should the second arriving truck position its turntable?
In front of the most threatened exposure
In front of the second most threatened exposure
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When the ICs utilize aerial master streams, what is often the most advantageous nozzle positioning?
At the soffit level, with the hose stream directed parallel to and along the underside of the pitched roof.
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During offensive operations, why should personnel note the amount of runoff flowing out of the building?
As personnel direct large volumes of water into the structure, the weight of the water held in the structure may add stress to fire-compromised components, increasing the potential for collapse.
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Townhouse fires involving attics or cocklofts can occur as a result of several scenarios. What are the 6 scenarios listed in the townhouse manual?
- Fires in the living area or basement that extended into the structural components and entered the attic via void spaces.
- Interior fire that vented through a window to expose the vented soffit area.
- Fire that originated on the dwelling’s exterior involving the siding and exposing the soffit area.
- Electrical fires that originated from ceiling or exhaust fans or recessed lighting
- Fire that originated in the attic itself by natural occurrences, such as a lightning strike.
- Fire resulting from the current or prior work of roofers, plumbers, or painters.
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