Continuing Education Course How Prepared Is Your Engine Company? BY BRETT SNOW TRAINING THE FIRE SERVICE FOR 134 YEARS To earn continuing education credits, you must successfully complete the course examination. The cost for this CE exam is $25.00. For group rates, call (973) 251-5055.
How Prepared Is Your Engine Company? Educational Objectives On completion of this course, students will 1. Learn tips on hoseline management. 3. Develop skills in handling poor leadouts. 2. Understand the position of the hose team. 4. Learn proper ways to use the nozzle. B Y B R E T T S N O W 1 Photos by Gordon Nord. Your engine is the first company on the scene of a two-story brick, side-by-side town home separated by a firewall. Fire is showing from the second-floor window above the front entrance with heavy smoke pushing out the front bedroom windows. Police on-scene reported that a young girl was seen at the front bedroom window on the second floor. The police officers told the girl to remain at the window and to get down. As an engine company, what would be your actions? This scenario recently occurred on the West Side of Chicago. Chicago (IL) Fire Department (CFD) Engine 68, the first company on the scene, rapidly stretched a hoseline to the second floor. With the hoseline in position and the nozzleman directing its stream on the fire, members of Engine 68 began a primary search, which resulted in the rescue of the young girl. This successful operation was a result of frequent, intense training in hoseline management. Fire departments today provide many nonfirefighting services, such as technical rescue, hazmat, and emergency medical services. Their disciplines increase the level of service to the community but require hours of training that can compete with the time necessary to maintain and improve skills in the most important functions of an engine company stretching, advancing, and operating hoselines. You can recognize an engine company that has neglected the basics of its job by its sloppy, undisciplined hoseline operations. This is the company whose nozzleman takes off running toward the fire with just the nozzle and the end of the hose, that stretches short because most of its hose lies in a pile next to its apparatus, or that cannot flow sufficient water because its hoseline is a mess of kinks. Engine company members who lack strong leadership and have no clearly designated function and position on the hoseline will fail to reach the fire because everyone wants to be on the nozzle. Consequently, the hose will snag on corners, doorways, stairs, and other obstacles while members crowd behind the nozzleman. HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR ENGINE? An effective hose stretch begins with a hose load configured to facilitate stretching with a minimum of personnel. Load hosebeds so that firefighters can carry the hose in flakes or horseshoes instead of dragging the entire stretch. Keeping dragging of the hose on the ground to a minimum will be to your advantage, as it will minimize the likelihood of its getting caught under vehicle tires, in fence gates, in porch railings, and on building corners. BEDDING/LOADING HOSE In photo 1, this 200-foot 1¾-inch preconnected hose load is bedded in two 100-foot stacks. The first 100-foot section
Engine Company 2 3 4 is connected to the discharge swivel. Begin the second stack by placing the male coupling of the first 100-foot stack at the bottom of the hosebed, loading the second 100-foot section and connecting the nozzle in the manner as the first section was loaded. This is a fairly simple hoseload that one firefighter can stretch. Deploying a 200-Foot Crosslay A single firefighter can deploy a 200-foot crosslay as follows: 1Face the hosebed. Line up one shoulder with the nozzle. Place the section with the nozzle on the shoulder opposite the shoulder that is lined up with that nozzle. 2Pull the section halfway down while at the same time keeping the load tight by compressing it with your hands (photos 2, 3). 3Step into the hose with your shoulder, and turn away from the load, allowing the hose to flip upside down, positioning the nozzle on the bottom (this allows the hose to flake off from the top) (photo 4). 4Pull down the next section in the same manner as the previous section. Step into it with your shoulder, and turn away from the load (again, this allows the hose to flake off from the top). Placing the hose on your shoulder in this way will keep the few feet of hose connecting the two sections, which touches the ground, behind your feet instead of in front, minimizing a trip hazard (photos 5, 6). You are now ready to proceed to your desired location as the hose flakes off one shoulder at a time, minimizing the need for additional help (photos 7, 8). Deploying 2½-Inch Hose A single firefighter deploying 200 feet of 2½-inch hose attached to 100 or 150 feet of 1¾-inch hose may use the following method (one of many procedures). Photo 9 shows the top view of the rear hosebed with three reverse horseshoes of 2½-inch hose (also known as drop loads) totaling 200 feet, which is reduced to 100 or 150 feet of 1¾-inch hose connected to a 1¼-inch solid bore nozzle and a 2½- to 1½-inch gated wye. Photo 10 shows a standing view facing the rear. 1Pull down the three 2½ horseshoes to a ready position (photo 11). 2Place the 1¾-inch horseshoe on your right shoulder with the nozzle placed around your neck to control it from self-deploying (photo 12). 3Grab the bottom right horseshoe with your right hand, because it is the first to be dropped. Slide your left arm up though the two remaining horseshoes, and grab onto the 1¼-inch solid bore nozzle tucked into the top horseshoe. You are now ready for deployment (photo 13). On top of 500 feet of flat-loaded 2½-inch hose are three reverse horseshoes made from 200 feet of 2½-inch hose. (The term is four to make three: four lengths of 2½-inch hose to make three horseshoes.) Starting right to left, make the horseshoes approximately five feet long; five wraps give each horseshoe between 60 and 65 feet of hose. Between each horseshoe, put a load of hose about eight to 10 feet (called a runner ). This provides slack or spacing between each horseshoe to give room between the nozzleman and the door firefighter and allows each horseshoe to be deployed without pulling on the other. Dropping each horseshoe (drop load) one at a time will allow one person to advance this type of load with minimal help. This will not be an expedient leadout, but it will be a reminder of how important it is to have more than one person on a hose team. Through my trials and errors and from the training of experienced firefighters and officers, I have learned that 25 to 30 feet of hose is needed between floors. For example, if you need to get to the third floor of an apartment building,
Engine Company 5 6 7 allow 60 feet to get you to the landing. Before you drop a pile of hose at the front of the building and start running up the stairs with the nozzle, stop and think of a better way to get this nozzle to the third floor. First, a good size-up should give you an idea of the fire s location. Is it in the front or toward the rear? If the fire is determined to be toward the rear, then it is common practice to shoulder 60 feet plus an additional 20 feet of hose to be flaked out into the front room. It is not uncommon to attack the fire from the rear staircase as well (photo 14). Charged Line Depending on your level of experience and department policy, going in with a dry line may not be an option. To get a charged line to the third floor on your own or with limited personnel can be challenging. First, place the first coupling in the front doorway. This will make it easier to get the first 50 feet of hose into the structure. It is much easier to move 10 or 15 feet of hose at a time instead of 50-plus. Then, load the stairs with a few loops, which should allow you to get the nozzle to the top of the third-floor stairs. Other methods being taught pushing the hose up the staircase and leaving the nozzle at the bottom, for example may work for a straight shot staircase but will be difficult if there are turns. Also, be careful on upper-floor landings in fire-threatened staircases with the nozzle at the bottom floor. To be clear, it is difficult for one person to stretch a charged hoseline to upper 8 floors; most likely, it would be done in extreme circumstances. Discussing single-person leadouts may seem unrealistic or even impractical. However, when fire conditions warrant multiple leadouts, it is not uncommon to self-deploy a hoseline, such as exposure lines, and get a line in place for searching above a fire. Also, keep in mind that a great number of departments run with two-person engines. I am not advocating freelancing hoselines or being in a fire building by yourself. I am advocating being skilled in leading out with minimal assistance. If you can lead out on your own, then having a two- or three-member hose team can enhance your efforts and reputation as a good engine company. NOZZLEMAN Working as a team in advancing a hoseline is a coordinated effort. Like all other tactical operations, each person (position) has a specific job to do. The nozzleman must know how much hose is needed to get to the seat of the fire or the desired location. For example, you have a onestory 25 40 single-family dwelling with fire showing in Division C (rear). At the minimum, you will need 60 feet on your shoulder to be brought to the front if you are leading out to go in through the front. Sixty feet will get you out the back door as well as to the far walls (windows) and four corners in each room off the hallway. As I mentioned earlier, if the space in front allows, flake the hose be-
Engine Company 9 10 11 hind you, and set the first coupling at the doorway. If the nozzleman fails to bring the amount of hose needed and set it up for advancement, the operation will be delayed, and the work of the heelman (also referred to as the door position, the firefighter who feeds and withdraws hose into a doorway) is multiplied. This is not a static position. The door firefighter must position himself on the hoseline whenever necessary, to provide the nozzle team with hose as it advances. This method of positioning the hose outside the structure makes it easier to advance a charged line inside. DOOR FIREFIGHTER The door firefighter is the primary workhorse in the leadout operation. A common mistake and misconception is that the door firefighter stays on the heel of the nozzleman. This couldn t be farther from the truth. Until the nozzle is at the seat of the fire with water flowing, the door firefighter should be in constant motion. If the nozzleman needs more line, that is the job of the door firefighter. The experienced firefighters and officers with whom I work and I pride ourselves on not depending on members of other companies to stretch our line. It is very unnerving and indicative of a weak engine company when the door firefighter is at the top of a third-floor landing screaming down to the first floor for more line. When a member fails to perform his duties, it directly affects the duties of others. As a door firefighter, do not commit yourself to the fire floor until you are certain there is a sufficient amount of hose in place. To do this requires constant communication between the nozzleman and the door firefighter and constant movement from the top to bottom floors and in and out of the structure. Keeping a distance no closer than a length of hose away from the nozzleman is a good mark of where the heelman/door position needs to be. To move the hose, start from the engine and work forward, not the other way around. It is much easier to push hose into a structure or up to a structure s upper floors than it is to pull it. Load front or backyards, living/dining rooms, loops in stairwells, and riding railings (on top of handrails) when possible. Other ways to help with advancing hose to upper floors is for the nozzleman to carry 50 feet of rope in his pocket with a carabiner. Hoisting the nozzle up from the upper-floor window, an outside staircase/fire escape, or balconies saves time and the amount of hose needed. When choosing to lead out through a window, keep in mind that you may not be able to protect or control conditions in the staircase and that your emergency exit is a window, not a doorway. So, it s a good practice to think about having a ladder thrown to the window and making the window opening as wide as possible. TOO MUCH OR NOT ENOUGH HOSE? Having too much hose, especially in heavy-smoke situations, can be quite difficult. If the nozzleman makes a huge mistake by dropping a pile of hose inside the structure, it may be easier to leave it and deploy another hosebed. You can spend twice as much time trying to straighten out hose in poor visibility than it would take to lead out another line the correct way. As I mentioned earlier, use available space for excess hose for example, if you are on an upper-floor landing of a three-story, six-unit apartment building with a center staircase, then force or kick in the door to the apartment adjacent to the apartment on fire and flake excess hose. Another option would be to flake the hose up and down the stairs. Make sure the nozzle is shut. After putting it at the door, and as the hose is being charged, lift the hose up against the wall and allow it to stand up as the hose fills with water (air most likely at first). This can be quite a challenge, especially when companies are trying to use the stairs. LESSONS LEARNED I learned this option the hard way when I misread the height of a structure. Fire was pushing out of three windows in the rear of the top floor. Expecting another set of stairs, I found myself at the door of the fire floor with 30 feet of hose on my shoulder. The staircase was black with smoke, so I set the nozzle down, making sure the bail was shut, and then flaked the hose on the stairs. A member from the truck and I stood the hose up in loops, allowing it to successfully charge. Because of the heavy smoke conditions of the staircase, I wanted to keep the door to the apartment shut until we had a charged line. Normally with an upper-floor fire in the rear, I would lead out inside, dry, with the amount of hose needed to get to the fire floor and enough to flake out into the front room, allowing me to reach the hallway. However, because I misread the building, we were forced to manage the situation in a black
Engine Company staircase with changing conditions. 12 Not having enough hose or having a length of hose rupture is challenging and dangerous for the interior crews. Being short of hose can be the result of a poor size-up or maybe an uncommon interior layout that necessitates more hose than normal. The most common cause for having a short leadout with departments that run with a 2½- or three-inch hose that reduces to a (wye) or a 1¼-inch shutoff (smooth bore nozzle) attached to a 1¾-inch hose is the placement of the wye or the shutoff (nozzle). I have learned through experience and lessons learned from experienced CFD firefighters that if the leadout nozzle is through the rear of the structure, then the divider and shutoff (nozzle) should also be brought to the rear along 13 with enough 2½-inch hose to darken down heavy fire if needed. When the wye is dropped in the gangway or at the side of the structure, be prepared to be short. For a 25 50 building with the wye in the middle of the gangway or on the side of the structure, a loss of 25 feet of hose is automatic. If you find that your leadout is short and you can t reach the fire area, then 14 consider breaching walls to create a path for the hose stream to begin putting water on the fire. To add hose to your leadout, make sure the added length of hose is stretched out in position before shutting down the line; this will allow for a quick hookup and advancement. It may be advantageous, if interior conditions permit, to add the additional length of hose nearest to the nozzle to avoid having to advance 150 feet of hose vs. 50 feet or less. In freezing weather, allowing the hose to trickle may help prevent the line from freezing. Also, stretching a different line of appropriate length may prove to be your best bet. You can replace a ruptured length of hose in the same manner as described above. For example, I was the heelman/door position for a leadout to the fourth floor of a four-story, multiunit apartment building with fire pushing through the roof of an interior stairwell. We stretched a line up the rear outside staircase to the fourth floor above the first engine s position. As the nozzle was in position and charged, glass from a rear window punctured a length of hose that was stretched on the third-floor porch. Disconnecting the female end of the damaged length and dropping it down to the ground and tying it to the male end of the replacement length allowed me to raise the good length of hose to the third floor and quickly reconnect the hoses to get back in service. This is one way among many to add or replace a length of hose during operations. NOZZLE MANAGEMENT Although there are several points I can discuss in regard to operating the nozzle, I will focus on bail control and hose stream application. When putting water on the fire, open the nozzle all the way. Gallons per minute (gpm) put out fire. If you cannot handle a 1¾-inch nozzle with the bail fully opened, then the pressure is entirely too high, or your technique needs work. Remember to use fixed objects (walls or door frames) to help with the back pressure of the hoseline. Also, try to keep the nozzle an arm s length in front of you to allow more range of direction for the stream. If the pipe is too close to your body, it becomes difficult to handle and limits your range of direction. When applying water during suppression or overhaul, use a straight or solid stream. Straight and solid streams provide reach, penetration, as well as gpm without steam blasting the interior crew or victims who may still be inside. What has always worked for me is to give the ceiling a quick shot side to side or back and forth and then attack the contents. Also, if the area is smoky and hot and you have not yet reached the fire, keep the ceiling cool by giving it a quick shot of water as you advance through the structure. Keeping the ceiling cool will reduce the chances of flashover. Once the major body of fire is knocked down, fog out the window using horizontal hydraulic ventilation. Once the area is fogged out, back out of the way and let the truck team go in and do its job. The most effective way to fog out a room is to kneel down, adjust the fog pattern to cover most of the opening, and make sure no one is standing in the doorway. After the walls and ceilings have been opened up, adjust the nozzle back to a straight stream and open the nozzle all the way, slowly working each bay, forcing the water into every wood to wood joint. Also, if fire was running
Engine Company the walls, shove the nozzle in the opened-up wall spaces and shoot the water up and down the walls. Applying your hose stream during overhaul in this way will reduce your chances of having to return for a rekindle. One last point I want to mention is the use of handlines or master streams outside the structure while companies are inside. Do not put water into a window when companies or people are still inside. This will without a doubt and many can testify to this push hot air, gases, and possibly steam beyond the room on fire. I have experienced an instant change of conditions while inside a structure. We were the first engine at a two-story frame with fire pushing out three windows on the second-floor rear. As we were advancing down the hallway toward the rear, the heat was bearable because the fire was venting out the windows. Then, instantly, the hallway went black, and the heat forced me to the floor, facedown. When the outside crews realized we were inside, they withdrew the two 2½-inch handlines they had placed in the windows. Using a master stream/deck gun to knock down a large amount of fire is quite effective. However, it is a first-engine maneuver; the idea is to angle the stream toward the ceiling to create a sprinkler effect for an approximate 10-second count. Be careful not to direct the stream straight into the window and down a hallway toward the rear of a structure unless the structure is fully involved. These are just a few areas of hoseline operations that are important. I hope this article will stimulate discussion and a personal evaluation of your level of comfort in hoseline management and engine operations. BRETT SNOW is a 21-year veteran of the fire service, serving the past nine and a half years with the Chicago (IL) Fire Department. He spent the first seven years on a West Side engine and is now on Squad 2. Notes
Continuing Education How Prepared Is Your Engine Company? COURSE EXAMINATION INFORMATION To receive credit and your certificate of completion for participation in this educational activity, you must complete the program post examination and receive a score of 70% or better. You have the following options for completion. Option One: Online Completion Use this page to review the questions and mark your answers. Return to and sign in. If you have not previously purchased the program, select it from the Online Courses listing and complete the online purchase process. Once purchased, the program will be added to your User History page where a Take Exam link will be provided. Click on the Take Exam link, complete all the program questions, and Submit your answers. An immediate grade report will be provided and on receiving a passing grade, your Certificate of Completion will be provided immediately for viewing and/or printing. Certificates may be viewed and/or printed anytime in the future by returning to the site and signing in. Option Two: Traditional Completion You may fax or mail your answers with payment to PennWell (see Traditional Completion Information on following page). All information requested must be provided to process the program for certification and credit. Be sure to complete ALL Payment, Personal Certification Information, Answers, and Evaluation forms. Your exam will be graded within 72 hours of receipt. On successful completion of the post test (70% or higher), a Certificate of Completion will be mailed to the address provided. COURSE EXAMINATION 1. What is important when setting up a hose load? A. The ease of reloading B. Making sure the nozzle is on top to protect it from damage C. To provide options for the leadout D. Making sure the hose deploys off the officer s side 2. Before pulling hose off the engine, the member assigned to the nozzle should first A. Drain the hose of water B. Make sure the hydrant works C. Make sure the engine is in pump D. Size up the structure to estimate how much hose will be needed 3. As described in this course, when a single person is deploying a crosslay, what is the first step? A. Pull the first section off and place it on the ground B. Face the hosebed, and whichever shoulder the pipe section lines up with, place that section on the opposite shoulder C. Face the hose and pull the section with the pipe to the ground D. First, pull down the section without the pipe and then step into it with your shoulder 4. What is a safe number of hose when estimating how much hose is needed between floors of a residential building? A. 75 feet B. 25-30 feet C. 50 feet D. 10-15 feet 5. If you had a fire on the top floor of a three-story apartment building, how much hose would be needed to reach the third-floor landing? A. 100 feet B. 25 feet C. 60 feet D. 90 feet 6. If the space outside the structure permits, what is an effective way to lay the hose out for advancing a charged line into the structure? A. Make sure the nozzle is placed at the doorway with the first 50 feet stretched straight back behind the nozzle B. Place the nozzle and the first coupling at the entrance of the building C. Leave the nozzle outside the structure and load the front entrance with several loops D. Keep the first 50 feet in a shoe at the front door to begin dragging the nozzle in as the hoseline is charged 7. What is the job of the nozzleman s position? A. To recon in search of the fire location before pulling off any hose B. To know how much hose will be needed to reach the seat of the fire or desired location C. To secure a primary source of water D. To check the entire leadout for kinks 8. What position is the primary workhorse of the leadout operation? A. Hydrant man B. Nozzleman C. Door firefighter (heelman) D. Engineer 9. While advancing a charged hoseline into a structure and prior to reaching the seat of the fire, how close to the nozzleman does the door firefighter need to be? A. No closer than a length of hose away B. Maintain a distance within arm s reach away at all times C. No more than 10 feet away D. None of the above 10. As a door firefighter, you should not commit yourself to the fire floor until A. You are certain there is a sufficient amount of hose in place B. The pipe has reached the fire floor C. The truck company arrives on-scene D. A positive water source as been secured
Continuing Education How Prepared Is Your Engine Company? 11. What is important to keep in mind when leading out through a window? A. You may not be able to protect or control the conditions in the stairway B. Your emergency exit is a window and not a door C. You should make the window as wide as possible D. All of the above 12. What is another tool that can be carried by the nozzleman to help with advancing a hoseline to the upper floors? A. 15-foot piece of webbing B. 50 feet of rope with a carabiner C. 14-foot pike pole D. 12-pound sledgehammer 13. Once the walls and ceilings are pulled, exposing charged studs and joists, what should the nozzleman do? A. Open the bail all the way with a solid or tight stream and slowly spray all wood to wood joints B. Adjust the nozzle to medium fog and quickly spray all wood to wood joints C. Open the bail halfway, washing down the walls and ceilings D. Call for less pressure to minimize water damage 14. What is an effective way to horizontally ventilate using a fog nozzle? A. Place the nozzle just outside the window while using a wide fog pattern B. Stand in the doorway of the room and use a tight stream flowing out the bottom half of the window opening C. Kneel down and adjust the fog to cover most of the window opening, making sure no one is blocking the doorway D. Stand at the window and adjust the fog to cover the entire window opening 15. What can be done with the excess hose when there is too much hose in the stairway of a multi-family apartment building? A. Use the adjacent apartments B. Use the apartment below the fire floor C. Stand the hose up in loops D. All the above 16. As a nozzleman, what must you be able to do to control the fire if the leadout is too short? A. Shut down the pipe and back out until a second line is deployed B. Flow water protecting hallways and stairways or breach walls, allowing direct stream contact to the fire C. Back out and go defensive D. None of the above 17. What is one way to troubleshoot a short leadout or a burst section of hose? A. While a fire is being controlled, have a dry line stretched in ready position for easy advancement closest to the nozzle as possible B. Drop the female end of the hose being replaced or added to, and tie the male end to the replacement length of hose C. Leadout a different hosebed, especially in subzero weather D. All the above 18. When leading out to the rear with a 2 1 2-inch hose attached to 1 3 4-inch hose via a shutoff pipe or divider, where should the shutoff pipe or divider be placed? A. At the front door B. On the side of the structure C. Only use a crosslay to the rear D. To the rear with enough 2 1 2-inch hose for darkening down the fire or advancement into the structure 19. Fire is showing out a window with fire crews inside; what should the nozzleman do? A. Leadout the hoseline to the best position for protecting the interior crews B. Flow water into the window from the outside C. Call for the deck gun to be used D. None of the above 20. When using a deck gun, what should be considered? A. Position of the engine B. Location of fire companies C. How the stream is placed in the window D. All of the above Notes
Continuing Education How Prepared Is Your Engine Company? PROGRAM COMPLETION INFORMATION If you wish to purchase and complete this activity traditionally (mail or fax) rather than Online, you must provide the information requested below. Please be sure to select your answers carefully and complete the evaluation information. To receive credit, you must receive a score of 70% or better. Complete online at: PERSONAL CERTIFICATION INFORMATION: Last Name (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY OR TYPE) First Name Profession/Credentials License Number Street Address Suite or Apartment Number City/State Zip Code Daytime Telephone Number with Area Code Fax Number with Area Code E-mail Address traditional completion INFORMATION: Mail or fax completed answer sheet to Fire Engineering University, Attn: Carroll Hull, 1421 S. Sheridan Road, Tulsa OK 74112 Fax: (918) 831-9804 PAYMENT & CREDIT INFORMATION Examination Fee: $25.00 Credit Hours: 4 Should you have additional questions, please contact Pete Prochilo (973) 251-5053 (Mon-Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm EST). I have enclosed a check or money order. I am using a credit card. My Credit Card information is provided below. American Express Visa MC Discover Please provide the following (please print clearly): Exact Name on Credit Card Credit Card # Expiration Date Signature Answer Form Please check the correct box for each question below. 1. A B C D 11. A B C D 2. A B C D 12. A B C D 3. A B C D 13. A B C D 4. A B C D 14. A B C D 5. A B C D 15. A B C D 6. A B C D 16. A B C D 7. A B C D 17. A B C D 8. A B C D 18. A B C D 9. A B C D 19. A B C D 10. A B C D 20. A B C D Course Evaluation Please evaluate this course by responding to the following statements, using a scale of Excellent = 5 to Poor = 1. 1. To what extent were the course objectives accomplished overall? 5 4 3 2 1 2. Please rate your personal mastery of the course objectives. 5 4 3 2 1 3. How would you rate the objectives and educational methods? 5 4 3 2 1 4. How do you rate the author s grasp of the topic? 5 4 3 2 1 5. Please rate the instructor s effectiveness. 5 4 3 2 1 6. Was the overall administration of the course effective? 5 4 3 2 1 7. Do you feel that the references were adequate? Yes No 8. Would you participate in a similar program on a different topic? Yes No 9. If any of the continuing education questions were unclear or ambiguous, please list them. 10. Was there any subject matter you found confusing? Please describe. 11. What additional continuing education topics would you like to see? PLEASE PHOTOCOPY ANSWER SHEET FOR ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS. AUTHOR DISCLAIMER The author(s) of this course has/have no commercial ties with the sponsors or the providers of the unrestricted educational grant for this course. SPONSOR/PROVIDER No manufacturer or third party has had any input into the development of course content. All content has been derived from references listed, and or the opinions of the instructors. Please direct all questions pertaining to PennWell or the administration of this course to Pete Prochilo, peterp@pennwell.com. COURSE EVALUATION and PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK We encourage participant feedback pertaining to all courses. Please be sure to complete the survey included with the course. Please e-mail all questions to: Pete Prochilo, peterp@pennwell.com. INSTRUCTIONS All questions should have only one answer. Grading of this examination is done manually. Participants will receive confirmation of passing by receipt of a verification form. EDUCATIONAL DISCLAIMER The opinions of efficacy or perceived value of any products or companies mentioned in this course and expressed herein are those of the author(s) of the course and do not necessarily reflect those of PennWell. Completing a single continuing education course does not provide enough information to give the participant the feeling that s/he is an expert in the field related to the course topic. It is a combination of many educational courses and clinical experience that allows the participant to develop skills and expertise. COURSE CREDITS/COST All participants scoring at least 70% on the examination will receive a verification form verifying 4 CE credits. Participants are urged to contact their state or local authority for continuing education requirements. RECORD KEEPING PennWell maintains records of your successful completion of any exam. Please go to www.fireengineeringuniversity. com to see your continuing education credits report. 2009 by Fire Engineering University, a division of PennWell.