2025 official notes

Incident Command System (ICS)

The system that will always be used at incident scenes.

Four tactical objectives of command

Remove endangered occupants; stabilize the incident/provide life safety; conserve property; provide safe accountability and welfare of personnel.

Ongoing aspect of an incident

Safe accountability and welfare of personnel.

Primary functions of command

Assume/announce command, size up, control communications, establish strategy/incident plan, organize command, revise the plan, and provide for transfer/termination of command.

Command radio designation

Identified as "Command" followed by the geographical location of the incident.

Initial command initiation

The first arriving fire rescue member/unit initiates command upon arrival.

First-arriving radio report contents

Unit designation, situation description, obvious conditions, strategy, safety considerations, and assumption/identification of command.

Three levels of command

Strategic, tactical, and task.

Strategic level operator

Incident Command.

Tactical level operator

Division/group officers.

Task level operator

Company officers.

Coordination level operator

Branch officers.

Three resource deployment types

Single resources, task forces, and strike forces.

Task force definition

Any combination of single resources temporarily assembled to perform group functions.

Strike force definition

A set number of resources of the same kind and type.

FLOP meaning

Finance, Logistics, Operations, Planning.

Section providing facilities, services, and materials

Logistics.

Section handling tactical priorities and personnel safety/welfare

Operations.

Section responsible for information analysis for decision-making

Planning.

Maximum recommended span of control

No more than 5 divisions/groups in fast-moving complex operations.

Engine company functions

Search, rescue, treatment, stretch hose, operate nozzle, and loss control.

Functions not performed by engine company

Ventilation or forcible entry.

Ladder company functions

Search, rescue, treatment, ventilation, forcible entry, raising ladders, access, and checking fire extension.

Rescue company functions

Search, rescue, treatment, RIT, and general firefighter duties as assigned.

Ladder functions when no ladder company is available

Performed by an engine crew assigned by command.

Proper-code automatic fire alarm response

1 engine.

First-alarm structure-fire assignment

3 engines, 1 ladder, 1 rescue, 1 BC.

Response for alarm with smoke, smell of smoke, water flow, or electrical involvement

First-alarm structure-fire response.

Response assigned to a pull-station fire alarm

First-alarm structure-fire response.

Level 1 staging definition

Automatically used for incidents involving a first-alarm assignment; uncommitted units stage approximately one block away in their direction of travel.

Level 2 staging usage

When command wants a reserve of resources or centralized resources on scene.

Level 2 staging automatic implementation

Greater alarms and incidents requiring large amounts of manpower/equipment.

Determiner of Level 2 staging location

The Staging Officer.

Second alarm assignment

An additional 2 engines.

Third alarm assignment

An additional 2 engines and 1 BC.

Automatic alarm for a large commercial working fire

Second alarm.

Automatic alarm for a working high-rise fire

Third alarm.

"Nothing Showing" indication

Investigating.

Three major apparent-condition reports

Nothing showing, smoke showing, and fire showing, with working fire/fully involved also used.

Characteristics included in size-up

Occupancy, size, and height.

Assumed building height unless reported otherwise

One story.

"Working fire" indication

Commitment of all responding companies and an incident expected to extend beyond 30 minutes.

Fireground progress benchmarks

Water flowing, fire under control, primary search complete, secondary search complete, salvage/overhaul, fire out, utilities secured, investigator needed, and Red Cross needed/not needed.

"Fire under control" meaning

Forward progress has stopped and remaining fire can be handled with resources on scene; it does not mean the fire is completely out.

Basic tactical priorities

Rescue/primary search, fire control, and loss control.

Seven sides of a division considered by command

Front, rear, right, left, top, bottom, and interior.

First priority in defensive operations

Personal safety.

Second defensive priority

Protect exposures.

Third defensive priority

Knock down the main body of fire.

Evaluation of conditions for defensive operations

Should occur after 10–15 minutes of interior operations with heavy fire.

Minimum crew size inside the hot zone

2 personnel.

Action with serious fatigue in crew members

The entire crew should be reassigned to Rehab.

Recommended work period before mandatory Rehab

Two air bottles or approximately 45 minutes.

Three passport colors

Primary = white; backup = green; reserve = red.

Location of the primary passport

On the company officer’s radio.

Location of the backup passport

In the engine.

Location of the reserve passport

In the command vehicle.

When a PAR is required

Missing/trapped firefighter, offensive-to-defensive transition, sudden hazardous event, primary-search all-clear, every 30 minutes, fire under control, or when command/safety determines it necessary.

Initial accountability officer

The first engineer on scene, until relieved.

Accountability officers' operational location

Outside the hot zone at the point of entry.

Signs of potential structural collapse

Cracks, bulges, movement sounds, smoke/water leakage, floor/roof movement, leaning/twisting columns or walls, sagging roof lines, and prolonged fire involvement.

Expansion of 100 feet of unprotected steel at 1,000°F

Approximately 9 inches.

Most likely failing part of a fire-involved building

The roof.

Evacuation signal

Three 5-second horn blasts.

High-rise definition under the study guide

A building higher than two stories or one that cannot be accessed with a 24-foot ground ladder.

Location of the high-rise resource area

Two floors below the fire floor or another safe location below the fire.

Lobby control establishment

The first arriving engineer establishes lobby control.

Lobby control management aspects

Elevators, stairwells, building communications, ground-level system controls, and equipment movement.

Maximum crews in an elevator at one time

No more than 2.

Initial elevator destination

Two floors below the suspected fire floor.

Usage restriction for elevators

Should not be used without fire override control or when smoke/fire is visible in the shaft.

Recommended high-rise perimeter for falling glass/debris

Approximately 200 feet.

Major functions of an engineer/driver

Maintaining, driving, pumping, and testing fire apparatus.

Main purpose of a fire pumper

Provide adequate water pressure for effective fire streams.

Minimum pump capacity for standard fire apparatus

750 GPM.

Minimum water tank capacity

300 gallons.

Minimum capacity for a mobile water supply apparatus

1,000 gallons.

Two basic mobile water-supply functions

Shuttle operations and nurse-tender operations.

Function of an inverter

Converts 12/24V DC to 110–220V AC.

Maximum capability for a vehicle-mounted generator

Up to 12,000 watts.

Operational readiness test definition

Inspection ensuring apparatus/equipment are present, clean, and ready for service.

Functional check definition

Operating a specific apparatus system/component to ensure it functions properly.

Frequency of apparatus brake testing

At least annually.

Air-pressure protection valve operation

Prevents nonessential devices from operating below 80 psi.

Brake fade definition

Loss of braking function from excessive brake use.

Common location for emergency apparatus collisions

Intersections.

Action before passing through an intersection with a red light

Come to a complete stop.

Distance between multiple responding apparatus

300–500 feet.

Total stopping distance definition

Reaction distance + braking distance.

Visual lead time definition

Time needed to stop or perform an evasive maneuver at the current speed.

Recommended collapse zone for apparatus positioning

1½ times the building height.

Safest apparatus position if collapse occurs

The corner of the building.

Positioning for hazardous-liquid incidents

Uphill.

Positioning for wildland fires

Downhill.

Reason to position apparatus upwind

To reduce the possibility of the apparatus becoming an exposure.

Standard nozzle pressure for a smooth-bore handline

50 psi.

Standard nozzle pressure for fog nozzles

100 psi.

Standard pressure for a smooth-bore master stream

80 psi.

Friction loss for a master-stream device

25 psi.

Key Engineer quick-reference numbers for 1¾-inch handlines

100 ft of Green FDNY = 20 psi; Red Sniper = 30 psi; Yellow/White BIG10 = 30 psi.