F89 Fire Protection Systems 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under NFPA 72, how often must an audible notification appliance (horn/strobe) be tested in a high-rise building?
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Annually (Correct answer)
- Every 5 years
Correct answer: Annually
NFPA 72 requires annual testing of notification appliances to verify proper operation.
Question 2: A Class I standpipe system is designed to be used by:
- Building occupants without fire training
- Trained fire department personnel only (Correct answer)
- Both trained personnel and building occupants
- Automatic sprinkler systems only
Correct answer: Trained fire department personnel only
Class I standpipes provide 2.5-inch hose connections for trained fire department use only.
Question 3: What is the purpose of a fire department connection (FDC) on a sprinkler or standpipe system?
- To allow the fire department to drain the system after a fire
- To supplement water supply to the system from fire apparatus (Correct answer)
- To provide a test connection for annual inspections
- To connect the system to the municipal alarm network
Correct answer: To supplement water supply to the system from fire apparatus
The FDC allows fire department pumpers to boost or supplement water pressure and flow to the building's fire protection system.
Question 4: In a high-rise building, a smoke control system using pressurization is intended to:
- Remove smoke from the entire building simultaneously
- Keep stairwells and elevator shafts free of smoke (Correct answer)
- Exhaust smoke directly to the exterior at each floor
- Dilute smoke throughout the building to reduce toxicity
Correct answer: Keep stairwells and elevator shafts free of smoke
Stairwell and elevator pressurization maintains positive pressure to prevent smoke infiltration, protecting egress paths.
Question 5: Which sprinkler head type responds fastest in a fire scenario?
- Standard response (SR) head
- Extended coverage (EC) head
- Quick response (QR) head (Correct answer)
- Early suppression fast response (ESFR) head
Correct answer: Quick response (QR) head
Quick response heads have a Response Time Index (RTI) of 50 m½·s½ or less, activating faster than standard heads.
Question 6: A deluge sprinkler system differs from a pre-action system because:
- Deluge uses closed sprinkler heads while pre-action uses open heads
- Deluge uses open sprinkler heads and discharges water from all heads simultaneously upon detection (Correct answer)
- Deluge requires two detection events while pre-action requires one
- Deluge systems are only used in residential occupancies
Correct answer: Deluge uses open sprinkler heads and discharges water from all heads simultaneously upon detection
Deluge systems have open (unplugged) heads and flood the entire protected area when the deluge valve opens upon detector activation.
Question 7: When a fire alarm panel displays a 'trouble' condition, the FLS Director should first:
- Immediately evacuate the building
- Silence the trouble buzzer and document the condition for the next inspection
- Investigate the cause, notify the alarm monitoring company, and arrange for prompt repair (Correct answer)
- Reset the panel and wait to see if the trouble recurs
Correct answer: Investigate the cause, notify the alarm monitoring company, and arrange for prompt repair
A trouble condition indicates a system fault requiring investigation, notification to monitoring, and timely repair to maintain system integrity.
F89 Fire Protection Systems 5
Under NFPA 72, how often must an audible notification appliance (horn/strobe) be tested in a high-rise building?