Structural Fire Fighting: Initial Response Strategy And Tactids 3rd Edition Flashcards
_____ is the study of matter and energy and includes chemistry and physics.
Physical science
A _____ change occurs when a substance remains chemically the same but changes in size, shape, or appearance. Example: water freezing or boiling.
Physical change
A _____ reaction occurs when a substance changes into another substance.
Chemical reaction
Oxidation is a _____ reaction.
Chemical
_____ energy is the energy a moving object possesses.
Kinetic energy
The quantity of heat required to change the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius is _____ joules.
4.2
A Btu is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by _____ degrees Fahrenheit.
1
_____ Joules = 1 Btu
1055 Joules
Reactions that emit energy as they occur are _____ reactions.
Exothermic
Fire is a/an _____ reaction.
Exothermic chemical reaction
Reactions that absorbs energy are _____ reactions.
Endothermic Reactions
Converting water from liquid to gas requires energy input resulting in a/an _____ reaction.
Endothermic Physical reaction
Fuels must be in a _____ state to burn.
Gaseous
In solids, off-gassing works as a chemical change known as _____.
Pyrolysis
In flammable liquids, a physical change is called _____.
Vaporization
_____ ignition is the most common form of ignition.
Piloted ignition
_____ occurs without any external flame or spark to ignite fuel gases or vapors.
Auto ignition
Fire triangle:
Fuel, oxygen and heat
_____ is the minimum temperature at which a fuel in the air must heat to start self-sustained combustion.
Autoignition temperature
Autoignition is always higher/lower than its piloted ignition.
Higher
_____ combustion produces smoke.
Incomplete combustion
_____ is a toxic flammable substance produced in the combustion of materials containing nitrogen.
Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN)
Class ___: Ordinary, solid, combustible materials such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber and many plastics.
Class A
Class ___: Flammable and combustible liquids and gases such as gasoline, oil, lacquer, paint, mineral spirits, and alcohol.
Class B
Class ___: Energized electrical equipment where the electrical nonconductivity of the extinguishing agent is of major importance. Materials involve are either Class A or Class B, and they can be extinguished once the equipment is deenergized.
Class C
Class ___: Combustible metals such as aluminum, magnesium, potassium, sodium, titanium, and zirconium.
Class D
Class ___: Oils and greases normally found in commercial kitchens and food preparation facilities using deep fryers.
Class K
____, _____, and _____ energy are most frequently the ignition sources of structure fires.
Chemical, electrical and mechanical energy
4 ways electrical heating can occur:
Resistance heating; overcurrent or overload; arcing; sparking
_____, or _____ generates mechanical energy.
Friction or compression
_____ energy is the most common source of heat in combustion reactions.
Chemical energy
_____ is heat transfer through and between solid objects. It occurs when a material heats as a result of direct contact with a heat source.
Conduction
_____ is the transfer of thermal energy by the circulation or movement of a fluid (gas or liquid). Usually involves heat transfer through the movement of hot smoke and fire gases.
Convection
_____ is the transmission of energy as electromagnetic waves. Can become the dominant heat transfer mode as a fire grows and can affect the ignition of objects some distance away from the fire.
Radiation
_____ typically causes exposure fires.
Radiation
A materials _____ determines the amount of heat it releases.
Chemical makeup
The standard international unit for power is the _____.
Watt (W)
1 Watt is ____ Joule/s per second (J/s).
1
_____ fuels can be the most dangerous of all types of fuels because they are already in the physical state required for ignition.
Gaseous
_____ describes the density of gases in relation to air.
Vapor Density
Air has a vapor density of ___.
1
Gases with a vapor density less than 1 will _____.
Rise
Methane is heavier or lighter than air?
Lighter
Gases with a vapor density of greater than 1 will _____.
Sink
_____ have mass and volume but no definite shape.
Liquids
_____ is the ratio of the mass of a given volume of a liquid compared with the mass of an equal volume of water at the same temperature.
Specific Gravity
Water holds a specific gravity of ___.
1
Liquids that hold a specific gravity of less than 1 will _____.
Float
Gasoline and most other flammable liquids have a specific gravity of greater/less than 1?
Less
Liquids with a specific gravity greater than 1 will _____.
Sink
Salt water has a specific gravity of greater/less than 1?
Greater
_____ indicates the minimum temperature at which a liquid gives off sufficient vapors to ignite, but not sustain combustion, in the presence of an ignition source.
Flash Point
_____ marks the temperature at which a piloted ignition of sufficient vapors will begin a sustained combustion reaction.
Fire point
The primary consideration in the ignition of solid fuels involves the surface area of the fuel in proportion to its mass, which is called the _____.
Surface to mass ratio
As a surface to mass ratio increases, the particles’ ability to ignite increases/decreases?
Increases
Normally air consists of about ___% oxygen.
21%
The range of a fuel vapor and air is called the _____.
Flammable range
The _____ stage starts with ignition when the three elements of the fire triangle come together and the combustion process begins. A this point, the fire is small and confined to a small portion of the fuel first ignited.
Incipient Stage
As the fire transitions to the _____ stage, more of the initial fuel package becomes involved and the production of heat and smoke increases. If there are other fuels close to the initial fuel package, the fire’s radiant heat may begin to pyrolyze nearby fuels, which could spread the fire to new fuel packages.
Growth Stage
The _____ stage occurs when all combustible materials in the compartment are burning at their peak HRR based on the available oxygen. This is when the fire consumes its maximum amount of oxygen.
Fully Developed Stage
As the fire consumes the available fuel or oxygen and the HRR declines, the fire enters the _____ stage.
Decay Stage
There are three factors that control how the fire develops:
The fuel properties
The ventilation available
Heat Conservation
A visual indicator that a fire is leaving the incipient stage is _____.
Flame height.
When flames reach _____ high, radiated heat begins to transfer more heat than convection. The fire will enter growth stage.
2.5 feet
Fire in fuel packages in the middle of the room can entrain air from _____ sides.
All sides
Fires in fuel packages near walls can entrain air from _____ sides.
3 sides
Fires in fuel packages in corners can entrain air from _____ sides.
2 sides
_____ is the tendency of gases to form into layers according to temperature, gas density, and pressure.
Thermal Layering
The appearance of isolated flames is sometimes an immediate indicator of _____.
Flashover
Higher pressure always flows to _____.
Lower pressure
_____ are rapid fire development incidents, but they involve more than one compartment of the structure.
Smoke Explosion
Rapid transition from the growth stage to the fully developed stage is _____.
Flashover
A significant indicator of flashover is _____.
Rollover
4 Common elements of flashover include:
Transition in fire development
Rapidity
Compartment
Pyrolysis of all exposed fuel surfaces
The Autoignition temperature of CO is approximately _____ degrees F.
1000 degrees F (595C)
4 Types of Flashover Indicators:
Building Indicators
Smoke Indicators
Heat Indicators
Flame Indicators
A ventilation limited compartment fire can produce a large volume of flammable smoke and other gases due to incomplete combustion:
Backdraft
To some degree, the violence of a backdraft depends upon the extent to which the fuel/air mixture is confined. The _____ confined, the _____ the backdraft.
More confined, the more violent
A _____ occurs when a mixture of unburned fuel gases and oxygen encounters an ignition source.
Smoke Explosion
The flow path is composed of two regions:
The ambient air flow in
The hot exhaust flow out
Wind can increase/decrease pressure inside the structure?
Increase
Most building codes rate the construction types according to _____.
How long each type maintains its structural integrity over time.
Information gathered _____ provides the best indicators of structural integrity.
At the scene
What is the most available fuel source?
A structures contents
_____ is the layout of the open spaces in a structure.
Building compartmentation
A fire in a large compartment will normally develop quicker/slower than a small compartment?
Slower
_____ and _____ in buildings contribute to the spread of fire.
Large, open spaces
_____ is the critical temperature for steel trusses.
1000 degrees
Unprotected engineered steel and wooden trusses can fail after _____ minutes of fire exposure.
5 to 10
An arched or curved outline often indicates a _____ roof.
Bowstring truss roof.
In bowstring truss roofs, the compressional forces within the top chord act to force the load-bearing walls _____ and _____.
Outward and downward
The 5 basic components of a building include:
Structural frame
Load bearing walls
Non load bearing walls
Floor construction
Roof construction
Type I
Type II
Type III
Type IV
Type V
Fire Resistive
Non-Combustible
Ordinary
Heavy Timber
Wood Frame
In Type I construction, all structural members are made of _____.
Noncombustible Materials
Type II constructions are composed of _____ or _____ materials.
Noncombustible or protected Noncombustible
Type II Construction Examples: (4)
Metal framing members
Metal Cladding
Concrete block or tilt-slab walls
Metal deck roofs supported by unprotected open web steel joists
Type III construction include: (4)
Older churches
Schools
Apartment buildings
Mercantile structures
Type IV construction includes _____ for all structural members.
Large dimension (greater than 4 inches)
Non wood materials in Type IV construction must have a fire resistance of at least how long?
1 hour
Type V construction is composed of _____.
Wood and other combustible materials for load bearing walls.
Truss construction increases/decreases structural integrity during a fire?
Decreases
_____ floor plans enable fire to spread readily throughout the exposed area.
Large, open
_____ spaces can slow fire spread, but compartmentation may disorient firefighters.
Smaller, divided
____ floor plan structures provide a larger space for rapid fire spread.
Open floor plan
The space between the top floor of a structure and the roof is known as _____ or _____.
Attic or cockloft
The most effective way of fighting basement fire may be _____.
Fighting from the exterior.
Flat roofs are commonly found on _____ and _____ structures and _____.
Commercial and industrial; apartment buildings
The structural part of a flat roof consists of _____, _____, or _____ joists covered with sheathing.
Wood, concrete or metal
Pitched roofs consist of _____ or _____ running from the ridge to a wall plate on top of the outer wall.
Timber rafters or wood trusses
Contact with _____ can result in serious shock.
Photovoltaic panels
The structural failure of a building or any portion of it resulting from a fire, snow, wind, water or damage from other forces is called _____.
Structural collapse
How to calculate the collapse zone:
Height of the building times 1.5.
The safest location for defensive operations is _____.
At the buildings corners.
Type I buildings are not as likely to collapse making _____ the primary hazard.
Falling glass or curtain walls
In type II buildings, the highest likelihood of collapse is caused by _____.
Expanding unprotected steel.
Steel expands ___% to ___% in length for each ___ degrees rise in temperature.
.06% to.07%; 100 degrees F
Steel expands up to ___ inches when exposed to temperatures above 1000 degrees F. And fails at _____ degrees F.
9.5 inches; 1,200 degrees F
Live Loads: (3)
Stored materials, furniture, and machinery
Steel loses strength around ___ degrees F.
750
After flashover, structural steel supports less than ___% of its designated load.
40%
_____ and _____ in reinforced concrete surfaces indicate damage and potential weakness.
Cracks and spalling
Even plastics with low flammability can deteriorate and give off toxic gases at temperatures above _____ degrees F.
500
An occupancy classification can be defined as the _____.
use of all or a portion of a building or structure.
A/an _____ occupancy is defined as a building or structure, or any portion thereof, used for the gather of fifty or more persons, and the occupancy may vary in size and type.
Assembly occupancy
A/an _____ occupancy is a building or structure, or any portion thereof, which is used for office, professional, or service-type operations.
Business
_____ occupancies are rarely occupied between midnight and 6am.
Educational
_____ occupancies include hospitals, nursing homes, daycare centers, and detention/correctional facilities.
Institutional
_____ occupancies are typically defined as any building used to display or sell merchandise.
Mercantile
_____: Act of directing, ordering and/or controlling resources by virtue of explicit legal, agency, or delegated authority; also denotes the organizational level in command of the incident.
Command
_____: Incident management personnel who report directly to the incident commander; includes the PIO, safety officer and liaison officer.
Command Staff
Incident management personnel who represent the major functional sections.
General Staff
_____: Organizational level having responsibility for a major functional area of incident management to include operations, planning, logistics, finance/administration, and information and intelligence.
Section
_____: Organizational level having functional/geographic responsibility for major segments of incident operations; organizationally located between Section and Division or Group.
Branch
_____: Organizational level having responsibility for operations within a defined geographic area; organizationally between Branch and single resources, task force, or strike team.
Division
_____: Organizational level, equal to Division, having responsibility for a specified functional assignment at an incident without regard to a specific geographical area.
Group
_____: Organizational level within the sections that fulfill specific support functions, such as the resources, documentation, demobilization, and situation units, within the planning Section.
Unit
_____: Specified number of personnel assembled for an assignment such as search, ventilation, or hose line deployment and operations.
Crew
_____: Pieces of apparatus and the personnel required to make them functional.
Single Resources
_____: Any combination of resources, assembled for a specific mission or operational assignment.
Task Force
_____: Set number of resources of the same type, with an established minimum number of personnel.
Strike team
_____: Refers to the number of subordinates and/or functions one individual can manage effectively.
Span of Control
Range of effective Span of control:
3-7 with 5 being optimal
_____: Also known as mini- or midi-pumpers; highly maneuverable pumpers with smaller chassis, pump and agent tank sizes. These pumpers are designed for initiating attack on structure and wildland fires.
Initial Attack Fire Apparatus
_____: Known as water tenders or tankers. Used to supply fire fighting water to rural and suburban locations without fixed water supply systems. Some can be supplied with a fire pump that can be used for fire attack.
Mobile Water Supply Apparatus
_____: Fire fighting vehicle equipped with a hydraulically operated ladder, elevating platform, or similar device for placing personnel and/or water streams in elevated positions.
Aerial Apparatus
_____: Also known as a quint, this apparatus serves as an engine and aerial apparatus. Its name stems from the five types of equipment it contains: fire pump, water tank, ground ladders, hose bed and aerial device.
Quintuple Aerial Apparatus
_____: These combine the functions of a rescue vehicle and a fire department pumper. Some come equipped with fire pumps and tanks to extinguish small fires and provide protective hoselines at extrication and other incidents. Some feature foam proportioning equipment and a tank for foam concentrate. These vehicles lack the fire fighting capabilities of a full sized fire department pumper.
Rescue Apparatus
_____: Departments may operate ambulances with small fire pumps similar to those on rescue apparatus. The extra space required and additional weight of this equipment usually means the ambulance must be constructed on a chassis larger than the standard one ton vehicle chassis used for most ambulances.
Fire Service Ambulances
_____: These apparatuses help suppress flammable liquid fires and vapors from fuel spills.
Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Apparatus (AARF)
_____: Hazardous material experts who respond to a release or potential release of hazardous material to control the incident.
Hazardous Materials Response Unit
_____: A mobile or trailered vehicle that can fill breathing air cylinders by cascade system or air compressor and provide additional self-contained breathing apparatus cylinders.
Mobile Air Supply Unit
Three main incident priorities:
Life safety
Incident stabilization
Property/environmental conservation
3 command modes:
Investigative (nothing showing)
Fast attack (working command)
Command mode
_____ offers the best way to transfer information.
Face to face communication
The ABC’s of good communication for transmitting information and orders are:
Accurate, Brief and Concise
In departments with limited response and staffing resources, firefighters may _____ functions during fire ground operations with a radio as their only partner.
Single handedly conduct
The size up process begins _____ and continues _____.
Before an incident gets reported and continues throughout the incident.
_____ is the on going process of evaluating the situation to determine what happened, what is happening what’s going to happen, what resources are available, etc.
Size up
_____: the amount of time to request and obtain additional resources.
Lead/reflex time
Size ups can start at the beginning of a shift such as _____. (3)
Staffing, OOS apparatus, and special events
Weather conditions can effect _____: (3)
Fire behavior, response time, and staffing requirements.
Accurately predicting what may happened next at the fire scene depends on _____ as well as prior knowledge and experience.
Situational awareness
5 steps to traditional decision making process:
Identify the problem
Prioritize the problem
Define the best solution
Implement solutions
Monitor and adjust
Most officers on the fire ground use _____ or _____ decision making models.
Naturalistic Decision-Making or Recognition Prime Decision-Making
The strategic goals aim to meet the incident priorities which are _____:(3)
Life safety, incident stabilization, property conservation
Examples of strategic goals: (4)
Rescue, confinement, fire attack, ventilation
Examples of tactical objectives: (4)
Fire attack, primary search, exposure line placement, and vertical/horizontal vent
The most intense part of the size up process occurs when?
Upon arrival at the incident scene.
By reading smoke, fire officers can often determine a fire’s _____, _____ and _____.
Size, location and potential for spread.
Smoke color may indicate _____.
Fuel type
Black smoke contains large quantities of _____, and its density indicates _____ is available at the seat of the fire.
Carbon particles; how much ventilation
Thick black smoke suggests a fire is ____. It also indicates the presence of _____.
In the late stages of pyrolysis; carbon monoxide
_____ looks thin, black, fast and laminar. It exits high in an opening and goes straight up.
Flame-driven smoke with good ventilation
Gray smoke can indicate _____.
A combination of different smoke areas or smoke production changes due to pyrolysis.
Brown smoke indicates _____.
Burning wood
White smoke indicates:
Smoke from deep within the structure
In openings, the height of the neutral plane can indicate _____.
The location of the fire
A neutral plane located at the bottom of an opening indicates _____: (3)
Fire is located on the floor below
Wind driven fire
Imminent flashover
A neutral plane at the top of the plane indicates _____: (2)
Fire is located on the floor above
Fire is located a long ways away from the opening
By itself smoke volume indicates _____.
Very little
Pulsing offers a sign of _____.
Backdraft
Whistling noise created by the movement of air in or out of the building can indicate _____.
An under ventilated fire.
Three common types of movement of smoke:
Floating/hanging, volume pushed, heat pushed
The speed in which smoke exits an involved space may indicate _____ and _____.
Fire size and growth
The faster smoke exits, the more likely the fire is _____ and _____.
Large and growing rapidly
Blackened or crazed glass indicates _____. (3)
Fire in the room or nearby. High temperatures. Possibility of backdraft
_____ indicates where the neutral plane was if the flow path has changed and/or if the fire is located behind a wall.
Blistered paint
Flashover occurs at approximately _____ degrees F within minutes.
1,110
Three factor that have the biggest impact of occupant survivability:
Proximity to the fire
Elevation in the space
Whether or not the room is isolated from the fire
According to occupant survivability profiling, the IC asks the following questions: (3)
Are occupants suspected or known to be trapped?
Is it reasonable to assume the occupants are still alive?
Where in the structure do occupants have the greatest chance of survival?
On the fireground, strategic objectives typically focus on the incident priorities of: (4)
Saving lives
Protecting Property and the environment
Reducing the immediate hazard
Establishing situational control and restoring normal operations
The acronym LIP stands for:
Life safety; incident stabilization, property conservation/environmental consideration
_____ and _____ is always the first priority.
Firefighter and citizen life safety
The two in - two out rule does not need to be followed when _____.
Imminent life threatening situation where immediate action could prevent the loss of life or serious injury.
A structural fire is considered _____ when it cannot intensify or spread because of the control measures in place.
Under control
Responders will risk their own lives -
Responders will risk their lives a little -
Responders will NOT risk their lives at all -
To save savable lives.
To save savable property.
To save lives and property that have already been lost.
At most incidents, the ____ will be the initial IC.
First arriving company officer
The IC’s greatest challenge is _____.
deciding the level of risk at which to place personnel when a life safety situation is obvious or perceived.
RECEO-VS
Rescue
Exposures
Containment
Extinguishment
Overhaul
Ventilation
Salvage
A hollow core interior door can provide _____ minutes of protection, even if it is adjacent to the fire compartment.
Several
The _____ dictates the search pattern; the _____ must decide if the search requires a hose line or not.
team leader; IC
The team members that move off the search line must stay in _____ contact with the navigator.
Voice
A _____ and _____ must take place before ventilating and making entry.
360 degree size up and risk/benefit analysis
_____ are unaffected areas, inside or outside a structure, to which a fire can spread.
Exposures
_____ refers to the tactical operations required to prevent fire spread in the structure.
Confinement
4 types of Extinguishment:
Direct attack; Indirect Attack; Combination Attack; Transitional Attack
The _____ technique utilizes a solid or straight stream pattern where firefighters apply water to hot compartment surfaces.
Surface cooling
The _____ cooling technique utilizes a fog pattern where firefighters apply water in short bursts to the smoke volume while attempting to avoid hot surfaces.
Gas cooling
How many firefighters does it take to deploy a master stream device?
Minimum 2. 1 to operate/monitor
The _____ decides where to make entry for an interior fire attack.
IC
_____ is the planned, systematic, and coordinated removal of heated air, smoke, gases or other airborne contaminants from a structure.
Tactical ventilation
Ventilation may occur when?
Before, during or after fire suppression operations start.
Indicators of possible roof collapse: (5)
Melting asphalt
Pressurized brown or black smoke coming form roof
Fire coming from roof
Building systems such as HVAC units sagging or leaning
Spongy roof
Winds as slow as ___ MPH can effect structure fires.
10
Positive pressure ventilation is ____against even light winds.
Not effective
The _____ should make the decision whether to ventilate the structure.
IC
_____ is defined as methods and procedures that firefighters use in an attempt to save property and reduce further damage from water, smoke, heat and exposure.
Salvage
Overhaul typically begins where?
In the area of most severe fie involvement.
_____: A load bearing wall that usually serves as a fire wall.
Party wall
