CSS Emergency Preparedness and Response 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which fire class designation applies to fires involving energized electrical equipment?
- Class A
- Class B
- Class C (Correct answer)
- Class D
Correct answer: Class C
Class C fires involve energized electrical equipment; once de-energized, the fire may be reclassified as Class A or B.
Question 2: OSHA's HAZWOPER standard (29 CFR 1910.120) requires that employees who respond to hazardous substance emergencies at the operations level receive at least how many hours of initial training?
- 8 hours
- 24 hours (Correct answer)
- 40 hours
- 80 hours
Correct answer: 24 hours
Operations-level responders must receive at least 8 hours of initial training, while technician-level responders require 24 hours.
Question 3: Which emergency shelter-in-place action is most appropriate during an outdoor toxic gas release?
- Open windows to dilute the gas concentration
- Move to an interior room and seal gaps with tape and plastic (Correct answer)
- Evacuate immediately via the shortest outdoor route
- Gather in the parking lot away from buildings
Correct answer: Move to an interior room and seal gaps with tape and plastic
Sealing an interior room minimizes infiltration of toxic gas, buying time until the release is controlled or evacuation is ordered.
Question 4: The Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) orange-bordered pages provide responders with:
- Phone numbers for chemical manufacturers
- Isolation distances and protective actions for dangerous goods (Correct answer)
- Hospital decontamination procedures
- Fire extinguisher selection guides
Correct answer: Isolation distances and protective actions for dangerous goods
The ERG orange pages contain initial isolation and protective action distances for dangerous goods during the first 30 minutes of an incident.
Question 5: Which element of the Incident Command System is activated when an incident requires multiple jurisdictions or agencies to coordinate under a single structure?
- Operations Section
- Unified Command (Correct answer)
- Logistics Section
- Finance/Administration Section
Correct answer: Unified Command
Unified Command allows multiple agencies with different legal authorities to manage an incident cooperatively without losing agency authority.
Question 6: A Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) is primarily designed to ensure that:
- Employees receive hazard communication training annually
- Essential government or organizational functions continue during disruptions (Correct answer)
- All chemical inventories are reported to local authorities
- Fire suppression systems are tested quarterly
Correct answer: Essential government or organizational functions continue during disruptions
A COOP ensures that mission-essential functions can continue with minimal interruption during emergencies or disasters.
Question 7: During a mass casualty incident, the START triage system classifies a patient as 'Immediate' (Red) when they have:
- No respirations after head-tilt/chin-lift
- Respirations over 30/min, or absent radial pulse, or altered mental status (Correct answer)
- Minor injuries able to walk without assistance
- Respirations under 30/min with normal radial pulse and follows commands
Correct answer: Respirations over 30/min, or absent radial pulse, or altered mental status
START red (immediate) patients have respiratory rate >30, absent radial pulse, or cannot follow simple commands, indicating life-threatening but survivable injuries.
CSS Emergency Preparedness and Response 3
Which fire class designation applies to fires involving energized electrical equipment?