Fire Investigator master for TCFP test
659 Study Questions and Answers
Latest 2023
Is NFPA 921 a guide or a standard? -
✔️It is the Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations
What are the six steps of the scientific method? -
✔️Recognize the need
Define the problem
Collect the data
Analyze the data
Develop a hypothesis
Test the hypothesis
What step of the scientific method is inductive reasoning? -
✔️Analyze the data
What step of the scientific method is deductive reasoning? -
✔️Test the hypothesis
What are the four parts of the fire tetrahedron? -
✔️Fuel (reducing agent)
Heat
Oxidizing agent
Uninhibited chemical chain reaction
What kind of reaction absorbs energy, an endothermic or an exothermic reaction? -
✔️Endothermic
What is heat transfer by direct contact called? -
✔️Conduction
What is heat transfer by gas flow / air movement called? -
✔️Convection
What is heat transfer by microwave energy called? -
✔️Radiation
What is a fuel controlled fire? -
✔️A fire that is limited by the amount of combustibles.
What is a ventilation controlled fire? -
✔️A fire that is limited by the amount of oxygen.
,What are the stages of fire growth? -
✔️Ignition
Growth
Flashover
Fully Developed
Decay
What is a flashover? -
✔️The transition phase from growth to fully developed, where all surfaces reach
ignition temperature almost simultaneously.
What is ignition of the underside of the hot gas layer called? -
✔️Flameover or rollover
What factors influence flashover conditions? -
✔️Size of the compartment
Height of ceiling
Ventilation
Amount of fuel
Layout of fuel
Location of fire in the compartment
What are fire patterns? -
✔️The physical manifestation of the affects of fire on materials.
What are the different types of fire patterns on the walls and ceiling? -
✔️Plume Generated patterns (often V shaped)
Ventilation generated patterns
Hot gas layer patterns (Line of demarcation)
What is spalling? -
✔️The separation of chunks of concrete with explosive force caused by the
expansion of water (moisture) trapped in the concrete as it turns to steam
What is char? -
✔️Pyrolized carbonaceous material
What is oxidation? -
✔️Physical change in appearance of a material resulting from the combination of
oxygen.
What is alloying? -
✔️Mixing two metals heated then cooled to change their properties. Often melts at a
lower temperature.
What is a clean burn? -
✔️When there was enough heat to burn away all carbon deposits (soot) on a surface
leaving a "clean" surface. Occurs on non-combustible surfaces.
What is soot? -
,✔️Elemental carbon produced during incomplete combustion.
What is calcination? -
✔️When chemically bound water is driven out of gypsum walls by the heat of the
fire.
Does a 25 Watt light bulb expand towards the fire or pull inward away from it? -
✔️Bulbs 25 watts or less pull away. Bulbs greater than 25 watts will expand towards
the fire.
What causes heat shadowing? -
✔️An object blocking the travel of radiated heat.
What is a dead load? -
✔️The weight of things attached to the building, like flooring, cloumns, and roof
coverings.
What is a live load? -
✔️A load that can move, like people, furniture, wind, water, and snow.
What is compartmentation? -
✔️Design features of a building that limit fire growth to the room of origin.
What are the five building construction types? -
✔️Type I - Fire resistant
Type II - Non combustible
Type III - Ordinary
Type IV - Heavy timber
Type V - Wood frame
What is ordinary construction? -
✔️Exterior walls are masonry and frame is wood.
What is wood frame construction? -
✔️Lightweight wood construction, used in apartments, houses.
What is platform frame construction? -
✔️Each floor is a seperate platform.
What is balloon frame construction? -
✔️The wall studs extend from the foundation to the roof.
What is Ohm's Law? -
✔️V=IR
(E = I x R)
What is voltage? -
✔️Pressure
What is current? -
, ✔️Flow
What is resistance? -
✔️Friction, opposition to the flow
What is an overload? -
✔️Power needs exceed the circuit's capacity.
Alternating Current VS Direct Current -
✔️Alternating current - the electrons flow out from the source and then back to it,
alternating directions.
Direct current - electrons flow one way.
Single Phase service -
✔️Residential. Three conductors: Two insulated conductors at 120 V each, and a
bare ground wire.
Three phase system -
✔️Commercial. Four conductors: Three insulated conductors (480, 240, or 208 V),
and a bare ground wire.
What is the difference between grounding and bonding? -
✔️Grounding connects the system to the earth (ground). Bonding connects to
systems together so the charge stays the same between them.
What is overcurrent protection? -
✔️A device that protects the system from excess current. Includes:
Circuit breakers
Plug fuses
Type S fuses
Time delay fuses
Cartridge fuses
What are the colors of residential wires? -
✔️Hot - black or red
Neutral - gray or white
Ground - bare or green
What are some methods of electrical heat production? -
✔️Resistance heating
Short circuit
Ground fault
Parting Arc
Excessive current
What is the difference between and arc and a spark? -
✔️Sparks are thrown metal particles
Arcs are brief discharges of electricity
What is arc tracking? -
659 Study Questions and Answers
Latest 2023
Is NFPA 921 a guide or a standard? -
✔️It is the Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations
What are the six steps of the scientific method? -
✔️Recognize the need
Define the problem
Collect the data
Analyze the data
Develop a hypothesis
Test the hypothesis
What step of the scientific method is inductive reasoning? -
✔️Analyze the data
What step of the scientific method is deductive reasoning? -
✔️Test the hypothesis
What are the four parts of the fire tetrahedron? -
✔️Fuel (reducing agent)
Heat
Oxidizing agent
Uninhibited chemical chain reaction
What kind of reaction absorbs energy, an endothermic or an exothermic reaction? -
✔️Endothermic
What is heat transfer by direct contact called? -
✔️Conduction
What is heat transfer by gas flow / air movement called? -
✔️Convection
What is heat transfer by microwave energy called? -
✔️Radiation
What is a fuel controlled fire? -
✔️A fire that is limited by the amount of combustibles.
What is a ventilation controlled fire? -
✔️A fire that is limited by the amount of oxygen.
,What are the stages of fire growth? -
✔️Ignition
Growth
Flashover
Fully Developed
Decay
What is a flashover? -
✔️The transition phase from growth to fully developed, where all surfaces reach
ignition temperature almost simultaneously.
What is ignition of the underside of the hot gas layer called? -
✔️Flameover or rollover
What factors influence flashover conditions? -
✔️Size of the compartment
Height of ceiling
Ventilation
Amount of fuel
Layout of fuel
Location of fire in the compartment
What are fire patterns? -
✔️The physical manifestation of the affects of fire on materials.
What are the different types of fire patterns on the walls and ceiling? -
✔️Plume Generated patterns (often V shaped)
Ventilation generated patterns
Hot gas layer patterns (Line of demarcation)
What is spalling? -
✔️The separation of chunks of concrete with explosive force caused by the
expansion of water (moisture) trapped in the concrete as it turns to steam
What is char? -
✔️Pyrolized carbonaceous material
What is oxidation? -
✔️Physical change in appearance of a material resulting from the combination of
oxygen.
What is alloying? -
✔️Mixing two metals heated then cooled to change their properties. Often melts at a
lower temperature.
What is a clean burn? -
✔️When there was enough heat to burn away all carbon deposits (soot) on a surface
leaving a "clean" surface. Occurs on non-combustible surfaces.
What is soot? -
,✔️Elemental carbon produced during incomplete combustion.
What is calcination? -
✔️When chemically bound water is driven out of gypsum walls by the heat of the
fire.
Does a 25 Watt light bulb expand towards the fire or pull inward away from it? -
✔️Bulbs 25 watts or less pull away. Bulbs greater than 25 watts will expand towards
the fire.
What causes heat shadowing? -
✔️An object blocking the travel of radiated heat.
What is a dead load? -
✔️The weight of things attached to the building, like flooring, cloumns, and roof
coverings.
What is a live load? -
✔️A load that can move, like people, furniture, wind, water, and snow.
What is compartmentation? -
✔️Design features of a building that limit fire growth to the room of origin.
What are the five building construction types? -
✔️Type I - Fire resistant
Type II - Non combustible
Type III - Ordinary
Type IV - Heavy timber
Type V - Wood frame
What is ordinary construction? -
✔️Exterior walls are masonry and frame is wood.
What is wood frame construction? -
✔️Lightweight wood construction, used in apartments, houses.
What is platform frame construction? -
✔️Each floor is a seperate platform.
What is balloon frame construction? -
✔️The wall studs extend from the foundation to the roof.
What is Ohm's Law? -
✔️V=IR
(E = I x R)
What is voltage? -
✔️Pressure
What is current? -
, ✔️Flow
What is resistance? -
✔️Friction, opposition to the flow
What is an overload? -
✔️Power needs exceed the circuit's capacity.
Alternating Current VS Direct Current -
✔️Alternating current - the electrons flow out from the source and then back to it,
alternating directions.
Direct current - electrons flow one way.
Single Phase service -
✔️Residential. Three conductors: Two insulated conductors at 120 V each, and a
bare ground wire.
Three phase system -
✔️Commercial. Four conductors: Three insulated conductors (480, 240, or 208 V),
and a bare ground wire.
What is the difference between grounding and bonding? -
✔️Grounding connects the system to the earth (ground). Bonding connects to
systems together so the charge stays the same between them.
What is overcurrent protection? -
✔️A device that protects the system from excess current. Includes:
Circuit breakers
Plug fuses
Type S fuses
Time delay fuses
Cartridge fuses
What are the colors of residential wires? -
✔️Hot - black or red
Neutral - gray or white
Ground - bare or green
What are some methods of electrical heat production? -
✔️Resistance heating
Short circuit
Ground fault
Parting Arc
Excessive current
What is the difference between and arc and a spark? -
✔️Sparks are thrown metal particles
Arcs are brief discharges of electricity
What is arc tracking? -
