Fireground Support Operations (1St Edition)

Fireground Support Operations (1st Edition)
Chapter 1 - Size-up
Test Review
NOTES BELOW ALSO INCLUDE THE INTRODUCTION PORTION
NOTICE:STORY-BASED ENTRIES/DISCUSSIONS IN THIS CHAPTER ARE NOT INCLUDED IN NOTES

Given adequate oxygen, fire will burn until extinguished by some external intervention or until fuel has been consumed.
Fireground support operations are equally as important as fire suppression operations.
NFPA website -
NIOSH website -
USFA website -
Size-up is the continual and ongoing process of making careful observations and drawing reasonable conclusions from those observations.
Size-up questions include: What happened?, What is happening?, What is likely to happen?, and What safety considerations are involved?.
Factors that answer "What has happened?" include: injuries, length of burning, result of earthquake or natural occurrence, explosion, and hazmat present.
Factors that answer "What is happening?" include: situation getting better or worse, trapped victims, fire threatening victims/exposures, fire getting bigger, backdraft conditions, and structural integrity.
Factors that answer "What is likely to happen?" include: fire getting bigger without additional resources, secondary explosion/backdraft, collapse, and firefighter risk from toxic residue or other hazards.
Factors involved in Safety Considerations include: immediate intervention to save lives, risk to rescuers, electrical wires down, vehicular traffic, gaseous/liquid fuels leaking, and resources needed.
Command/supervisory positions must consider resources and risks/benefits of each possible deployment mode.
The initial "report on conditions" and the IAP are based on initial size-up.
Initial size-up often sets the tone for the entire incident.
A NIOSH recommended initial size-up includes: fire size/location, length of time burning, arrival conditions, building size/age, presence of combustibles, occupancy, renovations/modifications, previous fires, dead loads (structural integrity), adjacent exposures, and resources.
The need for mobile water supplies must be factored into the IAP.
Additional factors that affect initial size-up include: time of day, day of week, and weather.
Time of day may mean building is occupied/unoccupied, occupants are awake/sleeping, and on roads, volume of traffic may be great.
Day of week may mean buildings is occupied/unoccupied (schools) or area is busy (commercial).
Weather affects firefighters (high temp/humidity), response time (bad weather), roof operations (slippery when wet/icy).
"Routine" fire are those which appear easy to control.
An accurate viewing of all sides of a fire building should be made by the IC.
The practice used in wildland fires, "Look Up, Look Down, and Look Around", can help structural firefighters to constantly monitor their surroundings.
If heat and smoke forces firefighters to crawl in a structure fire, flashover may be imminent.
If firefighters cannot stand up inside a structure fire due to tremendous heat, combustibles in the room may be nearing their (non-piloted) autoignition temperature.
Rollover (AKA flameover), is the ignition of superheated gases at or near the ceiling.
Rollovers can be mistaken for FLASHovers due to the dramatic flame.
Rollover rarely last more than a few seconds once it passes over attack crews.
Rollovers can usually be prevented with timely/adequate ventilation.
The potential for backdraft is easier to recognize than a flashover.
Indications of backdraft include: pressurized smoke exiting small openings, black smoke becoming dense gray yellow, confinement/excessive heat, little/no visible flame, smoke leaving building in puffs/intervals, and smoke-stained windows.
Indications of backdraft may not be as evident in newer energy-efficient buildings.
Collapses can include roofs, walls, and floors.
Fire sprinklers can reduce the effectiveness of ventilation openings cut above the sprinkler.
Very old wood frame buildings may be of balloon-frame construction (allows fire travel from basement to attic).
Old wood frame buildings often have substandard wiring and "tinder dry" adjacent combustibles.
Older brick (unreinforced masonry - URM) buildings often trap heat and smoke inside and are prone to wall collapse.
Some older buildings have unsupported truss roofs (i.e.-bowstring truss), and covered with many layers of roofing material.
Use of false ceilings in older buildings is a common practice.
Newer wood frame construction is likely to have lightweight construction (fails quickly in fires).
Masonry buildings may resist effects of fire, but may present a collapse hazard.
Arched and lightweight roofs may be prone to sudden, unexpected collapse with fires.
Unprotected steel members are likely to distort and fail earlier in a fire than wooden beams.
Reinforced concrete buildings are designed to be both fire and collapse resistant.
Unreinforced masonry buildings have a high collapse potential.
Identifying how and to what extent buildings have been remodeled is most effectively done during pre-incident inspections.
Many Victorian-type residences have false ceilings.
Division of a room, that is fully sprinklered, into separate spaces may result in one room being non-sprinklered.
Common modifications to buildings are the addition of deadbolts, padlocks, metal security doors/windows, or other security devices.
Accurate size-up of interior structure fires includes an understanding of fire behavior, building construction, and how fire behaves when confined in different types of spaces.
In most attics, there are no openings between the attic and the occupied space except covered access openings.
Attic vents allow air into an attic, which feeds the fire.
When smoke and/or fire is issuing from attic vents or under roof shingles in a single-story residence, with little or no evidence of fire or smoke in the space below, it is reasonable to conclude the fire is in the attic (for initial size-up purposes).
Basement fires usually reveal themselves by smoke and/or fire issuing from ground level windows, dead lights, cellar doors, vents, cracks in exterior walls, and from interior wall/floor junction.
With basement fires, the ground floor structure may be hot with no evidence of fire.
If smoke is issuing from roof vent pipes with no evidence of fire in attic or occupied space, check basement for fire.
Some townhouses have common attics.
Townhouses often have bubble skylights on roof which melt out and create a vertical opening.
Many larger Victorian houses are converted to apartments.
Victorian houses are typically of balloon frame construction.
Warehouses have the potential to produce large/dangerous fires (large open space = unlimited oxygen).
Roof assemblies in warehouses often span large distances, making them prone to collapse with a fire within.
Most fires in office buildings are relatively small during business house (discovered early).
Well contained fires in office buildings can produce backdraft conditions (check doors for heat).

Fireground Support Operations (1st Edition)
Chapter 2 - Firefighter Survival
Test Review
NOTICE:STORY-BASED ENTRIES/DISCUSSIONS IN THIS CHAPTER ARE NOT INCLUDED IN NOTES

Safety of personnel is dependent on adequate size-up, risk/benefit analysis, safe/effective strategies and tactics, personnel accountability, rapid intervention crews, rehab units, and escape techniques.
Priorities that apply to any emergency response include: Life Safety, Incident Stabilization, and Property Conservation.
Life safety is always highest priority (includes people, responders, pets, livestock).
Phoenix Fire Department Model: Begin every response with assumption that a positive outcome will be made, Risk lives a lot to save savable lives, Risk lives a little to save property, and NOT risk lives to save lives/property already lost.
Additional factors of the Phoenix F.D. Model include: respond quickly, take care of problem, be nice, and come back safe (emergency and non-emergency).
Vent early and often is part of the Phoenix F.D. key safety behaviors.
Communication is one of the most important safety behaviors on any emergency.
One of the most fundamental rules of firefighter survival is that "everyone looks out for everyone else".
The purpose of an accountability system is to ensure that only those who are authorized to enter a hazardous area are allowed to do so.
In typical accountability systems, a designated person ensures personnel entering have PASS activated, and also records name, company, SCBA pressure, assignment, and estimated safe working time.
With some accountability systems, a name tag (AKA passport) is left with the designated person when entering the hazard area.
The Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) is an organized on-scene roll call in which each supervisor reports the status of his crew when requested.
A PAR may be requested at specified intervals or when a benchmark event occurs such as change in attack mode, unexpected/catostrophic events, or fire control/extinguishment.
PARs may also be requested at the Safety Officer's discretion.
Using an accountability system on the fireground requires SOPs, training, and enforcement of SOPs on the system.
The added weight of live and dead loads increases collapse potential.
The hazard zone is defined by OSHA as an IDLH environment whenever an interior fire is beyond the incipient (early growth) stage.
Emergency escape techniques are sometimes called "self-rescue".
Skip breathing allows prolonged use of SCBA cylinder capacity.
Trapped responders should use radio to transmit Mayday, activate PASS, and shine flashlight toward ceiling.
When a trapped firefighter is wearing SCBA, rescuers should take space SCBA cylinder with them when searching.
If a trapped firefighter's SCBA is equipped with Emergency Escape Breathing Support System (EEBSS), a fitting is found on the harness to allow refilling with another cylinder.
Never share facepieces.
When lost in a fire building, with no contact with other firefighters, locate hoseline and follow out (male coupling closest to exit), crawl in straight line and in one direction (left or right), and call out and make noise.
following a hoseline out of a structure.
If emergent exiting of a window is not possible, straddle the window and call for help.
Do not drop PPE out of window to get someone's attention.
For emergency egress from doors, feel for heat prior to opening, and once open, feel around for contents (may be closet).

Fireground Support Operations (1st Edition)
Chapter 3 - Access To Structures
Test Review

Prior to the establishment of the EPA, some waterways were used to get rid of industrial wastes.
Cantilevered buildings make fire department access difficult.
Well-irrigated lawns will not support the weight of fire apparatus.
The quickest way through a fence is a gate.
Chains on fence enclosures should be cut close to the lock.
The majority of manually-operated gates are either wooden, aluminum, steel farm gates, or steel gates in chain-link fences.
With hardened padlocks securing a hasp, it may be possible to cut the staple of the hasp to open the gate.
Non-hardened padlock shackles should be cut at the top arch of the shackle (easily re-welded).
If cutting the padlock on a gate is unsuccessful, remove hinge pins or hinges.
Some padlocks used to secure gates are protected by a sturdy metal shell, often a short length of metal pipe with ends welded shut (must be cut away with torch or rotary saw).
Some automatic gate controls are actuated by small radio transmitter (garage door opener type).
Automated gates with sensor wire imbedded in the exit lane can sometimes be activated by tossing a metallic object onto the area of the sensor.
Swing arms on automated gates are ideally disconnecting by removing the pin or bolt from the point of connection.
A rotary saw with metal cutting blade can be used to cut swing arms.
Some gates have lock boxes for fire department use (key code or keys inside).
Farm fences are cut easily with bolt cutters or even electrical wire cutters.
Electrified farm fences are easily recognized by insulators holding bare conductor wire.
If electrified fences cannot be shut off, cut the charged conductor wire with insulated wire cutters.
Running over a fence post by easing up to it, then driving forward until the post breaks, may be used to gain quick access through a fence.
Chain-link fences consist of heavy-gauge steel fence fabric attached to steel posts (many have steel top rail for stability - can impede access).
Chain-link fences may have brackets that hold barbed wire or razor ribbon atop the fence.
Barbed wire atop fences is used to discourage intruders (facilities), while razor ribbon is used to discourage escapes (correctional facilities).
Wire bands that attach chain-link fence to posts are usually smaller gauge and cut readily with bolt/wire cutters, or rotary saws.
Fence fabric can be quickly cut with a rotary saw or one strand at a time with bolt cutters (slow).
Fence fabric should be cut as close to posts as possible to facilitate repair.
The majority of wooden fences are individual boards nailed vertically to a wooden framework.
Wooden fences can be breached with a chain saw (quickest) or by pulling individual boards from framework.
Posts and rails of vinyl fences are filled with plastic foam for rigidity (easily cut with chain/rotary saw).
The fastest way to cut wrought iron/steel fence is to cut the ends of the horizontal frame members and remove an entire section.
Gated communities are enclosed with masonry walls.
When barbed wire must be cut, it should be held securely with pliers or other tools on both sides of the cut.
Razor ribbon (AKA concertina wire) is usually installed in flexible coils atop chain-link fences and sometimes on the ground adjacent to the fence.
Razor ribbon may be found anywhere security is needed (other than fences).
Some iron and steel fences have fence spikes atop vertical members.
Place a partially unfolded salvage cover over fence spike when crossing fence.
Some masonry walls have wrought iron sections between pillars.
Examples of booby traps include camouflaged holes/pits, charged electrical wires, and firearms with tripwires.
Some property owners keep exotic animals for security (geese/peacocks are very effective at detecting approaching strangers - make lots of noise).

Fireground Support Operations (1st Edition)
Chapter 4 - Access Into Structures
Test Review
NOTICE:STORY-BASED ENTRIES/DISCUSSIONS IN THIS CHAPTER ARE NOT INCLUDED IN NOTES

Rotary saws are also known as rescue saws.
Carbide tipped blades cut heavy tar roofs, light-gauge metal, composition roofs, wood shingle roofs, wood structural members, and metal clad wood.
Composite graphite blades cut heavy roof coverings, wood roof coverings, wood structural members, light-gauge metal, and metal clad wood.
Composite metal blades cut metal roof coverings, steel structural components, and are used for heavy forcible entry work.
Composite masonry (dry-cut) blades cut brick, concrete block, concrete, tile, and stucco.
In smaller buildings/occupancies with relatively low occupant capacity, exterior doors open inward (hinges on inside), while high occupancy load buildings open outward.
Double-acting doors are pivoted on top and bottom and swing both inward and outward.
Large public occupancies commonly have exterior exit doors with panic hardware on the inside and no exterior hardware except for hinges.
Outward-swinging exit doors have hinges on the outside.
Many office and small business doors swing inward.
A rotary saw with metal cutting blade is one of the best tools for forcing an inward swinging metal door set in a metal frame (blade plunged through rabbet/doorstop to cut lock bolt).
A "mule kick" (kicking back with rear facing the door) is the safest and most effective way to force open a door after cutting our a lock mechanism.
On double doors, a rotary saw can be plunged through the weather strip to cut the lock bolt.
Driving hinge pins out or pulling/cutting hinges may work to force outward-swinging doors.
Single-piece slab doors (i.e.-garage doors) pivot on spring-assisted hardware mounted to door frame on each side (some have simple latch locked with padlock to one side, others lock in middle near bottom).
Service doors are found where large unobstructed wall openings are needed (loading docks).
Some roll up doors are used as fire doors.
Many roll up doors do not have exterior latching mechanisms.
One of the most common types of industrial/institutional service doors which must be forced are steel roll up doors.
Steel roll up doors consist of dozens of interlocking steel slats (ends of slats fit in tracks, no rollers).
Sectional