scenario #5 -- high rise

Scenario #9

The time is 1700 hours. A fire has been reported in a 28 story fire-resistive high rise. The building is of center core construction with the apartments on the perimeter and the utilities, stairwells, a compactor chute, and elevators in the center core. There are two elevators in this building. There are also two enclosed stairwells, with standpipes located in both. Both stairwells serve the roof. There are fire department connections on both the B side and D side of the building. The system is interconnected.
The interior of the apartments is of masonry walls, ceilings, and floors. The doors are steel. They are set in steel frames that are set in the masonry hall wall. Each apartment unit has its own HVAC unit.
There is a 24 hour doorman and a staff of porters and maintenance personnel around the clock. The alarm panel and annunciator is located at the doorman desk in a vestibule. There is also a communication station that allows communication with all the apartments in the building. The alarms are activated. The building is segregated into a 7 zone system where each zone serves 4 floors.
Upon arrival, fire is seen issuing from an apartment balcony area near the upper portion of the building on Side B. The doorman meets you as you get out of the apparatus and tells you the fire is on the 26th floor. The temperature is 92°. The wind is calm. There are many people on the balconies.
You are first to arrive and will be in command of this fire until a Chief Officer arrives.

1. Where would you position the Command Post?
a. In the street on the A side
b. In the Lobby
c. On the floor below the fire
d. On the Charlie side

2. Upon arrival, what would you direct the Engine Chauffeur to do?
a. Connect to the FDC on Side D
b. Connect to the FDC on Side B
c. Take hi-rise pack into building
d. Gain control of the elevators

3. You have placed the elevator in fire service control. To which floor would the elevator be taken to? The annunciator is showing Zone 7.
a. To the 25th floor
b. To the 23rd floor
c. To the 26th floor
d. To the 24th floor

4. In regard to firefighter safety, what would be your greatest concern in the fire apartment?
a. Disorientation
b. High Heat
c. Electricity
d. Stratification

5. How would you address these concerns?
a. Ensure searching firefighters utilize a lifeline to search
b. Strike additional alarms, set up rehab
c. Notify utility company, shut power to apartment and fire floor
d. Utilize positicve pressure blowers on the fire floor

6. You are at the fire apartment. You have encountered a tightly locked door of substantial construction. It also has complicated locks. What action would you take?
a. Apply the through-the-lock method using the bent end key tool
b. Use a battering ram, have a charged line in place
c. Breach the wall adjacent to the door
d. Use the power saw to cut a door in a door

7. What action would you take in regard to evacuation?
a. Designate stairwell on the B side as evacuation stairwell
b. Designate stairwell on the D side as evacuation stairwell
c. Do not designate an evacuation stairwell, protect-in-place
d. Evacuate civilians via the elevator

8. What would be your concern in regard to ventilation?
a. Stratified smoke will require mechanical ventilation
b. Shut down the HVAC system so as not to spread smoke throughout the building
c. Stack effect will likely cause smoke to rise in the stairwells.
d. Reverse stack effect will cause smoke to drop to lower floors.

9. Suppose you are on the attack line and find that the heat is being driven in your direction by a stiff wind, as the windows have blown out. You have decided to back out of the apartment. Which is the best action to take in regard to stream operation?
a. Turn the stream in the direction of the door to protect your own egress. Use wide fog
b. Shut down stream, abandon line, stay low exiting apartment, close door
c. Keep stream operating until you are in a safe area
d. Shut down stream to hasten withdrawal. While backing out, use stream only if needed to protect egress

10. Suppose one of the stairwells was of the pressurized type. What would this stairwell best be utilized for?
A. Attack
B. Evacuation
C. Ventilation
D. Operations Post

Good luck
AA