*TB 156- Hillside Home Fires

Question 1

Cantilever hillside homes are also know as ______ homes.

Answer 1

Stilt

Question 2

An entire home which could cantilever out as much as _____ feet over the hillside.

Answer 2

75 ft

Question 3

Prior to advancement into a hillside home fire, what must the Fire attack officer complete?

Answer 3

A 360 size up of the structure

Question 4

_______ must be in place before ventilating the unenclosed stairwell in a hillside home where the fire is on a sub-level.

Answer 4

Hose lines

Question 5

A ventilation hole over the interior stairwell should be initiated _____ (BEFORE or AFTER?) the fire attack team has descended the stairwell to the fire floor and communicated the progress of the attack?

Answer 5

After

Question 6

Sub-level divisions in a hillside home may be communicated in its abbreviated form how?

Answer 6

Sub 1, sub 2 ect

Question 7

Multi-story _____ homes are outfitted with an unenclosed interior stairwell that serves all floors, while often times offering no access to lower floors from the exterior.

Answer 7

Cantilever

Multi-story descending hillside homes may have the same type of unenclosed interior stairwell, but usually provide alternative portals of entry on sub-levels.

Question 8

It is the LAFD practice that any hillside home that has one or more floors below grade with access shall be attacked by the engine company how? (whenever possible)

Answer 8

From a portal of entry AT or BELOW the fire floor

Question 9

If it is impossible to attack the fire at or below the lowest level of fire involvement, concerned officers should consider “softening the target” with limited and focused application of water streams from the _____ (interior or exterior) of the building.

Answer 9

Exterior (through windows WITH visible fire showing)

Question 10

If an offensive attack with the fire below you is considered as the only means, then it is imperative that a backup fire attack team has a hose line in place ______ (before or after?) descending the interior stairwell.

Answer 10

Before

Question 11

Roof ventilation teams need to understand that a ______ (premature or delayed?) ventilation hole over the unenclosed stairwell may cause an accelerated flow path of superheated gasses and smoke, greatly hindering firefighting efforts.

Answer 11

Premature (uncoordinated)

Question 12

If the fire is below grade and the only entry to establish fire attack is from the first floor, then a contingency plan of providing ______ ventilation needs to be considered.

Answer 12

Horizontal

Question 13

In a well developed fire situation, if the initial fire attack team enters through the front door of a descending hillside home and the second arriving company accesses the home from any sub-level, a flashover can happen how fast?

Answer 13

Less than one minute

Question 14

True or False?

Using a sounding tool to check floor integrity can be a good indicator of the stability of the actual entire floor system.

Answer 14

False, floor systems have the potential to collapse under fire conditions, even when the subfloor may appear solid.

An alternative to sounding is using an axe or similar tool to provide an indicator hole as a method of checking for potential fire below you on a hillside home

Question 15

What are the three categories of hillside homes?

Answer 15

1. Descending hillside
2. Cantilever
3. Ascending hillside