Firefighter I & II, Hazmat Awareness and Operations Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from Firefighter I & II and Hazmat Awareness/Operations review materials.

Backdraft

The explosive burning of heated gases that occurs when oxygen is introduced into a compartment that has a high concentration of flammable gases and a depleted supply of oxygen due to an existing fire.

Specific Heat

Amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a specified unit mass of a material 1 degree in temperature.

Water Hammer

Force created by the rapid deceleration of water causing a violent increase in pressure that can be powerful enough to rupture piping or damage fixtures, generally resulting from closing a valve or nozzle too quickly.

Class A Fire Extinguisher

Extinguisher used for Ordinary Combustibles such as wood, paper, plastic, rubber, and cloth.

Class B Fire Extinguisher

Extinguisher used for Flammable Liquids, including hydrocarbon and alcohol-based liquids and gases that will support combustion.

Class C Fire Extinguisher

Extinguisher used for fires involving energized electrical equipment.

Class D Extinguisher

Extinguisher used for Combustible Metals such as Magnesium, Potassium, Titanium, and Zirconium.

Class K Extinguisher

Extinguisher used on unsaturated cooking oils in well-insulated cooking appliances.

Fire Triangle

Composed of Oxygen, Fuel, and Heat.

Fire Tetrahedron

Composed of Chemical Chain Reaction, Reducing Agent (Fuel), Oxidizing Agent, and Heat.

Awareness Level

Lowest level of training established by the National Fire Protection Association for personnel at hazardous materials incidents.

Operations Level

Level of training established by the National Fire Protection Association allowing first responders to take defensive actions at hazardous materials incidents.

Incident Commander

Person in charge of the Incident Command System and responsible for the management of all incident operations during an emergency.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Standard methods or rules in which an organization or fire department operates to carry out a routine function, usually found in a policies and procedures handbook.

Awareness Level Responsibilities

Transmit, Protect, and Isolate.

Acute

Has a rapid onset and a relatively short duration.

Chronic

Marked by a long duration, recurs over a period of time.

Routes of entry

Inhalation, Ingestion, Absorption, Injection.

TRACEM

Acronym for hazardous materials threats: Thermal hazards, Radiological hazards, Asphyxiation hazards, Chemical hazards, Etiological/biological hazards, Mechanical hazards.

Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH)

Volatile liquid or gas known to be a severe hazard to human health during transportation.

Polymerization

Chemical reactions in which two or more molecules chemically combine to form larger molecules; this reaction can be extremely violent.

Initial Isolation Distances

Solids: $75\text{ Feet}$, Liquids: $150\text{ Feet}$, Gas: $330\text{ Feet}$.

Liquefied Gas

Confined gas that at normal temperatures exists in both liquid and gaseous states.

Specific Gravity

Mass weight of a substance compared to the weight of an equal volume of water at a given temperature. Less than 1 = lighter than water, Greater than 1 = heavier than water.

Mercaptan

A sulfur-containing organic compound often added to natural gas as an odorant, as natural gas is odorless by itself.

Flash Point

Minimum temperature at which a liquid gives off enough vapors to form an ignitable mixture with air near the surface of the liquid.

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Colorless, odorless, dangerous gas formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon that combines with hemoglobin 200x faster than oxygen does.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Colorless, odorless, heavier than air gas that neither supports combustion nor burns, used in portable fire extinguishers for Class B or C fires by smothering or displacing oxygen.

Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN)

Colorless, odorless, and flammable liquid until it reaches $79^\text{o}\text{F}$, above which it becomes a gas with a smell similar to bitter almonds.

Bank-Down Application Method

Method of foam application where the foam stream is directed at a vertical surface or object next to a spill, deflects off the vertical surface, and flows down to form a foam blanket.

Rain-Down Application Method

Foam application method that directs the stream into the air above the ignited or unignited spill or fire, resulting in the foam floating gently down onto the surface of the fuel.

Roll-On Application Method (Bounce)

Foam application in which the foam stream is directed on the ground at the front edge of an unignited or ignited liquid fuel spill to spread across the surface.

Conduction

Transfer of heat through or between solids that are in direct contact.

Convection

Heat transfer by circulation within a medium such as a liquid or gas.

Radiation

Heat transfer by way of electromagnetic energy.

Stages of Fire Development

Incipient, Growth, Fully Developed, Decay.

PASS (Fire Extinguisher)

P-Pull the pin, A-Aim the nozzle at the base, S-Squeeze the handles together, S-Sweep the nozzle back and forth.

Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF)

Synthetic foam concentrate that when combined with water can form a complete vapor barrier over fuel spills and fires; highly effective on hydrocarbon fuels.

High Explosives Placard 1.1

Explosives that decompose almost instantly in a detonation and can include velocities faster than the speed of sound (e.g., C3, C4, Nitroglycerin, TNT, Blasting Caps, Dynamite, Ammonium Nitrate and fuel oil).

Detonation

Explosion with an energy front that travels faster than the speed of sound.

Deflagrate

To explode (burn quickly) at a rate of speed slower than sound.

Low explosives Placard 1.4

Materials that decompose rapidly but do not produce an explosive effect unless they are confined (e.g., Black Powder, Flash Powder, Smokeless Powder).

LUNAR Acronym

Acronym used when calling MAYDAY: L-Location, U-Unit, N-Name, A-Assignment and Air supply, R-Resources needed.

Breaching

The act of creating a hole in the wall or floor to gain access to a structure or portion of a structure.

Friction Loss

Loss of pressure created by the turbulence of water moving against the interior walls of fire hose, pipes, fittings, and adapters.

BLEVE

Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion; produces a violent explosion when liquid or liquefied gas at or above its boiling point experiences container failure.

Post Indicator Valve (PIV)

A type of valve used to control underground water mains that provides a visual means indicating "open" or "shut" position, located on the supply main of installed fire protection systems.

Outside Stem and Yoke Valve (OS&Y)

A control valve for a sprinkler system in which the position of the center screw indicates whether the valve is open or closed.

Spalling

Expansion of excess moisture within masonry materials due to exposure to the heat of a fire, causing sections to violently disintegrate and leave chipping or pitting on the surface.

Trailer

Combustible materials (newspapers, rags, flammable liquid, etc.) used to intentionally set fires with the goal of spreading fire from one place to another area.

Blitz Attack

Aggressive attack on a fire from outside with a large diameter 2\n\frac{1}{2}\text{ inch} or greater fire stream.

Becket Bend (Sheet Bend)

Knot used to join two ropes, especially useful for joining ropes of different diameters or to join a rope with a chain.

Higbee Cut

Special cut at the beginning of the thread on a hose coupling allowing positive identification of the first thread to prevent cross-threading.

Trench Ventilation

Defensive tactic involving cutting an opening from one outside wall to the other to try and prevent fire from spreading to the rest of the structure.

Firefighter Priorities

Life Safety, Incident Stabilization, Property Conservation.

Building Construction Type 1

Fire Resistive; provides the highest level of protection from fire development and collapse. Walls, floors, and ceilings must resist fire for 3 to 4 hours.

Protected Steel

Steel structural members that are covered with a fire-resistant spray-on fireproofing (insulating barrier), or UL approved system.

Building Construction Type II

Noncombustible or Limited Combustible; composed of materials that will not contribute to the development and spread of fire, with a fire-resistant rating of 1 to 2 hours.

Building Construction Type III

Ordinary Construction; exterior walls and structural members are constructed of noncombustible materials, while interior walls, floors, beams, and columns can be constructed of wood.

Building Construction Type IV

Mill Construction/Heavy Timber; uses large-dimensioned lumber (greater than 8 inches) fire resistant for 2 hours, with any other materials requiring a 1-hour rating.

Building Construction Type V

Wood or Stick Frame; exterior load-bearing walls are composed of wood.

Primary Search

Rapid, thorough search to locate victims performed before, or simultaneously with fire suppression operations.

Secondary Search

Slow and thorough search to locate any occupants missed during the primary search, performed when the fire is under control by personnel who did not do the primary search.

Freelancing

To operate independently of the Incident Commander's command and control.

Safety Glass (Laminated Glass)

Two sheets of glass laminated to a sheet of plastic; most commonly seen in rear windows and windshields.

Tempered Glass

Treated glass stronger than plate glass that crumbles into chunks when broken; usually located in vehicle side and rear windows.

Forward Lay

Hose deployment method starting at the water source and laid to the incident, allowing apparatus pumping to be close to the fire.

Reverse Lay

Hose deployment method where the pumper goes to the fire scene first before laying supply line to the water source.

Dutchman

Extra fold placed along the length of a section of hose as it is loaded, allowing the coupling to rest in proper position.

Structural Collapse Zone

Distance calculated as $1.5 \times \text{Height}$ of the structure.

Ricin

A biological toxin that is made from castor beans.

Fusible Link

Connecting link device that fuses or melts when exposed to heat, found in sprinklers, dampers, heat detectors, ventilators, and fire doors.

Master Stream

Large-caliber water stream usually supplied by combining two or more hoselines into a manifold device or by fixed piping that delivers 350 gpm or more.

Handline Nozzle

Any nozzle that can be safely handled by one to three firefighters and flows less than 350 gpm.

Span of Control

Principle that one person can only supervise 3 to 7 people, or 5 or less if in a Command or supervisory position in ICS.

Dead-end Hydrant

Hydrant receiving water from only one direction located at the end of a line, usually having significantly lower pressure.

Primary Feeders

Large mains (trunk lines) that carry a large amount of water to sections of towns/cities.

Secondary Feeders

Branch lines smaller than primary feeders that distribute water to a smaller area and are connected to primary feeders.

Distributors

Smallest mains that carry water to users and fire hydrants on individual streets.