CPS Situational Judgment and Teamwork 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During an interior attack, your officer orders an immediate evacuation, but you believe you are close to locating a victim. What should you do?
- Continue searching since a life may be at stake
- Evacuate immediately and report your concern outside (Correct answer)
- Radio that you are ignoring the order to keep searching
- Ask another crew to take over while you stay
Correct answer: Evacuate immediately and report your concern outside
Evacuation orders are based on conditions you may not fully see, so you obey immediately and communicate afterward.
Question 2: A new probationary firefighter on your crew keeps mislabeling hose couplings during drills. The best response is to:
- Report the probie to the chief for discipline
- Quietly correct and coach the probie yourself (Correct answer)
- Ignore it since drills are not real calls
- Reassign the probie away from hose duties permanently
Correct answer: Quietly correct and coach the probie yourself
Mentoring and coaching a new member builds competence and strengthens the team.
Question 3: At a multi-vehicle accident, bystanders are crowding the scene and interfering with treatment. You should first:
- Begin patient care and let police handle the crowd
- Calmly direct bystanders to a safe distance and assign tasks if useful (Correct answer)
- Threaten the crowd with arrest
- Wait until the crowd disperses on its own
Correct answer: Calmly direct bystanders to a safe distance and assign tasks if useful
Establishing scene control protects patients and responders while keeping operations safe.
Question 4: You notice a fellow firefighter's SCBA low-air alarm sounding but they have not reacted. The best immediate action is to:
- Wait to see if they notice the alarm
- Alert them at once and help them exit to fresh air (Correct answer)
- Finish your own task first, then check on them
- Assume their gear is malfunctioning
Correct answer: Alert them at once and help them exit to fresh air
A low-air alarm is life-critical, so you alert your teammate and assist their exit immediately.
Question 5: Your company is assigned ventilation while another company handles attack. The attack crew falls behind schedule. You should:
- Switch to fire attack to speed things up
- Stay on your assignment and coordinate timing through command (Correct answer)
- Ventilate immediately regardless of the attack crew's status
- Abandon your post to help drag hose
Correct answer: Stay on your assignment and coordinate timing through command
Coordinated fireground operations require sticking to your assignment and timing actions through command.
Question 6: A senior firefighter makes a sexist joke that makes a colleague visibly uncomfortable. The most appropriate response is to:
- Laugh along to avoid conflict
- Privately tell the senior member it was inappropriate and support the colleague (Correct answer)
- Post about it on social media
- Do nothing because of their seniority
Correct answer: Privately tell the senior member it was inappropriate and support the colleague
Addressing inappropriate behavior respectfully maintains a professional and inclusive workplace.
Question 7: While checking equipment at shift change, you find a tool the previous crew logged as serviceable is actually damaged. You should:
- Use it anyway since it was logged as good
- Tag it out of service and report it through proper channels (Correct answer)
- Leave it for the next crew to discover
- Quietly fix it yourself without telling anyone
Correct answer: Tag it out of service and report it through proper channels
Damaged equipment must be tagged out and reported so it can be repaired and accurately tracked.
CPS Situational Judgment and Teamwork 2
During an interior attack, your officer orders an immediate evacuation, but you believe you are close to locating a victim.
What should you do?