1
Q
What is the primary goal of situation evaluation in incident management?
A
Develop a consistent approach to size-up using standard information-management tools
This involves identifying the incident’s major critical factors.
2
Q
What are the Eight Critical Factors evaluated during size-up?
A
- Building
- Occupancy
- Arrangement
- Life Hazards
- Fire
- Resources
- Action
- Special circumstances
These factors guide the incident commander in assessing risks and making decisions.
3
Q
True or false: The size-up process must begin at the start of every incident operation.
A
TRUE
This ensures that the correct incident strategy is selected and an action plan is developed.
4
Q
What does the Strategic Decision-Making Model help reduce during emergency operations?
A
Uncertainty
It organizes the decision-making process into a structured sequence for the incident commander.
5
Q
List the five primary sources of information used by the incident commander.
A
- Previous experience
- Visual information
- Recon information
- Pre-incident planning and familiarity
- Technology
These sources help manage and process information effectively at an emergency scene.
6
Q
What is the role of visual observation in incident management?
A
Gathering critical information during initial and ongoing evaluations
It requires a perceptive eye and is essential for assessing conditions.
7
Q
What is the significance of pre-incident planning?
A
Provides valuable information that would be difficult to obtain during an emergency
It allows crews to gather detailed intelligence under ideal conditions.
8
Q
Fill in the blank: Technology plays a crucial role in the modern fire service, enhancing safety, efficiency, and __________.
A
effectiveness
Technology includes tools like drones, augmented reality, and improved mapping.
9
Q
What are fixed factors in incident management?
A
- Building (construction type, structural integrity)
- Occupancy type (residential, commercial, industrial, institutional)
- Arrangement (building layout and proximity of exposures)
These factors remain constant and influence firefighting operations.
10
Q
What are variable factors in incident management?
A
- Fire (growth, direction of spread)
- Life hazards (occupant location, rescue needs)
- Resources (staffing levels, apparatus positioning)
- Actions (success of suppression efforts)
- Special circumstances (bystanders, crowd control)
These factors change throughout the incident and can be influenced by command decisions.
11
Q
What does the incident commander need to identify regarding critical unknowns?
A
- What they know
- What they don’t know
- Critical unknowns that must be addressed immediately
This helps in developing an incident action plan based on incomplete information.
12
Q
What are red flags in incident management?
A
Factors that indicate potential problems requiring immediate attention
They significantly impact incident outcomes, especially concerning firefighter safety.
13
Q
What are the critical unknowns that must be addressed immediately during incident operations?
A
- Firefighters’ safety and survival
- Problems that must be engaged before addressing the incident
Critical unknowns can drive initial actions or change current strategy.
14
Q
What are red flags in the context of incident operations?
A
- Delayed notification & delayed water application
- Incorrect address or dropped call
- Single engine response for smoke in the area
- Unable to access or locate the fire
- Forcible entry problem
- No hydrants or dead hydrant
- Pump failure
- Kinked or ruptured hose line
- Long hose lay
- Coming up short on the attack line
- Failure to identify or coordinate flow path
- No ventilation plan
- Lack of door control
- Indiscriminate window removal
- PPV applied without an adequate exhaust
- Churn at the point of PPV intake
- Heavy entrainment
- Poorly timed or uncoordinated vertical ventilation
- Rapidly descending neutral plane
- Wind conditions
- Presence of strong winds
- Increasing wind or change in direction
- Failure to account for the role that wind plays in the flow path
- Rapid change in fire or smoke conditions
- Pressurized or “boiling” smoke
- Smoke explosion or backdraft
- Abnormal smoke color or fire behavior
- Signs of structural compromise
- Anything sagging, leaning or bulging
- Pre-weakened structural members due to a prior fire
- Direct flame impingement on lightweight construction
- Reinforcement plates or stars on exterior masonry walls
- Brown, caramel-colored smoke from eaves and roof vents
- Vent pipes on the roof that appear to be “growing”
- Flames showing between parapet walls and the roof
- Smoke or fire showing from cracks in the wall
- Restricted access
- One way in, one way out
- High rack storage
- Basements
- Forcible entry problems
- Barred or boarded up
- Hoarder conditions
- Large, complicated floor plans
- Active fire below or behind firefighters
- Fire on multiple sides of firefighters
- Fire discovered in mansards, parapets, cornices, marquees or other overhead voids
- Attic fires with crews operating on the roof
- Reports do not match what the IC observes
- Confirm mismatch reports
- Multiple starts
- Extended offensive strategy with no improvement
- 10 minutes of offensive operations without conditions improving
- Crews can’t locate the fire
- Large open floor plans with unsupported roofs
- Commercial buildings in the middle of the night
- Exposed structural members
- Lack of interior columns
- Bowstring or tied arch roof
Red flags indicate potential problems requiring immediate attention from the Incident Commander (IC) and personnel in the Hot Zone.
15
Q
True or false: A red flag requires an immediate change in strategy or an update to the incident action plan.
A
FALSE
While red flags must be identified and addressed, they do not necessarily require a change in strategy.
16
Q
What is the elapsed time notification (ETN) provided by dispatch?
A
- Notifications every 10 minutes
- Starts once the brief initial report (BIR) is transmitted
- Continues until discontinued by the IC
ETNs serve as reminders for assessing progress, re-evaluating conditions, and adjusting strategies.
17
Q
What does the Risk Management Plan (RMP) state regarding firefighter risks?
A
- Risk lives a lot to protect a savable human life
- Risk lives a little to protect savable property
- Do not risk lives to protect lives or properties that are already lost
The RMP is a standard used in all Hot Zones to guide decision-making.
18
Q
What are the components of the safety system used to protect firefighters?
A
- Adequately trained firefighters
- PPE
- Hardware (apparatus, hose, tools, equipment, water)
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Incident Management System
- Rehabilitation
- Firefighter Decon
These components help manage risks and ensure safety during operations.
19
Q
What is the Strategic Decision-Making Model used for in incident command?
A
- Assessing and reassessing conditions
- Implementing an effective response
- Identifying critical factors
- Applying the Risk Management Plan
- Selecting appropriate strategy and developing an incident action plan
This model is a recurring process throughout the incident to adapt to changing conditions.
20
Q
Fill in the blank: The IC must maintain a realistic awareness of the __________ incident time.
A
elapsed
Recognizing that an incident begins when the fire starts is crucial for effective management.
21
Q
What should the IC do when conditions deteriorate during an incident?
A
- Adjust the strategy
- Modify the Incident Action Plan (IAP)
- Reassess risks and resources
Continuous adaptation is necessary to ensure safety and effectiveness.
22
Q
What is the primary goal of Command Function 3 � Situation Evaluation?”
A
Develop a consistent approach to size-up using standard information-management tools to identify the incidents major critical factors.
23
Q
What is the situation evaluation phase known as?
A
Size-up.
24
Q
How does Las Vegas Fire & Rescue perform standard size-up?
A
Evaluate the Eight Critical Factors and then assess risk through the Risk Management Plan (RMP).
25
When must standard size-up begin?
At the start of every incident operation.
26
Why is evaluating critical factors essential?
To achieve operational success and enhance firefighters’ safety.
27
What provides the informational foundation for effective initial and ongoing action?
Current, accurate, and relevant information obtained at the front end of the event.
28
Complete the phrase about standardization.
Apply Standard Actions (SOPs and standard tactics organized by a strategy and an IAP) to Standard Conditions (Eight Critical Factors) for a Standard Outcome (operational success).
29
What does the Strategic Decision-Making Model provide?
An evaluation and action system that helps to reduce uncertainty during initial emergency operations.
30
What is Step 1 of the Strategic Decision-Making Model?
Identify and evaluate the critical factors using various information sources.
31
What is Step 2 of the Strategic Decision-Making Model?
Apply the Risk Management Plan (RMP).
32
In the RMP, when will we risk our lives a lot?
In a highly calculated and controlled manner, to protect a savable human life.
33
In the RMP, when will we risk our lives a little?
In a highly calculated and controlled manner, to protect a savable property.
34
In the RMP, when will we not risk our lives?
To protect lives or properties that are already lost.
35
What is Step 3 of the Strategic Decision-Making Model?
Select the correct strategy based on current conditions.
36
What is Step 4 of the Strategic Decision-Making Model?
Develop an incident action plan.
37
What is Step 5 of the Strategic Decision-Making Model?
Assign tactical actions that address the critical factors and completion of Incident Benchmarks.
38
Situation Evaluation focuses on which SDM steps?
The Critical Factors and Risk Management steps.
39
How many primary sources of information does the IC use to manage and process information effectively?
Five.
40
Name one primary IC information source.
Previous experience.
41
Name one primary IC information source.
Visual information.
42
Name one primary IC information source.
Recon information.
43
Name one primary IC information source.
Pre-incident planning and familiarity.
44
Name one primary IC information source.
Technology (satellite imagery, drone video, etc.).
45
While en route, what should all responding units observe?
Weather conditions including wind speed and direction, and scan the horizon for visible smoke or fire conditions.
46
Upon arrival, what should the IC try to do for visual observation?
See at least three sides of the structure or, when possible, completely circle the incident.
47
What can a 360° assessment reveal?
Building layout, access/egress, fire location, fire spread, flow path, structural instability, safety concerns, and potential rescue situations.
48
Why should the IC’s direct observations maintain significant strategic influence?
Radio reports do not always match what the IC sees.
49
What is CAAN in recon reporting?
Conditions, Actions, Air, Needs.
50
When prompted by Command, what must companies and Division Supervisors report?
CAAN reports about their assigned areas.
51
What does recon information allow the IC to construct?
A comprehensive big picture of the incident.
52
As information moves from strategic to task level, what happens to it?
It breaks down into increasingly specific components.
53
Name one pre-incident planning factor listed.
Building size.
54
Name one pre-incident planning factor listed.
Construction characteristics.
55
Name one pre-incident planning factor listed.
Access/egress.
56
Name one pre-incident planning factor listed.
Water supply/FDC locations.
57
Name one pre-incident planning factor listed.
Built-in fire protection systems and Fire Control Room location.
58
What are the Eight Critical Factors?
Building, Occupancy, Arrangement, Life Hazards, Fire, Resources, Action, Special circumstances.
59
Why are these called critical factors?
Because each has consequences ranging from minor to life-threatening.
60
Building factor: name one consideration.
Size (area and height; number of stories).
61
Building factor: name one consideration.
Construction type (fire resistance and structural integrity).
62
Building factor: name one consideration.
Vertical and horizontal openings (common attics, utility chases, mansards, shafts).
63
Building factor: name one consideration.
Concealed spaces (impact on fire spread and attack strategies).
64
Building factor: name one consideration.
Current fire impact on structural stability.
65
Occupancy factor: name one consideration.
Occupancy type (residential, commercial, industrial, institutional).
66
Occupancy factor: name one consideration.
Fire load (quantity and nature of combustible materials present).
67
Occupancy factor: name one consideration.
Status (open, closed, occupied, vacant, abandoned, under construction).
68
Occupancy factor: name one consideration.
Time consideration (how time of day affects building use and occupancy).
69
Occupancy factor: name one consideration.
Loss control profile (susceptibility to damage and need for salvage ops).
70
Arrangement factor: name one consideration.
External and internal exposures (proximity, accessibility, layout, and fire spread potential).
71
Arrangement factor: name one consideration.
Priority of exposures (most threatened/most significant loss potential).
72
Arrangement factor: name one consideration.
Barriers or obstructions that hinder operations.
73
Arrangement factor: name one consideration.
Apparatus movement and operational limitations.
74
Life Hazards factor: name one consideration.
Location of occupants (relative to the fire).
75
Life Hazards factor: name one consideration.
Resources required for search and rescue (commitment, equipment, command structure).
76
Life Hazards factor: name one consideration.
Escape route viability for occupants (type, safety, fire conditions).
77
Fire factor: name one consideration.
Stage (incipient, growth, fully developed, decay).
78
Fire factor: name one consideration.
Direction of fire spread (flow path).
79
Fire factor: name one consideration.
Smoke (volume, velocity, density, color).
80
Resources factor: name one consideration.
Resources on scene and resources en route.
81
Resources factor: name one consideration.
Adequacy of water supply (pressure, volume, and availability).
82
Resources factor: name one consideration.
Need for specialized resources (Hazmat, CBRNE, Technical Rescue).
83
Resources factor: name one consideration.
Need for backfilling stations (move-ups).
84
Action factor: name one consideration.
Effectiveness of current actions.
85
Action factor: name one consideration.
Alignment of current strategy with IAP.
86
Action factor: name one key assessment.
Is the fire controlled?
87
Action factor: name one key assessment.
Are victims accounted for and safe?
88
Action factor: name one key assessment.
Has loss stopped been achieved?
89
Action factor: name one consideration.
Implementation of a safety plan (On-deck, RIT, Safety Officer).
90
Special Circumstances factor: name one consideration.
Weather conditions (wind, rain, extreme heat or cold, humidity).
91
Special Circumstances factor: name one consideration.
Time of day or night (impact on visibility, occupancy, response times).
92
Special Circumstances factor: name one consideration.
Social unrest or security threats (riots, protests, terrorism, civil disturbances).
93
What structured approach must the IC use to manage critical factors?
Rapid evaluation; prioritize by urgency; gather additional information; adjust the IAP as conditions evolve; quickly react to information from observation and CAAN reports.
94
Why must the IC continuously reassess conditions?
Because incident conditions constantly change and the importance of each factor shifts.
95
What can failure to manage critical factors effectively cause?
Ineffective tactics, increased risk to firefighters, and potential loss of control.
96
What must the IC differentiate between to manage an incident effectively?
Fixed factors and variable factors.
97
What are fixed factors?
Conditions that remain constant and cannot be changed.
98
Name one fixed factor.
Building.
99
Name one fixed factor.
Occupancy type.
100
Name one fixed factor.
Arrangement.
101
What are variable factors?
Dynamic conditions that change and can be influenced by command decisions.
102
Name one variable factor.
Fire.
103
Name one variable factor.
Life hazards.
104
Name one variable factor.
Resources.
105
Name one variable factor.
Actions.
106
Name one variable factor.
Special circumstances.
107
Give one example of influencing a variable factor from the document.
If a building is full of smoke, the IC can order ventilation.
108
Give one example of influencing a variable factor from the document.
If a known and viable victim exists, the IC can assign a crew to initiate a rescue.
109
Why is initial information often incomplete during incidents?
Command must develop an IAP based only on critical factors they can initially see.
110
How does the IC identify knowns vs unknowns?
By using the standard inventory of critical factors.
111
Some unknowns must be addressed immediately when they involve what?
Firefighter safety and survival (e.g., basement fires).
112
Some critical unknowns may do what to initial actions or strategy?
Drive initial actions or change the current strategy.
113
What are red flags?
Factors indicating potential problems requiring immediate attention from the IC and all personnel operating within the Hot Zone.
114
Does a red flag necessarily require a strategy change?
No.
115
What must crews do with red flags?
Identify, communicate, and promptly address them.
116
Name one red flag example listed.
Delayed notification and delayed water application.
117
Name one red flag example listed.
No hydrants or dead hydrant.
118
Name one red flag example listed.
Pump failure.
119
Name one red flag example listed.
Kinked or ruptured hose line.
120
Name one red flag example listed.
Failure to identify or coordinate flow path.
121
Name one red flag example listed.
No ventilation plan.
122
Name one red flag example listed.
Lack of door control.
123
Name one red flag example listed.
PPV applied without an adequate exhaust.
124
Name one red flag example listed.
Rapidly descending neutral plane.
125
Name one red flag example listed.
Presence of strong winds.
126
Name one red flag example listed.
Anything sagging, leaning, or bulging.
127
Name one red flag example listed.
One way in, one way out.
128
Name one red flag example listed.
Extended offensive strategy with no improvement.
129
What must ICs do when red flags arise?
Listen critically to condition reports and respond appropriately.
130
When does an incident begin according to the document?
When the fire starts, not when crews arrive.
131
How often does Dispatch provide elapsed time notifications (ETNs)?
Every 10 minutes.
132
When do ETNs start?
Once the BIR is transmitted.
133
ETNs are a reminder to do what (name one listed item)?
Assess overall progress.
134
ETNs are a reminder to do what (name one listed item)?
Re-evaluate current conditions.
135
ETNs are a reminder to do what (name one listed item)?
Adjust strategy and IAP as necessary.
136
ETNs are a reminder to do what (name one listed item)?
Request CAAN reports starting with the first assigned crews to IDLH.
137
ETNs are a reminder to do what (name one listed item)?
Assess firefighter air management and time spent in the IDLH.
138
ETNs are a reminder to do what (name one listed item)?
Forecast fire progression and its impact on structural integrity.
139
Fireground operations fall into what two strategies?
Offensive or defensive.
140
What is the basis for offensive/defensive strategies in Hot Zones?
A standard Risk Management Plan (RMP).
141
In RMP risk-a-lot, name one condition listed.
A known-viable rescue.
142
In RMP risk-a-lot, name one condition listed.
Reasonable belief the building has survivable space.
143
In RMP risk-a-lot, name one condition listed.
Ability to protect ourselves (water).
144
In RMP risk-a-lot, name one condition listed.
Ability to quickly operate and exit.
145
In RMP risk-a-little, name one condition listed.
Offensive fire conditions.
146
In RMP risk-a-little, name one condition listed.
Ability to quickly control the hazard.
147
In RMP no-risk, what does it mean?
Incident conditions are lethal to us and there is nothing to save in the fire area.
148
What does 'calculated and controlled' refer to (list)?
Incident Command established; Accountability established; Effective communications; Proper PPE; Safety procedures in place; Continuous risk assessment by all members.
149
How is the RMP applied over time?
Applied and continually reassessed throughout all emergency incident operations.
150
Managing risk involves two opposing sides—what are they?
Incident risks that cause injury/death and the integrated safety system used to protect firefighters.
151
If hazards exceed the safety system’s capability, what must strategy be?
Defensive.
152
If the safety system adequately protects firefighters, what can strategy be?
Offensive interior strategy.
153
Name one safety system component listed.
Adequately trained firefighters.
154
Name one safety system component listed.
PPE (reference SNFO 10 Incident Hazard Zones).
155
Name one safety system component listed.
Hardware (apparatus, hose, tools, equipment, water).
156
Name one safety system component listed.
SOPs.
157
Name one safety system component listed.
Incident Management System (IC performs Eight Command Functions).
158
Name one safety system component listed.
Rehabilitation.
159
Name one safety system component listed.
Firefighter Decon.
160
Why must the IC stay ahead of the incident?
Fire conditions constantly evolve.
161
Is the Strategic Decision-Making Model single-use or recurring?
Recurring throughout the incident.
162
What must the IC base decisions on?
Real-time and forecasted conditions.
163
What must be continuously adapted when conditions change?
The IAP and the Risk Management Plan.
164
What does consistent SDM use ensure?
Operations remain safe, effective, and aligned with incident Priorities.
Strategy and Tactics
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