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Hidden voids such as cocklofts that extend over large areas are severe threats to a building's survival.

. Heating units burn fairly cleanly. If heavy, dirty smoke is pushing out of the chimney, especially during non-heating seasons, look at the cellar right away.

List the minimum required fire flow for each occupancy below, expressed in gpm/100 sq. ft. 1. Private home 2. Stationery store 3. Mattress factory

1. 10 gpm/100 sq. ft. 2. 20 gpm/100 sq. ft. 3. 30-50 gpm/100 sq. ft.

As a firefighter who needs to choose between rescuing a victim and extinguishing the fire, which of the following considerations will most greatly affect your decision?

1. Are there enough personnel available to do both simultaneously? 2. If there are not enough personnel available, can the victim be reached without requiring hoseline support? 3. Would putting out the fire eliminate the need for rescue?

Three factors may confuse your size-up of the height and area of the building. What are they?

1. Building built on a grade. 2. Wraparound buildings 3. Interconnected buildings

Rate the five classes of building construction in terms of their ability to withstand collapse.

1. Class I - fireproof 2. Class III - Heavy timber 3. Class IV - Ordinary 4. Class V - Wood frame 5. Class II - Non-combustible

What three factors concerning smoke should be prime elements of a size-up?

1. Location 2. Color 3. Movement

List the following victims in the order they should be removed, assuming a serious fire condition.

1. Persons in the immediated vicinity of the fire. 2.Persons on the floor above the fire. 3.Persons on the top floor. 4. Persons three floors directly above the fire, two stories below the top floor. 5. Persons on the fire floor, remote from fire. 6. Persons below the fire.

Knowing the type of occupancy involved can tell and officer much about a given incident. Name five key variables strongly tied to occupancy.

1. Potential life hazards. 2. The presence of large open floor plans or small rooms. 3. Hazmat 4. The degree of fire load.. 5. The possible presence of truss construction.

Which elements of a coordinated fire attack will reduce or eliminate the life hazard?

1. Removing all victims 2. Venting to draw fire away from victims. 3. Confining the fire. 4. Extinguishing the fire.

A captain cited the following items as being major concerns about a building's construction that would affect the size-up.

1. The degree of compartmentalization. 2. The combustibility of the building. 3. The number of hidden voids. 4. The ability of the material to resist collapse.

When selecting positions for exposure protection, take a location where you can alternate between hitting the fire and wetting the exposure.

A 2 1/2-in. hose allows greater reach and volume for exposures.

Plan A (Roof Ventilation) and Plan B (Indirect Attack) will not work in some situations. The most common occurs at a store fire in a middle store of a strip mall. A 2 1/2-in. line charged and positioned away from the danger zone. If the, hose stream cannot break the glass, it will be necessary to do so manually. A member should use a 6ft. or longer hook, swing it like a baseball bat at the intended window. The nozzle operator should coordinate the action with the ventilation member. After the hose stream has been operating for 30 seconds or so, the likelihood of the backdraft occurring should be over.

A backdraft will not occur in an area that is free-buring.

Liquid accelerants may also penetrate the flooring and stairs, resulting in fire attacking the joists or stairstringers from both top and bottom simultaneously.

A building that has had previous firs has already had much of its strength destroyed, and has only a limited time left before collapse. This is very common situation in vacant buildings.

As long as you suspect there are still savable people alive inside a building, you will have to go in after them.

A cardinal rule of aggressive firefighting is, "Don't use and outside stream in an occupied building."

A fire that has not vented from a single window has not been at the flashover stage for very long, generally under a minute or two.

A fire that has not yet vented or is only out one or two windows but has not vented from any other windows, is usually confined to one room and has been at the flashover fro anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes.

90 gpm flow is possible with nearly all 1 1/2-in. nozzles, which flow up to 125 gpm while 1 3/4-in. nozzles flow 150-200 gpm.

A fully involved store in a strip mall requires at least two 2 1/2-in. handlines or a master stream for rapid knockdown.

What is a size-up?

A size-up is a continuing evaluation of all the problems and conditions that affect the outcome of the fire.

When sufficient personnel are not available to effect both rescue and extinguisher at the same time, rescue must be given priority

After 4 minutes without oxygen, the victims are likely to suffer brain damage.

A modernization of the traditional thirteen-point size-up would combine ________ and ________ , and add ________ to the list

Area, Height, Hazmat

What is the best method of reducing the life hazard before a fire?

By installing a complete wet-pipe automatic sprinkler system.

One rule of thumb for predicting structural collapse is the 20-minute rule.

CADS entries should report information that cannot be known by simply looking at the exterior of the building, such as special operational procedures, construction deficiencies, or unexpected occupancy hazards.

The Air Bottle Rule or the 20-Minute Rule, is only valid in standard wood-frame or brick and wood joist building Lightweight construction is a real problem.

Class 2 buildings with metal C-joist, have all been proven to collapse with as little as 5 minutes of fire exposure. The same rules should apply to the heavier wooden bowstring trusses.

What are the main elements of the traditional thirteen-point or COAL WAS WEALTH size-up?

Construction Occupancy Apparatus and personel Life hazards Water supply Auxiliary appliances Street conditions Weather Exposures Area Location and Extent of fire Time Height

Unprotected steel can be expected to fail in as little as 5 minutes in a serious fire.

Construction has many implications: - Compartmentation of a building. - Degree to which the building itself contributes to the fire load. - Number of hidden voids within which fires can travel. - Ability of a building to resist collapse when threatened by fire.

A traditional listing of factors affecting size-up almost always includes the famous 13-point outline. COAL WAS WEALTH. Combine Area and Height, and let H stand for Hazmat for a slightly more modern acronym.

Construction, Occupancy, Apparatus and Personnel, Life Hazard. Water Suppely, Auxiliary Appliances, Street Conditions. Weather, Exposures, Area, Location and Extent of Fire, Time, Height.

Firefighters must constantly be aware that there are six possible directions for fire to spread: Left, Right, Ahead, Back, Up and Down.

Do not commit the hoseline to the building without knowing where the seat of the fire is.

Rollover is an indicator of dangerously rising temperatures at ceiling level.

Duckwalk by squatting on your haunches.

Each pound of ordinary combustibles gives off between 7,000 to 10,000 btu when totally consumed.

Each gallon of water absorbs abotu 9,725 btu when heated from 70 degrees to turning to steam.

Class 1 (Type 1)

Fire Resistive

If responding to a fire in a jewelry store, you would expect to encounter strong nitric acid, which is commonly used in such businesses.

Fire officers can input lifesaving information into a CADS that will save firefighters' lives for years to come.

Closed doors offer shelter to trapped occupants.

Generally, those people in the immediate vicinity of the fire are in the greatest danger and should be removed first. The next highest priority are those directly above the fire.

A major downfall of many engine company operations is that crews try to do too many things at once.

Get the first line in place between the fire and the occupants as soon as possible.

Class 4

Heavy Timber

The elements needed for a successful indirect attack are present at third-stage fires and are, in fact, commonly found only ath this stage at structures:

High heat conditions throughout the area. Limitied ventilation of the fire area. A point on the perimeter in which to make a small opening for the injection of a 30* fog pattern into the superheated atmosphere. No endangered occupants who might require rescue.

What is the most basic principle of firefighting?

Human life takes precedence over all other concerns.

The indirect attack or Layman theory of indirect attack is unsuitable for interior firefighting in occupied buildings.

Human life, the first order of priority, far outweighs any property value.

In today's plastic-based society, firefighters should increase application rates by roughly 50%, so that residential flows provide roughly 15 gpm per 100 sq. ft., commercial flows of 35 gpm/sq. ft., and industrial and heavily loaded storage areas of 50-60 gpm/100 sq. ft.

If the area has been vented to the exterior, giving the fire additional oxygen, the combustion rate will increase and so should the water application rate.

There is a big difference between "smoked" and "roasted." In my book they are not beyond attempting to reach unless they are "roasted."

If they are in a room full of flame, they are dead. If they are in a room with smoke, even the heaviest smoke, they may be savable.

The smoldering stage has either been a serious fire within the premises that has burned up nearly all of the fuel is approaching self-extinguishment, or there is plenty of fuel left, but the fire is now being limited in size by the lack of oxygen. The atmosphere throughout the area is more than 1000*F and the building is literally filled to the capacity with flammable gasses, yet no fire is visible.

If you suspect a backdraft explosion is possible, the first tactic that should be attempted is to vent the highest portions of the affected area.

People below the fire floor are usually the last priority

Immediately vent the roof over the stairway to prevent mushrooming in and apartment building.

A portable ladder provides the fastest, safest, and most direct access to the victims.

In addition, unless fire is blowing out directly below the window, this is the only access that doesn't require hoseline support.

Too low a flow with a fog stream is likely to push fire into other areas.

In all potential backdraft situations, the application of water should, if possible be timed to occur after topside ventilation. It will funnel the fire gases into the proper channel, letting the hottest gases out first.

The method of attack most often used in the free-burning stage is the combination method. This initially consists of sweeping the ceiling with the straight stream in a side-to-side or clockwise circular motion for 5-10 seconds. After this short burst on the ceiling, lower the angle of the stream to sweep all of the burning material in the room.

In and advanced multi-room fire, the nozzle operator should set up a steady pattern with the stream, sweeping the ceiling from side to side in a Z-pattern, pushing the fire farther and farther away from the team. Next, the nozzle operator should lower the stream to sweep the room, repeating the Z-motion, then drop down to sweep the floor, advance the line a few feet and go back to the ceiling, starting the pattern all over again.

As far as construction affects the size-up, a metal deck roof generally ________ the fire load.

Increases

At three o'clock in the morning, you arrive simultaneously with the first engine to find fire venting from two windows on the ground floor of a three-story brick and wood-joist warehouse. The fire is exposing a nearby "fireproof" cold-storage warehouse. Where should you place the first hoseline?

Inside the fire building.

Advantages of indirect method

It can reduce firefighters' exposure to potential backdraft. Can extinguish fires in areas where the heat condition denies entry to firefighters. Allows a very limited crew to extinguish more fire than would be possible using the combination attack. Often uses less water for extinguishment. Water damage maybe less than occurs from using other methods.

Disadvantages of the indirect method

It cannot be used in an occupied building. The presence of ventilation openings will dilute the effect of the steam. Discharge of less than the critical volume can push fire ahead of the steam. It isn't possible to view the interior layout until you have gained control of the situation. Increases water damage by soaking materials that aren't affected by the fire

Black smoke suggests the presence of petroleum-based products.

Large volumes of black smoke at the roof often signal involvement of the roofing material.

Lighter volumes of smoke at the roof level could be the result of a defective oil burner.

Light to moderate quantities of black smoke found in basements often indicate and oil burner malfunction. This should signal firefighters to bring a Class B extinguisher with them.

Which of the following describes the proper sequence of actions at most structure fires?

Locate Confine Extinguish

A fire venting out windows on two floors typically indicates one of the following two things: Prolonged burning (greater than 10 minutes) or use of and accelerant to spread the fire rapidly to both floors.

Look for signs of advanced fire, such as fire burning through a wooden wall. Wooden walls support floor and roof joist.

Any extreme weather condition should prompt a request for additional resources.

More lives are saved by properly positioned and operational hoselines than by any other means, since that is how we extinguish most fires.

A rain roof is an extremely dangerous alteration to an existing building. It adds undesigned weight to the structure, creates a second hidden void space that is impenetrable from below, and prevents effective ventilation of the structure below.

Most potential backdrafts seem to occur in commercial buildings at night, which have a substantial time to get cooking and develop to the third stage.

Formulas based on scientific principles involving the amount of heat that one pound of fuel releases when it burns versus how much heat water absorbs when its temperature is heated to vaporization.

Most residential rooms have a fire load of 5 lbs. of fuel per sq. ft.

Four key requirements for indirect attack are:

No occupants Limited Ventilation High Heat Limited size of the potential fire area

Class 2

Non-Combustible

Size-up should be thought of as an information-gathering process. It should include information gathered during preplanning activities.

One of the rules of safety in potential collapse situations is that, if a building of standard construction, has been exposed to heavy fire for 20 minutes or more, it may be too dangerous to enter.

Class 3

Ordinary Construction (Brick and wood joist)

Non-Combustible refers to the fuel contributed by the structural components, not its resistance to the spread of the fire.

Ordinary construction, consists of masonry or other noncombustible walls with a 2-hour fire resistance rating.

Frontage of a building also indicates the width and depth of the structure, but that isn't always the case.

Party walls are usually visible from the roor, and they can tip off firefighters to irregular shapes and unexpected sizes.

Perception of a situation changes with experience, so do the number and degree of factors that must be considered as a given member's responsibilities increase.

Proper size-up begins from the moment the alarm is received, and it continues until the emergency is under control.

A scouting team, usually from a ladder company, should locate the seat of the fire and the best route to it while the hoseline team stands by.

Protection of exposures is second only to saving human lives.

Disadvantages of combination attack include:

Puts members within an extremely hostile environment. Requires live-fire training to develop a high degree of proficiency.

Defensive operation generally are exterior, with the highest priority being protecting exposures.

Radiant heat can pass through a water curtain and ignite the exposure.

Water protects against direct flame impingement.

Radiation and direct-flame exposure are responsible for most of the spread of fire to exposures.

The last rule of firefighting is a brief one: Let circumstances dictate procedures.

Size-up can be described as an evaluation of problems and conditions that affect the outcome of a fire.

Who performs the size-up?

Size-up should be performed by all members to varying degrees.

When should size-up be performed?

Size-up should begin on receipt of alarm and continue until the incident is under control.

Removal of individuals may well skip a floor or more and shift toward the top floor.

Staircases and the connecting public hallways, from the fire floor all the way through the roof, must be an immediate priority.

The best possible choice to repeat a message are to teletype the alert message (hard copy) and to rebroadcast the message over the radio after the units are on the road.

Structural collapse is the most difficult of the firefighter traps to predict.

The 20-minute rule applies to either wood frame (Class 5) or brick and wood joist (ordinary Class 3) construction, and only these two types.

The 20-minute time frame does not start with your arrival at the scene. Rather, it starts when the fire has reached flashover and begun to attack the structural elements.

When there is no threat to occupants, the lives of firefighters shouldn't be unduly endangered.

The actions taken by fire units will almost always follow this sequence: locate, confine, and extinguish.

The best method to reduce the life hazard long before the incident occurs.

The best method of all to reduce life hazards is installing a complete wet-pipe automatic sprinkler system.

Quite often, the ceiling temperatures in a fire room will reach 1,200 to 1,500*F, while those at the floor are in the range of 125-150*F.

The combination attack uses the reach of the hose stream to cool the combustible gases at the ceiling level ahead of the nozzle team's advance.

Life hazard must be the deciding factor in determining tactics and procedures.

The effect of time of day on the occupants is variable and related to the occupancy.

The free-buring stage, the fire has greatly increased in intensity. The rooms are either approaching flashover or have passed it. The ceiling temperatures rise rapidly with the accumulation of hot gases. In a well-involved room, ceiling temperatures of more than 1,300*F and large volumes of smoke are common. This is the stage where you will find most working fires.

The incipient stage should be fought with the direct attack.

Fires progress through the following three stages: the incipient stage, the free-burning stage, and the smoldering or decay stage. Each stage is characterized by differences in room and atmospheric composition, and each will respond differently when attacked by the various methods, namely, direct method, the indirect method, and the combination method.

The incipient stage, the fire is still small. A hand extinguisher will halt further extension and prevent the development of flashover conditions. Crews should stretch 1 1/2-in. or 1 3/4-in. handline and charge if necessary. The fire will require more than one extinguisher to ensure complete extinguishment.

Each gallon of water can expand to 1,500-2,000 gal of steam when fully vaporized. This steam will rapidly fill the fire area, pushing smoke and heat ahead of it and forming an inert atmosphere. Keep the stream open until the volume of steam being expelled around the nozzle begins to diminish.

The indirect method isn't practical for the majority of structure fires for a number of reasons: Its total unsuitability for use in areas that pose a potential life hazard. Second is the unlikelyhood of finding all of the necessary ingredients present simultaneously.

Two common errors in combination attack:

The nozzle operator forgets to check the stream pattern and opens up on the fire in a wide fog pattern. Leaving the stream up on the ceiling too long without dropping the angle.

In the free-burning stage rapid head build-up, flashover, and rapidly advancing flame fronts all threaten persons inside the structure.

The nozzle operator must make sure to arrive at the door to the fire area with enough hose to cover the entire area. 50-ft length of hose is sufficient for most homes and apartments.

One length of charged 1 3/4-in. hose weighs about 80 lbs., where as dry length weighs only 40 lbs.

There can be difference of more than 200*F in the zone between 2 and 3 ft off the floor.

"The lives of the occupants of the immediate fire area must always be the highest priority when staffing is insufficient to accomplish rescue and removal simultaneously."

This statement is correct, if in fact the victims are savable.

"Interior structure firefighting requires an aggressive attach at every incident"

This statement is incorrect, since vacant buildings should be treated with caution.

Given the following alert message, what element of the size-up can you ascertain? "Attention Engines 1,2,3 Ladder 1 and Chief 1. Respond to a house frie at 158 Main St. Fire reported on the third floor. The time is 1430 hours."

Three engines, one ladder, and one chief have been assigned.

Unsuspecting firefighters who pull a part of the ceiling down before roof ventilation is accomplished can be caught by a ball of fire blasting down on them from the cockloft.

Three possible choices of operating mode: Initiate and offensive attack. Establish defensive positions. Take no action at all.

What items from the size-up combine to produce the life hazard?

Time of day, Location and Extent of fire, and Occupancy

Location and extent of the fire cannot be determined until units arrive at the scene.

To be effective, size-up must include reports from roof level.

A rule of thumb for anticipating collapse in ordinary construction or wood-frame buildings is that if fire has heavily involved and area for ________ , the fire forces should be withdrawn.

Twenty minutes

First-arriving units must quickly determine the status of sprinkler systems and other auxiliary appliances. Inoperable systems may justify calling additional resources.

Warm weather also results in more open windows, giving fire easier access to oxygen and also brings many more people out into the streets.

The water supply must be thought of a system, meaning that there must be a source of water of sufficient volume to suppress the number of btu being given off by the fire.

Water flow depends on the fire load and the area involved.

Exposure protection is best accomplished by coating the exposed surface with water. The water carries away the built-up heat as it flows down the surface.

Water is a poor absorbent of radiant heat.

Nearly, 80% of all civilian fire deaths occur in residential buildings.

We lose more than 16 firefighters for every 100,000 store fires, more than four times the rate of residential buildings.

It is only in response to a high civilian life hazard that we should be undertaking aggressive tactics.

We lose nearly four firefighters a year in residential structures for every 100,000 fires we fight in them.

At fires where more than one person requires assistance, remove those in greatest danger first - generally those nearest the fire, then those above the fire, and anyone in panic.

When enough personnel are available to perform engine and ladder functions, they must carry out a coordinated fire attack.

More lives have been saved by properly positioned and operated hoselines than by all other means.

When you don't have sufficient personnel to perform all of the needed tasks, first perform those that protect the greatest number of human lives.

If the visibility is zero, you will have to rely on your sense of hearing and the feel of the atmosphere to tell whether the line is having any effect on the fire.

When you hit the fire, you're likely to feel a blast of heat as steam and smoke are pushed back toward you. This should subside if you raise the angle of your stream.

Common Class A materials produce gray to light brown smoke when sufficient oxygen is present. Reduced amounts of oxygen produce large amounts of dark gray or yellow gray smoke. This is an indication of the potential for backdraft, especially if the smoke is issuing under pressure and is being drawn back into the building.

Wispy smoke usually light in color indicates the incipient stage.

Class 5

Wood Frame

Smoke settling or hanging in low spots is cold smoke, and it is found at fires in sprinkled areas or where a fire is partially or fully extinguished.

You must verify the extent to which the exposures are threatened when determining the location and extent of the fire.

In this modern day of breathing apparatus, only two things should prevent a hoseline's advance

heat and flame