Firefighter Certification cheat sheet

NFPA 1001 sets Fire Fighter I and II professional qualifications; NFPA 1500 addresses fire department occupational safety, health, and wellness programs.

Two-in/two-out: no interior entry into an IDLH atmosphere without at least two members inside and two outside standing by; the exception is a known life hazard requiring immediate action.

A MAYDAY transmission follows LUNAR: Location, Unit, Name, Air remaining, and Resources needed.

A PASS device alarms after roughly 30 seconds without movement or when manually activated; the SCBA low-air alarm sounds near 25 percent of cylinder capacity.

Stress, overexertion, and cardiac events account for the largest share of firefighter line-of-duty deaths, ahead of burns and structural collapse.

Rehabilitation is typically initiated after about 45 minutes of strenuous work or after two 30-minute SCBA cylinders.

A personnel accountability report (PAR) verifies the status of every assigned member and is taken at benchmarks, after a MAYDAY, and at strategy changes.

The 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives focus on culture change, accountability, fitness, and vehicle safety as the framework for reducing line-of-duty deaths.

Cumulative stress and critical incident stress are managed through peer support and employee assistance programs rather than through operational critique alone.

The fire tetrahedron is fuel, oxygen, heat, and the chemical chain reaction; removing any one element extinguishes combustion.

Fire develops through four stages: incipient, growth, fully developed, and decay.

Flashover is the transition to total surface involvement, with ceiling temperatures near 1,100 degrees F (about 600 degrees C); rollover is flames traveling within the smoke layer.

Backdraft indicators include dense pressurized smoke, smoke-stained or discolored windows, and air drawn inward when an opening is made in an oxygen-starved, high-heat compartment.

A flammable liquid has a flash point below 100 degrees F; a combustible liquid has a flash point at or above 100 degrees F.

Vapors with a vapor density greater than 1 sink and accumulate in low areas; liquids with a specific gravity less than 1 float on water.

Water expands roughly 1,700 times its volume when converted to steam at 212 degrees F, which is the basis for indirect fire attack.

Heat transfers by conduction (direct contact), convection (circulating fluids), and radiation (electromagnetic waves).

A BLEVE occurs when a pressurized container of liquid is heated until the liquid boils, the vapor space expands, and the tank fails catastrophically.

The five construction types are I fire-resistive, II noncombustible, III ordinary (masonry exterior with combustible interior), IV heavy timber, and V wood frame; Type V is the most common residential type.

Balloon-frame walls have continuous studs running from sill to roof, creating a concealed channel for fire to travel between floors.

Lightweight wood or steel truss and engineered I-joist assemblies can fail after only a few minutes of direct flame impingement.

Standpipe classes: Class I provides 2.5-inch connections for fire department use, Class II provides 1.5-inch occupant hose, and Class III provides both.

Sprinkler system types are wet (most common), dry, deluge, and pre-action; an ordinary-temperature sprinkler is rated around 155 degrees F.

Fire department connections supply sprinkler and standpipe systems; water flows from the pumper into the FDC, so the connection must be matched to the system it serves.

Ionization smoke alarms respond faster to flaming fires, while photoelectric alarms respond faster to smoldering fires.

Fire walls are rated, structurally independent assemblies that subdivide a building; fire partitions have a lower rating and do not create separate buildings.

Bowstring and other arched trusses are prone to sudden, total collapse under fire and create large, unsupported spans.

NFPA 1971 covers the structural firefighting protective ensemble, including turnout coats and pants, helmets, gloves, hoods, and boots.

NFPA 1981 covers open-circuit SCBA; NFPA 1982 covers PASS devices.

SCBA cylinders are requalified by hydrostatic testing every five years.

The low-air alarm activates near 25 percent of cylinder capacity and signals that the wearer must exit the hazard area immediately.

The facepiece must seal against clean-shaven skin; facial hair at the sealing surface prevents a reliable seal.

Pre-entry SCBA checks include cylinder pressure, bypass operation, PASS activation, facepiece seal, and airflow.

Protective gear is inspected after each use and removed from service if contaminated, torn, or heat damaged; melted or charred areas indicate thermal compromise.

Gross field decontamination is performed before doffing and dismounting to reduce secondary exposure to responders and apparatus.

A full structural ensemble commonly weighs more than 45 pounds, increasing air consumption and heat stress.

Vehicle extrication sequence: stabilize the vehicle, then remove glass, then doors, then roof, then complete patient removal.

Cribbing, wheel chocks, and struts prevent vehicle movement; the 12-volt battery is disconnected to reduce supplemental restraint hazards.

After battery disconnect, responders wait several minutes for backup capacitors to discharge before cutting near undeployed airbags.

Trench rescue requires spoil piles at least 2 feet back from the edge, protective systems such as sloping or shoring, and atmospheric monitoring before entry.

Permit-required confined spaces contain hazards such as IDLH atmosphere, engulfment, or entrapment; ventilation and monitoring precede entry.

Water rescue follows reach, throw, row, then go, with in-water contact reserved for trained swift-water rescuers wearing personal flotation.

The Nader pin is the door latch striker; cutting or removing it frees a jammed door from a wrecked vehicle.

Structural collapse operations rely on void space identification, shoring and cribbing, and the FEMA building marking system for tracking search results.

Inward-swinging doors are typical of residential occupancies; outward-swinging doors are typical of commercial occupancies, and the hinge and latch sides dictate the technique.

Common tools include the Halligan bar paired with a flat-head axe, the rabbit tool for inward doors, the K-tool for lock cylinders, and the shove knife for spring latches.

Through-the-lock entry removes the lock cylinder and uses a key tool to operate the internal mechanism from the outside.

Positive pressure ventilation places the fan at the inlet blowing inward, with the exhaust opening sized at roughly 1.5 to 3 times the inlet area.

Ventilation must be coordinated with a charged and ready hoseline; premature opening can draw fire into uninvolved spaces and create a smoke explosion risk.

A trench cut is used on large-area roofs to stop horizontal fire spread by creating a wide defensive strip ahead of the fire.

Before walking a roof, members sound the surface and identify lightweight construction, skylights, and scuttle openings.

Vertical ventilation releases hot smoke and gases upward, improving interior visibility, temperature, and tenability for trapped occupants and crews.

Ladder types include single or wall, extension, roof, attic, combination, and folding (pompier) ladders.

Ground ladders are placed at about 75 degrees from horizontal, with the base one-quarter of the working length away from the building.

Extension ladders extend three to five rungs above a roofline, or about two rungs above a window sill used for entry.

Ladders are heeled, tied off, and climbed with three points of contact; a leg lock or ladder belt is used when working from the ladder.

The primary search is rapid and systematic, covering the most threatened and most likely occupied areas; the secondary search occurs after fire control.

Vent-enter-search (VES) enters through a window and closes the door to the room to protect the search from fire spread.

Victim drags include the incline drag, blanket drag, and webbing drag; a four-person carry is used for stairs.

Ground ladders are rated for a duty load under NFPA 1931, and the rating is never exceeded.

Attack lines are commonly 1.5-inch or 1.75-inch hose flowing 150 to 200 gpm; 2.5-inch lines are used for higher flows and supply.

Friction loss equals the hose coefficient times the flow in hundreds of gpm squared times the length in hundreds of feet (FL = C x Q squared x L).

Standard handline nozzle pressure is 100 psi; master stream appliances operate at 80 to 100 psi.

A solid stream provides greater reach and penetration, while a fog stream provides heat absorption and shielding but can push fire if misapplied.

Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon, and one gallon occupies 231 cubic inches.

Dry-barrel hydrants hold the main valve below the frost line and drain after use; wet-barrel hydrants remain pressurized and are used in mild climates.

A forward lay runs hose from the water source to the fire; a reverse lay runs from the fire to the water source.

Drafting is practical only about 20 to 25 feet above the water surface because atmospheric pressure cannot lift water higher at sea level.

Relay pumping uses multiple engines in series to move water long distances when the supply source is remote from the fire.

Fire attack methods are direct (stream applied at the burning material), indirect (fog directed into the heated space), and combination.

Overhaul begins after fire control and involves opening concealed spaces and wetting hot spots to find hidden fire and prevent rekindle.

Salvage operations cover contents, channel runoff, and dewater to reduce property loss from water and smoke.

Fire causes are classified as accidental, natural, incendiary, or undetermined; undetermined applies when evidence is insufficient for a definite cause.

V-pattern charring points upward from the origin, with the apex of the V indicating the lowest point of the burning region.

The area of origin is the room or area where the fire began; the point of origin is the specific location within that area.

Evidence is preserved and documented through chain of custody; overhaul should avoid destroying the origin area before examination.

Fire cause determination is a fire department responsibility, and the first-arriving officer's observations provide the earliest scene documentation.

Awareness-level responders recognize the presence of hazardous materials, isolate and deny entry, notify trained personnel, and avoid all contact.

The Emergency Response Guidebook uses yellow pages for chemical name lookup, blue pages for ID number lookup, orange pages for response guides, and green pages for isolation and evacuation distances.

For an unknown release, establish initial isolation of at least 150 feet in all directions and approach from upwind, uphill, and upstream.

DOT hazard classes 1 through 9 cover explosives, gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidizers, toxics, radioactive materials, corrosives, and miscellaneous.

Protective equipment levels are A (fully encapsulating with SCBA), B (splash protection with SCBA), C (air-purifying respirator), and D (no respiratory protection).

Decontamination proceeds from gross on-scene removal of contaminants to secondary and technical decon, with runoff contained.

Defensive product control includes diking, damming, diverting, and absorbing to keep material out of storm drains and waterways.

The flammable range lies between the lower and upper explosive limits; oxygen deficiency is defined as below 19.5 percent oxygen.

ICS principles include unity of command, a single incident commander, and a span of control of roughly three to seven subordinates, with five considered optimal.

Divisions organize the incident by geographic area; groups organize by function such as ventilation, salvage, or medical.

Written documentation includes the incident action plan and the ICS 201 briefing form; transfer of command includes a face-to-face briefing when possible.

Radio traffic uses plain language and clear text; a MAYDAY has priority over all other transmissions on the fireground.

Risk management doctrine: risk a lot to save a lot, risk little to save little, and risk nothing to save nothing.

Fire prevention activities include code enforcement, inspection, and plan review, guided by documents such as NFPA 1 and NFPA 101.

Public education messages include working smoke alarms, home escape planning (EDITH), stop-drop-and-roll, and crawling low under smoke.

Accountability is maintained through entry control and periodic personnel accountability reports at benchmarks and strategy changes.

A standard arrival report states on-scene status, building description, conditions, actions being taken, and resource needs.