Structural Search & Rescue (IFSTA) Flashcards
To ensure your survival and that of your fellow firefighters, you must learn to ___
- Recognize and avoid potential hazards
- Escape unavoidable hazards
- Rescue lost or trapped firefighters
Conditions specific to SAR operations that should be observed and communicated to crew members and your supervisor
- Location and extent of the fire
- Changes in heat level
- Changes to fire behavior, spread, and growth, including signs of rapid fire development
- Visibility level and changes to visibility
- Changes to the neutral plane in the structure
- Smoke color or change of smoke color
- Volume and behavior of smoke
- Known locations of victims or occupants
- Number of known victims or occupants
- You and your team’s starting and available air supply
- Locations of safe havens and alternate exit routes
- Indications of ceiling/floor collapse
To survive an unavoidable hazardous situation, you must ___
- Practice sound firefighting techniques
- Practice situational awareness
- Anticipate the types of survival situations you may face
- Practice MAYDAY and self-rescue techniques
- Check your own and your team member’s air supply
The extreme stress of an emergency makes ___ thought difficult
Conscious
___ will warn of of rapid fire development or structural collapse
Situational awareness
To overcome the psychological effects of obscured vision conditions you should ___
- Remain calm
- Control your breathing
- Maintain your situational awareness
- Stay in contact with your partner
- Focus on your assigned task
- Rely on your other senses
Personnel who experience emotional difficulties when operating in obscured vision conditions should ___
Seek professional assistance
MAYDAY situations
- Air emergencies
- Lost/disoriented
- Entanglement
- Rapid fire development
- Collapse/trapped
An ___ environment is not necessarily dangerous to life and health if the proper level of PPE is provided
Untenable
The environment of a structure fire or damaged structure can change swiftly due to ___
- Sudden or unexpected fire spread and temperature increase within the structure
- Loss of structural stability and possible collapse
- Buildup of smoke and products of combustion
If conditions within the structure become untenable, personnel should ___
Evacuate the structure or take shelter in a safe haven
During search and rescue, firefighters should identify possible ___ within the structure
Safe Havens
If you seek shelter in a safe haven, you must ___
Notify the IC of your situation
You must regulate ___ so that you can exit the IDLH safely
Air consumption
Three key principles of air management
- Always know how much air you have left
- Know your point of no return
- Inform the IC if you must exit the structure
Times in which you must check your air supply
- Check regularly
- Before entering an IDLH atmosphere
- When moving from one area to another
- After periods of heavy work
- A specific intervals, based on SOPs
- When resting
- Before beginning on a new assignment
- When the assigned area is reached
Your point of no return is based on ___
- How much air is required to exit the IDLH
- The lowest cylinder gauge reading of any member of the team
- Your department’s SOPs
- Environmental conditions
- Your team’s physical and mental condition
___ personnel on the exterior of the structure should have some idea of the time you have been in the structure and can help to guide your decision making process regarding air management
Accountability
Air management is ___ responsibility
Your
30-minute cylinder working airflow
103 L/min
30-minute cylinder resting airflow
40 L/min
30-minute cylinder air volume at 25% capacity
400 L
30-minute cylinder air volume at 33% capacity
About 530 L
30-minute cylinder remaining air time at rest at 33% and 25% capacity
- 15 min
- 10 min
30-minute cylinder remaining air time when moving to escape at 33% and 25% capacity
- 5 min
- 4 min
Your point of no return must be based on ___
How much air you consume
Never leave a team member alone in the ___
Hazard zone
If low on air and you have a team member nearby or rescue has arrived, use ___
Air sharing techniques
If trapped and disoriented, ___ until rescue team arrives
Stay calm, activate PASS device, and control breathing until rescue team arrives
If your SCBA mask regulator becomes inoperable and air remains in your cylinder, you can ___
Open the bypass/purge valve to provide positive pressure and breath directly from the cylinder
If air runs out before rescue arrives, and there are no other options, ___
Create a gap between the chin and mask seal to take a breath as needed. Ensure that the regulator stays in place and the protective hood stays sealed around lower lip of mask
Actions to shelter in place after completing MAYDAY report
- Remain calm and control breathing
- Get to an uninvolved room if possible and close the door
- Shine a light through available windows to draw attention to your location
- Continue to communicate on your radio
- Activate your PASS device
- Make noise to draw attention to your location
- Shine your flashlight or hand light directly overhead
- If you are unsure of your location, listen for sounds that provide clues to your location
- Isolate yourself from the fire compartment
Firefighters usually perform ___ to determine whether the atmosphere at an incident is safe
Air monitoring
Air monitoring instrument reaction time may take ___
Several seconds
Unless ___, firefighters usually prioritize monitoring for a safe atmosphere to conduct a rescue or ID gases that may have contributed to a medical emergency
There are hazardous materials present
Air monitoring IDs atmospheric hazards that dictate ___
Necessary PPE and respiratory protection for activity at the scene or tactics for a rescue
Categories of atmospheric hazards
- Oxygen enrichment or deficiency
- Flammability
- Toxicity
How is oxygen enrichment or deficiency measured?
As a percentage of oxygen in the air using an oxygen meter
How is flammability measured?
As a percentage of flammable gas in the air based upon the gas’s LEL using a CGI
CGI
Combustible Gas Indicator
How is toxicity measured?
In PPM of a toxic gas in the air using single gas or multigas detectors
Max oxygen enrichment to enter a space
Below 23.5%
Normal air gas composition
20.9% oxygen, 78.1% nitrogen, 1% other gases
Oxygen deficient atmosphere
Below 19.5%
A lower than normal oxygen percentage indicates ___
Some kind of contaminant is displacing the air in the atmosphere
If the oxygen percentage is below normal, notify the ___
IC
Why should oxygen sensors be replaced frequently?
They degrade, faster when in contact with chemicals and gases
___ can affect oxygen sensor readings
Humidity, temperature, and elevation
An atmosphere containing a flammable gas, vapor, or mist in excess of ___ is considered hazardous
10% of its LEL
When grain dust or fine dust from woodworking is suspended in the air, a ___ can be created
Very flammable or even explosive atmosphere
The LEL of airborne combustible grain dust can be approximated when ___
The dust obscures vision at a distance of 5’ or less
If monitoring equipment indicates the presence of flammable gases or vapors, responders must assume ___
The atmosphere to be flammable or explosive
If the atmosphere is flammable or explosive ___
All nearby sources of ignition should be eliminated, and consideration must be give to delaying entry into the area until ventilation reduces the level of flammable gas to below 10% of its LEL
Measure the amount of flammable vapors and gases in the atmosphere
CGIs
CGIs measure flammable vapors in one of three ways: ___
- Percentage of the LEL
- PPM
- Percentage of gas per volume of air
Most CGIs measure the ___
LEL
Each CGI is calibrated to ___
A specific flammable gas
Common flammable gases measured by a CGI
- Methane
- Pentane
- Propane
- Hexane
LEL meters will not provide accurate readings in ___
Oxygen deficient or enriched atmospheres
SDS
Safety Data Sheet
