McGraw-Hill Education Firefighter Exams, Second Edition

Saving Lives

Many of the calls to the fire department regarding life-threatening situations do not involve fires. They may relate to medical emergencies where a victim is having a heart attack or choking. Firefighters will use their first aid, CPR, and CFR-D training in conjunction with resuscitator and defibrillator equipment to stop bleeding, splint broken bones, and restore lung and heart functions.

Firefighters are also called to motor vehicle accidents where people are injured from the impact of the collision or trapped inside the vehicle unable to extricate themselves from the wreckage. Manual forcible entry tools like the axe and halligan in conjunction with reciprocating saws and the Jaws of Life are used by firefighters to enter the vehicle and free victims from the metal around them. Public transportation accidents involving airplanes and trains resulting in multiple casualties are dealt with by firefighters using an abundance of manpower that may involve mutual aid assistance from surrounding jurisdictions to supplement operational needs.

Utility emergencies are yet other situations to which fire departments respond. Occupants may be overcome by the gases of incomplete combustion, such as carbon monoxide, emitted from their heating systems and stoves. Firefighters will have to don self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to enter the building in order to gain access to the faulty heating appliance to shut it down and ventilate. Stuck elevators cause people inside to panic and fear for their safety and timely removal. The fire service may use special keys to open stuck hoistway doors or lower portable ladders from the floor above the stuck elevator car to reach and remove trapped occupants.

Natural disasters, including tornados, earthquakes, storms, floods, and hurricanes, endanger the lives of thousands and require fire service commitment for long periods of time.

Large municipalities may form preestablished incident management teams (IMT) composed of firefighters of all ranks to help manage and coordinate the rescue effort. The fire service also conducts lifesaving efforts on our nation’s rivers, lakes, and seas utilizing both large vessels and swift-water rafts. These watercraft are used to rescue people from boats in distress as well as to save victims from drowning.

The list of non-fire-related situations where firefighters are needed to save lives is long. Firefighters must be ready to perform lifesaving acts of skill and bravery that do not involve actually extinguishing fires on a daily basis. The age of firefighters just going and operating at fires is a thing of the past. Firefighters are truly diversified first responders of the modern age.

3. The Jaws of Life would most likely be used by firefighters in which of the following emergency situations?

5. A tool utilized by firefighters to free trapped occupants inside a stalled elevator is a

8. Preestablished incident management teams may be formed by large municipalities during events that require a firefighting commitment for an extensive period of time. The IMT is specifically utilized to perform what function?

9. According to the passage, SCBA is most commonly used in what type of life-threatening emergency?

Directions: Use the information and table given below to answer questions 11 through 18.

When trying to lose weight, one must strive to expend energy in greater amounts than caloric intake. Use the table below showing the correlation between food (calories consumed) and the exercise required to burn off the calories to answer questions 11 through 18.

12. Which of the following exercises burns the least calories during a 30-minute workout?

14. Which type of workout would you have to do to burn off the equivalent caloric intake contained in three ounces of flounder and a half cup of lentils?

17. A triathlete preparing for an upcoming event swims for 20 minutes, jogs for 30 minutes, and bicycles for an additional 1 hour. How many calories did the athlete burn during the workout?

18. How many minutes would a yoga practitioner have to exercise to burn off 360 calories?

19. Generally, which fuel below would contain the most heat energy per pound?

21. How many whole number increments are there on the Centigrade (Celsius) scale between the freezing point of water and its boiling point?

25. Which of the following is an accurate statement concerning heat transfer via radiant waves?

26. The fire process is divided into three phases. The initial phase is known as the

27. The graph that aids in the visualization of the heat energy and temperature attained during the three phases of fire is called the

28. How many classes of fire are firefighters challenged to extinguish daily?

31. An ABC multipurpose dry chemical portable fire extinguisher is designed to put out fires in all of the choices listed below except

32. When responding to fire alarms, officers are permitted to talk to chauffeurs driving the apparatus only under exceptional circumstances. What is most likely the reason for this?

(D) It enables the firefighters in the crew cab to hear urgent radio transmissions.

33. Fire prevention inspections ideally should be carried out at irregular hours and intervals. The best justification for this practice is that

34. A firefighter operating a hose line inside a large mazelike, one-story warehouse discovers the hose line has been cut and is no longer delivering water on the fire. Large amounts of smoke fill the area, and it is now time to leave the building. The best way for the firefighter to find the way to the outside of the building is

35. A firefighter on the way to work is confronted by a civilian complaining of blocked aisles in a department store a few blocks away. Of the following, the most appropriate action the firefighter should take in this situation is

(B) assure the civilian that the violation is not serious and continue on your way

(D) tell the civilian to return to the store and take pictures of the violation to substantiate the complaint and deliver the photographs to the firehouse

36. You are a firefighter with a new idea on how to force entry through entrance doors in commercial occupancies that you think will aid fellow firefighters. Your new method, however, is not sanctioned by the fire department where you work. Your best action to take concerning your new procedure is

37. Firefighters should answer the official department telephone on the first ring. What is the main reason for this?

38. A firefighter on the way to work is standing at a bus stop when suddenly a pedestrian is seen choking on a hot dog. The civilian is having difficulty breathing and is unable to talk. In this instance the firefighter’s action should be to

(D) tell the choking victim to continue walking to the closest emergency room approximately four blocks away

39. At the start of day tour, your superior officer gives you, a firefighter, an order that you do not fully understand. The assignment is not too complex and you don’t want to make it seem that you were inattentive when the order was given. In this scenario you should most likely

40. Standpipe system hose outlets are strategically placed inside large-area buildings allowing firefighters to connect to them and conduct hose line operations. The primary reason why such outlets are advantageous in fighting fires is

41. What is the main reason why water is not recommended as an initial extinguishing agent for fires inside U.S. mailboxes?

42. You are a probationary firefighter responding to your first fire. While on the apparatus, you turn on your self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) only to find that it is defective and will not allow air into the face piece. As you arrive on the scene of the fire, your initial action should be to

(D) stay outside the building and notify your officer at the completion of his or her duties

43. You are a newly assigned firefighter. You answer the department phone and the caller asks you for the address and phone number of a firefighter also assigned to the firehouse but who is not presently working. The caller states that it is important and that she is a relative of the firefighter she wishes to contact. In this situation, your best action is most likely

(B) to tell the caller you cannot give out any personal information over the phone and instruct her to try a telephone operator

(D) to take down the caller’s telephone number and give it to the firefighter she wishes to contact upon his or her return to work

Directions: The pie chart above shows the distribution of firefighters in Columbia County. Use this information to answer questions 44 through 49.

44. Which two fire departments combined have more than 50% of the firefighters in the entire county?

45. Which two fire departments have the same number of firefighters as Cumberland Township?

46. Compared to the county, approximately what percentage of firefighters does the Stanley Township fire department have?

47. Together Jerome and Wyatt Townships have approximately what percentage of firefighters in the county?

48. Jerome Township, with the lowest number of firefighters, has approximately what percentage of firefighters in the county?

49. The total number of firefighters from Wyatt, Young, and Cumberland Townships is

50. How much 3% foam concentrate solution should be added to 100 gallons of 6% foam concentrate solution to obtain a 4% foam concentrate solution?

51. The sum of two consecutive integers is 23. If x is the first integer and x + 1 is the second integer, what are the numbers?

52. The sum of two numbers is 38. If one number is six more than the other number, what is the smaller number of the two?

54. The total sum of a set of numbers is 84. The average of the numbers is 21. How many numbers are there in the set?

55. A student gets a 75, 82, and 90 on three 100-point exams in English class during the semester. What grade will be needed on the final 100-point exam to obtain an 85 average?

56. Paul is three times older than his grandson Bill. Bill is 10 years older than his sister, Sharon. The sum of Paul’s, Bill’s, and Sharon’s ages is 140. What is Paul’s age?

58. Larry can complete apparatus quarterly maintenance by himself in 2 hours. Keith can perform this task in 3 hours. If they work together, how long will it take?

60. On a given Saturday, Thomas mows a lawn by himself in 80 minutes. On the following Saturday, Thomas and his friend Sam use two mowers to mow the lawn, and the job is completed in an hour. How long would it take for Sam to mow the lawn by himself?

61. Carol drove from her home to Apex, a distance of approximately 265 miles, at a rate of 53 mph. On her return trip she drove at a rate of 44 mph. About how many hours did it take her to complete the round trip?

62. An athlete can run at 5 mph when there is no wind. With the wind at her back, she can run 21 miles in 3 hours. What is the wind speed?

63. A car travels past a road sign at 40 mph. Fifteen minutes later, a second vehicle, traveling in the same direction, passes the same road sign at 55 mph. How long will it take for the second vehicle to overtake the first?

64. Two tour buses pass each other going in opposite directions. One bus is going at 50 mph while the other bus is traveling at 40 mph. In how much time will the buses be 180 miles apart?

65. Carl has $20 in quarters and dimes and a total of 104 coins. How many quarters does he have?

67. Morris earns three times more money per hour than Jones. Jones, however, makes $5 more per hour than Porter. Together they earn $80 per hour. How much money does Porter earn per hour?

68. What is the probability that a king will be selected at random from a deck of 52 playing cards?

69. An iron column weighs 600 pounds and is 16 feet long. What is the weight of a similar column that is 10 feet long?

Directions: Use the standard time/temperature curve to answer questions 70 through 78.

72. What is the approximate highest temperature reached during the three phases of fire?

79. Driver gear A has 60 teeth, while driven gear B has 12 teeth. What is the gear ratio of gear A to gear B?

80. When using simple machines, the trading of effort (force) for distance is called

81. In what class lever system does the load move in the direction opposite to the effort (force)?

82. Driver gear A has 30 teeth and revolves at 70 rpm. What is the rpm for the driven gear B that has 10 teeth?

83. A 600-pound weight is placed on the end of a plank 2 feet from a fulcrum. To obtain equilibrium, how much effort (force) would a firefighter have to exert on the opposite end of the plank that is 10 feet from the fulcrum?

84. A lever system as shown above has a mechanical advantage of 4. If an effort (force) is applied at a distance 1 foot from the fulcrum, what is the resistance force (load) distance?

86. A hose reel has a handle attached to a 1-inch radius axle. The turning circumference of the crank is 12-inches. How much force is required to lift three lengths of hose that together weigh 100 pounds?

87. A pulley system is used to lift a 1,500-pound load. The system applies an effort (force) of 500 pounds. The mechanical advantage of the pulley system is

88. If the resistance force (load) of an object is 2,400 pounds, what would be the effort (force) required by a wedge with a mechanical advantage of 6 to lift it?

89. The circumference of a screw multiplied by the number of times it is turned is equal to its effort (force). A screw with a circumference of 7 mm is turned six times, causing it to move through a piece of gypsum board a distance of 3 mm. What is the mechanical advantage of the screw?

90. In the gear drive system shown in the figure above, how does gear E compare to driver gear A?

92. In the block and tackle pulley system in the figure above, a pull equal to 30 pounds applied to line #1 will be able to lift how much weight?

94. In a fixed pulley system, if the effort (force) is applied in a downward direction, the load being lifted will travel

95. A wheelbarrow holds a load weighing 40 pounds. The load is 18 inches from the wheels. How much effort (force) is required to lift the load if the handles of the wheelbarrow are 36 inches from the load?

96. In question 95 above, what is the mechanical advantage of the wheelbarrow?

98. A pulley system lifts 160 pounds with an effort (force) of 40 pounds. The pulley rope where the effort (force) is being applied moves 4 inches. How many inches does the load move?

99. A pulley system has a mechanical advantage of 4:1. What is the efficiency of the system if the rope end where effort (force) is being applied moves 10 inches while the load is lifted 2 inches?

100. How much force is required to roll a 250-N barrel up an inclined plane that is 5 meters in length to a platform 2 meters in height?

PRACTICE EXAM IV

Saving Lives

Answer Key