Survival, Firefighting and Evacuation Drills
Firefighting
Know the fire triangle, the classes of fire, and the correct extinguishing agent. Use the PASS technique: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. Understand that Halon is for electrical and flammable liquid fires, water for ordinary combustibles, and that you must never use water on electrical fires.
Survival and evacuation
Know the survival priorities: protection, location, water, and shelter. Understand the evacuation commands, the use of the slide, and the post-evacuation assembly and headcount.
Traps in questions
- Using water on an electrical fire.
- Forgetting to don PBE before fighting a smoke fire.
- Assuming the slide can be used in all conditions; check the outside first.
- Not accounting for all passengers after evacuation.
Rule of thumb
Fight the fire only if it is small and you have a clear escape route; otherwise evacuate. Never let the fire get between you and the exit.
Worked example
A question asks the first action on discovering a small galley fire. The answer is to raise the alarm, don PBE if smoke is present, and attack the fire with the correct extinguisher while keeping an escape route.