FREE NFSI Firefighting Knowledge Questions and Answers

Question 1

To mix a proper water foam solution, the ratio of water to foam concentrate should be 40:1.

How much foam concentrate is required to mix 1,640 gallons of water foam solution?

Accepted Answer

40 gallons

Answer

Explanation:
The ratio of 40:1 means that for every 40 gallons of water, there should be 1 gallon of foam concentrate, meaning that there are a total of 41 parts: 40 parts water and 1 part foam concentrate. So we have to divide 1,640 by 41 to find how much 1 part is:

1,640 / 41 = 40 gallons of foam concentrate

Question 2

1) Use a sweeping motion and aim at the base of the fire.
2) Make sure you have installed fire alarms and that you check the battery at least once a month.
3) Be sure to watch the area for a while to ensure it doesn't reignite.
4) Always stand with an exit at your back.
5) Inspect extinguishers once a month for dents, leaks, or other signs of damage.
6) Stand several feet away from the fire, moving closer once the fire starts to diminish.
7) If possible, use a "buddy system" to have someone back you up or call for help if something goes wrong.
8) Make sure you know how to use your fire extinguisher.

Which of the items on the list above would be considered part of preparing for a fire, rather than fighting it?"

Accepted Answer

2, 5, 8

Answer

Explanation:
These are the methods to prepare for a fire:
- Inspect extinguishers once a month for dents, leaks, or other signs of damage.
- Make sure you know how to use your fire extinguisher.
- Make sure you have installed fire alarms and that you check the battery at least once a month.

Question 3

A significant component of any safe operation is that of a solid tactical briefing. A five-step briefing process can be used. Remember, it is just the critical information you are conveying. If practiced and used in all incidents and training, officers and firefighters should be able to touch on the five highlights in as little as 30 seconds. If more time is available, it can be used to facilitate a more thorough briefing.

1) Assignment — Make sure that everyone knows their role.
2) Current situation — Helps to update everyone's situational awareness.
3) Questions/concerns — To and from the crew, if the company officer is the only one talking, other crew members may be experiencing barriers to situational awareness.
4) How to support the assignment — This will include safety support, logistical support, and of course what you need to accomplish the task/tactic.
5) How to make the assignment safe — Will expand on the hazards present and end with how to mitigate them.

What is the most logical order of the briefing?

Accepted Answer

2, 1, 5, 4, 3

Answer

Explanation:
This is the correct order of the briefing:
1. Current situation — Helps to update everyone's situational awareness.
2. Assignment - Make sure that it is known to everyone. Hazard identification is here.
3. How to make the assignment safe — Will expand on the hazards present and end with how to mitigate them.
4. How to support the assignment — This will include safety support, logistical support, and of course what you need to accomplish the task/tactic.
5. Questions/concerns - To and from the crew, if the company officer is the only one talking, other crew members may be experiencing barriers to situational awareness.

Question 4

A house is burned down to the ground. When firefighters arrived, it was clear that the house could not be saved and the team focused on controlling the fire and isolating it to that one house.
The owners of the house afterward explained that they were visiting their neighbors and that they suddenly saw the fire through the window.
The woman explains that she is afraid that she might have left her curling iron on when she left the house.
It is soon established that the fire started in the bathroom and that it seems the curling iron is where the fire began, and that the reason for the fire was that the curling iron was left on a bath towel.
Another member of the team talks to other neighbors and he discovers that the house owner has economic troubles.
The technical team wonders how a curling iron in a bathroom of non-flammable material can start a fire as quickly as in this case. The team then finds traces of some kind of gasoline in the bathroom.

What is the most likely cause of the fire?

Accepted Answer

The couple started the fire themselves and used the curling iron as a cover-up.

Answer

Explanation:
The curling iron is the ignition point of the fire. But even though the hot curling iron could have started a fire, the fire would most likely have been isolated to the bathroom, since both things were located on a bathroom floor made of materials that can't easily catch fire. Also, there are traces of gasoline - someone has clearly tried to help the fire on its way, and the couple themselves have likely done this, due to their money problems, as an act of insurance fraud.

Question 5

All Fire Department vehicles shall be regularly inspected and tested and preventive maintenance shall be conducted to ensure that vehicles are in proper operating condition.
A vehicle shall be considered unsafe and placed out of service if deficiencies are detected in one or more of the following areas: Brake system, cab and/or body mounting, steering, door latches, suspension, seatbelts, wheels or tires, windshield, windshield wipers, windshield defroster, throttle, transmission or driveline.
Other deficiencies may or may not require a vehicle to be placed out of service. Any safety-related deficiency, that does not require the vehicle to be taken out of service, shall be repaired as quickly as possible.

Driving back to the fire department after an incident you notice the first gear of the gearbox doesn't work. However, you are still able to drive the car from the second gear. When you arrive back at the fire department, how will you mark the vehicle?

Accepted Answer

Not in service until repaired.

Answer

Explanation:
A significant problem with the gearbox (transmission) is considered unsafe, therefore the vehicle should be marked as out of service until repaired.

NFSI - National Firefighter Selection Inventory Practice Test

NFSI - National Firefighter Selection Inventory Practice Test

FREE NFSI Firefighting Knowledge Questions and Answers