Brannigan's Chapter 5

A ______ minute bottle provides enough time to make a difference.

45

National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers noted that CO generation in such a void could be as much as _____ times what is normally generated.

50

Research at NIST has pointed out that generation of CO can be up to _____ times greater in enclosed voids as in the open.

50

What should a crew going up to investigate a fire alarm always have?

A 2.5 gallon pressurized water extinguisher

It has become a common practice to install what below the acoustical tiles?

A dropped ceiling

A ______________________ is a spare SCBA bottle, face piece, and regulator that is carried in a special bag that is specifically designed for rapid intervention emergencies when a firefighter is trapped.

A rescue air kit (RAK)

During a wind-driven fire, another option is attacking the fire from the floor ___________, using what type of nozzle?

Above; Bresnan distributor nozzle

__________________ are used in a variety of applications in building construction, including to secure roof surfaces, onsite assembly of prefabricated modular units, and to connect plastic pipes.

Adhesives

_____________________ that was commonly installed years ago was usually made of a hair felt with a high flame spread

Air duct insulation

Hotels are remodeled regularly. Mattresses and furniture often are removed from rooms and stored in hallways, where they represent a tempting target for ________________.

Arsonists

What term best describes the vertical spread of fire on the exterior of a multistory building, from one floor to the floors above?

Autoexposure

A phenomenon in which a combustible material ignites spontaneously without the application of a flame or spark

Autoignition

What term best describes what occurs when heated gaseous products of combustion burn when oxygen supply has been depleted due to fire? This burning often occurs with explosive force.

Backdraft

In the 1930's, low density fiberboard made of wood fibers or sugar can residue called ________________ came into use.

Bagasse

__________________ with paper facing that is laid in ceilings must be kept away from light fixtures because the heat from the fixture can ignite the paper

Batt insulation

What is sometimes installed between studs for privacy?

Batt-type fiberglass

The movement of cooler air into the room and hot gases leaving the room from the ceiling layer is known as

Bi-directional flow

High density fiberboard was regarded as fire safe because it was tested with a _______________, which is a commonly used but inadequate test.

Blowtorch

Fire growth and spread are greatly influenced by _________________.

Building construction

There is a two way relationship between what two things?

Building construction and fire behavior

A firefighter who is acting "strange" or irrational is suffering the effects of __________

CO

Solid particles, typically ____________, give smoke its opaqueness.

Carbon

What is the most common toxic fire gas?

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Combustible tile ceilings are often suspended below the floor above, creating a void in which explosive _________________ gas can be generated and stored.

Carbon monoxide (CO)

It has become commonplace for daycare centers to use _______________ on the walls.

Carpeting

What is widely and inaccurately used as a name for fiberboard?

Celotex

Fire has an effect on the building and its components as well. The most common example is

Charring wood

At one time, a popular decoration that provided a real flame spread or rapid fire growth problem was the __________________

Christmas tree

_______________ positions are not always the best place to see the situation, particularly for a multistory structure.

Close in

When punched with holes, fiberboard acquires desirable acoustical properties and becomes __________________________

Combustible acoustical tile

What is commonly used as insulating sheathing on wood frame buildings?

Combustible fiberboard

True or False: It is sufficient to correct exposed surfaces of unexposed plywood or wood paneling by applying a flame-retardant surface treatment.

False

True or False: When electrical wiring is operated at or below its rated capacity, the heat can break down the insulation and flammable gases can be emitted.

False

New York City Fire Department has developed a __________________ to place over openings of broken windows on the windward side of a wind-driven fire.

Fire blanket

What is a column of flames, smoke, and heated gases rising above the burning object within a compartment called?

Fire plume

Firefighting tactics, in one form or another, are always removing one leg of the ________________

Fire tetrahedron

In ______________, hot unburned fuel gases, having gathered in sufficient quantities at the ceiling layer, suddenly ignite.

Flameover

A transition stage in which exposed surfaces within the compartment ignite simultaneously and fire spreads throughout the compartment. Usually results in full room involvement.

Flashover

Dark black smoke pouring from windows is a sign that _____________ is imminent.

Flashover

The most important concept to understand from a tactical point of view regarding fire behavior, is that flameover or rollover may be your last warning sign before what?

Flashover

What is best described as the movement of hot fire gases/smoke from areas of high pressure to low pressure?

Flow path

The secondary stage of a fire in which it spreads to adjacent combustible materials.

Free burning

When using an Aerial master stream on a wind-driven fire, everything between the wind-driven access point and the first fire barrier is a zero survival profile, so a ____________ attack through the window is your only option.

Frontal

A material that will sustain combustion, also known as a reducing agent

Fuel

The principle that states that any exposure in which the concentration times minutes exposed equals 33,000 is likely to be dangerous.

Haber's Rule

A form of energy that is the source of ignition

Heat

An important concept in fire behavior is

Heat transfer

What dictates how a fire spreads?

Heat transfer

Who must recognize conditions that cause backdraft, flashover, or flame over and could endanger firefighters operating inside the structure?

Incident commanders (IC's)

The initial stage of a fire after ignition, usually involving a single or small number of combustibles.

Incipient

A plumber's torch is a common method of igniting what?

Low density fiberboard

What is a flammable metal that, when burning, reacts violently with water?

Magnesium

What type of heat overwhelms the ceiling layer and drives the room towards flashover?

Radiant heat

What is the transfer of heat through electrommagnetic waves?

Radiation

_____________ is not visible, but its effects can certainly be felt on exposed skin and combustible materials.

Radiation

Fire problems are associated with ___________ material because they emit energy that can damage living tissue.

Radioactive

A serious hazard is often created when a building is ______________

Remodeled

Asphalt coated steel is often called

Robertson protected metal

The term ______________ describes the rolling motion of the flames across the bottom of the ceiling layer.

Rollover

Use of what, is critical in the overhaul stage of a fire?

SCBA

Fire duration and ___________ play significant roles in the degradation of construction materials.

Size

Acrolein and halogen acids are liquid particulates found in what?

Smoke

By definition, ___________ is the generic term used to describe the airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases produced by a fire.

Smoke

Fires generate a number of products of combustion that the average citizen and some researchers call _______________

Smoke

What often provides the first warning of most fires?

Smoke

A stage in which glowing combustion takes place, without flame. A fire may be forced into this stage when key components of the fire tetrahedron are in short supply, such as when the oxygen supply is limited.

Smoldering/decay

A preplumbed piercing nozzle used by ARFF is also called a

Snozzle

What method is the only method by which firefighters can expel CO from a building?

Ventilation

The most common extinguishing agent is _________

Water

What is often considered the most expensive by-product of fire suppression?

Water

_______________ surfaces are common and popular. Flame spread over these surfaces deserves special attention.

Wood

When foamed plastic insulation is installed, it should be protected from exposure to flame by a _______________ gypsum board covering

half-inch

Name at least 3 examples of other construction factors in addition to doors and window openings that influence fire behavior.

- Combustible interior finishes or walls - Vertical openings - The height of the fire room - The proximity of the walls - HVAC systems

What are the three methods of heat transfer?

- Conduction - Convection - Radiation

Three ways to control rapid fire growth

- Eliminate high flame spread surfaces - Separate the material from source of combustion - Cut off the extension

What are the four essential elements in the fire tetrahedron?

- Fuel - Oxidizing Agent - Heat - Uninhibited Chemical Chain Reaction

What are three contents problems in regards to fire growth?

- Furnishings - Interior finish - Mercantile stock

What are the four stages of fire when permitted to follow its natural course?

- Incipient - Free burning - Flashover - Smoldering/decay

According to Francis Brannigan, a defective ballast in fluorescent fixtures can reach temperatures of _____________

1500ºF

Modern bunker gear can withstand temperatures above _________

220ºF

A Bresnan distributor nozzle is a 2 1/2 in appliance that can throw _______ to ______ gpm.

260 to 290

In the NFPA film, Fire: Countdown to Disaster, a sparsely furnished bedroom develops a violent backdraft explosion in fewer than ______________ minutes

3

Haber's rule states that any exposure in which the concentration times minutes exposed equals ______________ is likely to be dangerous.

33,000

According to the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook, a 10 minute exposure to _______ ppm of CO would be hazardous, possibly even incapacitating.

3500

Do not forget that aluminum anneals when exposed to prolonged heat of ________ and higher; that means it starts to lose its rated strength.

350ºF

What size is low density fiberboard usually produced in?

4 x 8 in

If winds exceed ____ to ____ mph, their role in driving the fire within a building must be considered from a tactical standpoint.

10-20

Halloween haunted houses often use cotton sheeting, which has high flame spread, in proximity to light bulbs or candles. A ___________bulb can ignite cotton.

100 watt

How many ppm of CO may be fatal after only a few breaths?

12,500 ppm

At what temperature will aluminum melt at?

1200ºF

Fire scientists use the word ________________ to describe the enclosure around a fire; an area commonly called a room.

Compartment

What is the transfer of heat within an object or between objects through direct contact?

Conduction

What is the transfer of heat through circulation within a medium such as a gas or a liquid?

Convection

What type of paneling material was a key factor in a five-alarm fire in the Empire State Building?

Cork paneling

How must hose streams be applied to remove heat from an exposure building?

Directly on the exposure building

What term best describes when fresh air is drawn into the fire from the doorway and is drawn into the fire itself?

Entrainment

At one time, lime plaster was an almost universal finish for ceilings, although some ceilings were also made of embossed steel and wooden boards called

Match boarding

What is the term for the interface between the hot ceiling layer and the cooler air flowing into the compartment?

Neutral plane

An activated sprinkler head is an indirect ____________ attack.

Offensive

Fire can be defined simply as a rapid _____________ (chemical) reaction that produces heat and visible light.

Oxidation

Normally atmospheric oxygen, but may also be chemical compounds known as oxidizers that will release oxygen as they react

Oxidizing agent

A fire burning in a room will be influenced by several factors, primary among them is the _______________

Oxygen supply

When punched with holes, high-density fiberboard is called

Pegboard

Ignition of a heated combustible material when a flame or spark is applied

Piloted ignition

What was used as nonflammable coolants in transformers?

Polychlorinated Biphenyl or (PCB's)

An effective electrical insulator that has become indispensable as a contemporary material. When it burns, however, it emits toxic gases.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

What is often used where a wood surface is desired, and flame spread requirements must be met?

Pressure-treated, fire retardant wood

The most important factor in a compartment fire is often the oxygen supply; What two things will dictate how the fire burns and grows?

The location and quantity of oxygen needed to feed the fire

What is the nervous system of the community?

The telephone system

The best technology we have today is the

Thermal imager

True or False: Plaster does not contribute to a fire

True

True or False: Ventilation of a building does not prevent a CO explosion.

True

A sustained oxidation reaction that produces sufficient excess heat to continue heating unburned fuel, making it available for combustion

Uninhibited chemical chain reaction