TCFP FIRE INVESTIGATOR TEST /FIRE INVESTIGATOR -
MASTER FOR TCFP EXAM ACTUAL EXAM 350
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
(VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED A
Is NFPA 921 a guide or a standard? - ANSWER: It is the Guide for Fire and Explosion
Investigations
What are the six steps of the scientific method? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Analyze the
data
What step of the scientific method is deductive reasoning? - ANSWER: Test the
hypothesis
What are the four parts of the fire tetrahedron? - ANSWER: Fuel (reducing agent)
Heat
Oxidizing agent
Uninhibited chemical chain reaction
What kind of reaction absorbs energy, an endothermic or an exothermic reaction? -
ANSWER: Endothermic
What is heat transfer by direct contact called? - ANSWER: Conduction
What is heat transfer by gas flow / air movement called? - ANSWER: Convection
What is heat transfer by microwave energy called? - ANSWER: Radiation
What is a fuel controlled fire? - ANSWER: A fire that is limited by the amount of
combustibles.
What is a ventilation controlled fire? - ANSWER: A fire that is limited by the amount
of oxygen.
What are the stages of fire growth? - ANSWER: Ignition
Growth
Flashover
Fully Developed
,Decay
What is a flashover? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Flameover
or rollover
What factors influence flashover conditions? - ANSWER: Size of the compartment
Height of ceiling
Ventilation
Amount of fuel
Layout of fuel
Location of fire in the compartment
What are fire patterns? - ANSWER: The physical manifestation of the affects of fire
on materials.
What are the different types of fire patterns on the walls and ceiling? - ANSWER:
Plume Generated patterns (often V shaped)
Ventilation generated patterns
Hot gas layer patterns (Line of demarcation)
What is spalling? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Pyrolized carbonaceous material
What is oxidation? - ANSWER: Physical change in appearance of a material resulting
from the combination of oxygen.
What is alloying? - ANSWER: Mixing two metals heated then cooled to change their
properties. Often melts at a lower temperature.
What is a clean burn? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Elemental carbon produced during incomplete combustion.
What is calcination? - ANSWER: 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? -
ANSWER: Bulbs 25 watts or less pull away. Bulbs greater than 25 watts will expand
towards the fire.
,What causes heat shadowing? - ANSWER: An object blocking the travel of radiated
heat.
What is a dead load? - ANSWER: The weight of things attached to the building, like
flooring, cloumns, and roof coverings.
What is a live load? - ANSWER: A load that can move, like people, furniture, wind,
water, and snow.
What is compartmentation? - ANSWER: Design features of a building that limit fire
growth to the room of origin.
What are the five building construction types? - ANSWER: Type I - Fire resistant
Type II - Non combustible
Type III - Ordinary
Type IV - Heavy timber
Type V - Wood frame
What is ordinary construction? - ANSWER: Exterior walls are masonry and frame is
wood.
What is wood frame construction? - ANSWER: Lightweight wood construction, used
in apartments, houses.
What is platform frame construction? - ANSWER: Each floor is a seperate platform.
What is balloon frame construction? - ANSWER: The wall studs extend from the
foundation to the roof.
What is Ohm's Law? - ANSWER: V=IR
(E = I x R)
What is voltage? - ANSWER: Pressure
What is current? - ANSWER: Flow
What is resistance? - ANSWER: Friction, opposition to the flow
What is an overload? - ANSWER: Power needs exceed the circuit's capacity.
Alternating Current VS Direct Current - ANSWER: 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 - ANSWER: Residential. Three conductors: Two insulated
conductors at 120 V each, and a bare ground wire.
, Three phase system - ANSWER: Commercial. Four conductors: Three insulated
conductors (480, 240, or 208 V), and a bare ground wire.
What is the difference between grounding and bonding? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Hot - black or red
Neutral - gray or white
Ground - bare or green
What are some methods of electrical heat production? - ANSWER: Resistance
heating
Short circuit
Ground fault
Parting Arc
Excessive current
What is the difference between and arc and a spark? - ANSWER: Sparks are thrown
metal particles
Arcs are brief discharges of electricity
What is arc tracking? - ANSWER: Arc following salts, dusts, or liquids along a path.
What is arc mapping? - ANSWER: Mapping out of electrical damage in a circuit.
What is static electricity? - ANSWER: A stationary charge caused by movement of
one object against another. Lighting is a static disharge.
What are the five conditions nessecery for Static Arc Ignition? - ANSWER: A Means of
static generation
A means of accumulating and maintaining the charge
A static discharge with sufficient energy
A fuel source
Coexistence of the arc and fuel source
Name two fuel gasses: - ANSWER: LP (liquid petroleum)
Natural gas
MASTER FOR TCFP EXAM ACTUAL EXAM 350
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
(VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED A
Is NFPA 921 a guide or a standard? - ANSWER: It is the Guide for Fire and Explosion
Investigations
What are the six steps of the scientific method? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Analyze the
data
What step of the scientific method is deductive reasoning? - ANSWER: Test the
hypothesis
What are the four parts of the fire tetrahedron? - ANSWER: Fuel (reducing agent)
Heat
Oxidizing agent
Uninhibited chemical chain reaction
What kind of reaction absorbs energy, an endothermic or an exothermic reaction? -
ANSWER: Endothermic
What is heat transfer by direct contact called? - ANSWER: Conduction
What is heat transfer by gas flow / air movement called? - ANSWER: Convection
What is heat transfer by microwave energy called? - ANSWER: Radiation
What is a fuel controlled fire? - ANSWER: A fire that is limited by the amount of
combustibles.
What is a ventilation controlled fire? - ANSWER: A fire that is limited by the amount
of oxygen.
What are the stages of fire growth? - ANSWER: Ignition
Growth
Flashover
Fully Developed
,Decay
What is a flashover? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Flameover
or rollover
What factors influence flashover conditions? - ANSWER: Size of the compartment
Height of ceiling
Ventilation
Amount of fuel
Layout of fuel
Location of fire in the compartment
What are fire patterns? - ANSWER: The physical manifestation of the affects of fire
on materials.
What are the different types of fire patterns on the walls and ceiling? - ANSWER:
Plume Generated patterns (often V shaped)
Ventilation generated patterns
Hot gas layer patterns (Line of demarcation)
What is spalling? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Pyrolized carbonaceous material
What is oxidation? - ANSWER: Physical change in appearance of a material resulting
from the combination of oxygen.
What is alloying? - ANSWER: Mixing two metals heated then cooled to change their
properties. Often melts at a lower temperature.
What is a clean burn? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Elemental carbon produced during incomplete combustion.
What is calcination? - ANSWER: 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? -
ANSWER: Bulbs 25 watts or less pull away. Bulbs greater than 25 watts will expand
towards the fire.
,What causes heat shadowing? - ANSWER: An object blocking the travel of radiated
heat.
What is a dead load? - ANSWER: The weight of things attached to the building, like
flooring, cloumns, and roof coverings.
What is a live load? - ANSWER: A load that can move, like people, furniture, wind,
water, and snow.
What is compartmentation? - ANSWER: Design features of a building that limit fire
growth to the room of origin.
What are the five building construction types? - ANSWER: Type I - Fire resistant
Type II - Non combustible
Type III - Ordinary
Type IV - Heavy timber
Type V - Wood frame
What is ordinary construction? - ANSWER: Exterior walls are masonry and frame is
wood.
What is wood frame construction? - ANSWER: Lightweight wood construction, used
in apartments, houses.
What is platform frame construction? - ANSWER: Each floor is a seperate platform.
What is balloon frame construction? - ANSWER: The wall studs extend from the
foundation to the roof.
What is Ohm's Law? - ANSWER: V=IR
(E = I x R)
What is voltage? - ANSWER: Pressure
What is current? - ANSWER: Flow
What is resistance? - ANSWER: Friction, opposition to the flow
What is an overload? - ANSWER: Power needs exceed the circuit's capacity.
Alternating Current VS Direct Current - ANSWER: 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 - ANSWER: Residential. Three conductors: Two insulated
conductors at 120 V each, and a bare ground wire.
, Three phase system - ANSWER: Commercial. Four conductors: Three insulated
conductors (480, 240, or 208 V), and a bare ground wire.
What is the difference between grounding and bonding? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: 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? - ANSWER: Hot - black or red
Neutral - gray or white
Ground - bare or green
What are some methods of electrical heat production? - ANSWER: Resistance
heating
Short circuit
Ground fault
Parting Arc
Excessive current
What is the difference between and arc and a spark? - ANSWER: Sparks are thrown
metal particles
Arcs are brief discharges of electricity
What is arc tracking? - ANSWER: Arc following salts, dusts, or liquids along a path.
What is arc mapping? - ANSWER: Mapping out of electrical damage in a circuit.
What is static electricity? - ANSWER: A stationary charge caused by movement of
one object against another. Lighting is a static disharge.
What are the five conditions nessecery for Static Arc Ignition? - ANSWER: A Means of
static generation
A means of accumulating and maintaining the charge
A static discharge with sufficient energy
A fuel source
Coexistence of the arc and fuel source
Name two fuel gasses: - ANSWER: LP (liquid petroleum)
Natural gas
