Fire Suppression
22%of exam
Safety in the Built Environment
16%of exam
Building ConstructionEgress & Occupant LoadInterior FinishFire-Resistance
Detection and Alarm
14%of exam
Heat DetectorsSmoke DetectorsNFPA 72Notification Signals
Fire Prevention
12%of exam
Hazardous MaterialsNFPA 30Portable ExtinguishersFire Classes
Info & Analysis for Fire Protection
9%of exam
Facility Fire Hazard Management
9%of exam
NFPA 1600Pre-Incident PlanningEmergency ManagementRisk Assessment
Organizing for Fire & Rescue Services
9%of exam
Incident CommandICS SectionsSpan of ControlNIMS
Confining Fires
9%of exam
Fire BarriersFire WallsSmoke ControlCompartmentation
Quick Facts
- Exam
- CFPS
- Credential
- Certified Fire Protection Specialist
- Administrator
- NFPA
- Questions
- 100 MCQ
- Time
- 3 hours
- Pass score
- Not published by NFPA
- Format
- Open-book, 21st ed. Handbook only
- Level
- Professional (2-6 yrs experience)
- Blueprint
- 21st ed., effective Jun 2024
Wet Pipe vs Dry Pipe
Wet pipe
- Always water-filled piping
- Fastest sprinkler response
Dry pipe
- Pressurized air or nitrogen
- Used in freezing areas
Heated space vs freezing
Sprinkler System Selection
- Standard indoor, no freeze risk→Wet pipe system
- Unheated space, freeze risk→Dry pipe system
- Computer room, accidental discharge risk→Pre-action system
- High hazard, flammable liquids→Deluge system
- Small system, limited freeze area→Antifreeze system(Listed solution only)
Sprinkler System Types
- Wet pipe
- Water-filled, fastest response
- Dry pipe
- Pressurized air, freeze-protected
- Pre-action
- Closed heads plus detection interlock
- Deluge
- Open heads, simultaneous discharge
- Antifreeze system
- Listed solution, small systems
Pre-Action vs Deluge
Pre-action
- Closed sprinkler heads
- Requires detection interlock
Deluge
- Open sprinkler heads
- All heads discharge together
Selective vs simultaneous discharge
NFPA 13 Design Parameters
- Light hazard area
- 225 sq ft max coverage
- Ordinary hazard area
- 130 sq ft max coverage
- Extra hazard area
- 100 sq ft max coverage
- Light hazard density
- 0.10 gpm per sq ft
- OH1 density
- 0.15 gpm per sq ft
- OH2 density
- 0.20 gpm per sq ft
Water Supply & Pumps
- Fire pump
- Boosts system water pressure
- Jockey pump
- Maintains pressure, prevents cycling
- Vertical turbine pump
- Lifts water from below grade
- Fire hydrant
- Firefighter water connection point
- Fire flow
- Water volume to extinguish
Standpipes & Clean Agents
- Standpipe Class I
- 100 psi residual, 2.5 in
- Standpipe Class II
- 65 psi residual, 1.5 in
- Main drain test
- Quarterly per NFPA 25
- Clean agent (IG-541)
- Inert gas, no residue
Building Construction Type Selection
- Need highest fire resistance→Type I fire-resistive
- Noncombustible, lower rating acceptable→Type II construction
- Combustible interior, masonry exterior→Type III ordinary
- Exposed heavy structural timber→Type IV heavy timber
- Wood-frame, fully combustible→Type V construction
Building Construction Types
- Type I
- Fire-resistive, noncombustible frame
- Type II
- Noncombustible, lower fire rating
- Type III
- Ordinary: masonry walls, wood joists
- Type IV
- Heavy timber, exposed structural members
- Type V
- Wood frame, fully combustible
Egress, Occupancy & Finish
- Egress door width
- 32 in minimum clear opening
- Level egress factor
- 0.2 in/person, non-sprinklered
- Business occupant load
- 150 sq ft per person
- Class A finish
- Flame spread index 0-25
- Class B finish
- Flame spread index 26-75
- Fire barrier rating
- 1 hour minimum
Ionization vs Photoelectric
Ionization
- Detects fast flaming fires
- Small combustion particles
Photoelectric
- Detects smoldering fires
- Large visible smoke particles
Flaming fire vs smoldering fire
Heat vs Smoke Detector Choice
- Dusty or high-humidity area→Heat detector(Avoids false alarms)
- Rapid fire growth expected→Rate-of-rise detector
- Fast flaming fire risk→Ionization smoke detector
- Smoldering fire risk→Photoelectric smoke detector
- HVAC duct air stream→Duct smoke detector
Detection Devices (NFPA 72)
- Fixed-temp heat detector
- Activates at set temperature
- Rate-of-rise detector
- Triggers on rapid temp rise
- Ionization detector
- Best for fast flaming fires
- Photoelectric detector
- Best for smoldering fires
- Duct smoke detector
- Samples air in HVAC ducts
- Smoke detector spacing
- 30 ft nominal, flat ceiling
- 0.7 spacing method
- 21 ft max to any point
Notification & Signals
- Audible signal minimum
- 15 dBA above ambient
- Sleeping area minimum
- 75 dBA at pillow
- Temporal-3 (T3)
- Standard fire evacuation signal
- Temporal-4 (T4)
- Carbon monoxide alarm signal
- FACP
- Central alarm monitoring panel
PASS Extinguisher Technique
Pull, aim, squeeze, and sweep
Pull: safety pin freeAim: at fire baseSqueeze: handle lever downSweep: side to side
Fire Extinguisher Class Selection
- Wood, paper, cloth fire→Class A extinguisher
- Flammable liquid fire→Class B extinguisher
- Energized electrical fire→Class C extinguisher
- Combustible metal fire→Class D extinguisher
- Commercial kitchen grease fire→Class K extinguisher
Hazardous Materials & NFPA 30/704
- Class I liquid
- Flash point below 100°F
- Class II liquid
- Flash point 100-140°F
- Class IIIA liquid
- Flash point 140-200°F
- Class IIIB liquid
- Flash point 200°F or higher
- Storage cabinet max
- 120 gal Class I/II/IIIA
- SDS format
- 16-section GHS standard
- NFPA 704 diamond
- Health, flammability, instability, special
Fire Classes & Extinguishers
- Class A fire
- Ordinary combustibles: wood, paper
- Class B fire
- Flammable and combustible liquids
- Class C fire
- Energized electrical equipment
- Class D fire
- Combustible metals like magnesium
- Class K fire
- Commercial cooking oils, fats
- ABC dry chemical
- Interrupts chain reaction step
- Class A travel distance
- 75 ft maximum
Fire Tetrahedron
Fuel, oxygen, heat, and chain reaction
Fuel: combustible materialOxygen: supports combustionHeat: ignition energy sourceChain reaction: sustains fire
Flashover vs Backdraft
Flashover
- Ventilated, radiant-heat driven
- Gradual ignition of surfaces
Backdraft
- Oxygen-starved, ventilation-limited fire
- Explosive on sudden air
Radiant growth vs oxygen-starved explosion
Fire Science Fundamentals
- Fire tetrahedron
- Fuel, oxygen, heat, chain reaction
- Conduction
- Heat transfer through direct contact
- Convection
- Heat transfer via fluid movement
- Radiation
- Heat transfer via electromagnetic waves
- Flash point
- Lowest temp forming ignitable vapor
- Autoignition temperature
- Ignites without external spark
- Smoldering
- Flameless, low-temperature combustion
Stages of Fire Growth
Incipient, growth, flashover, fully developed, decay
Incipient: ignition just startsGrowth: heat release climbingFlashover: near 600°C radiantDecay: fuel or oxygen depletes
Fire Development Stages
- Incipient stage
- Ignition begins, minimal heat
- Growth stage
- Heat release rate increasing
- Flashover
- Simultaneous ignition near 600°C
- Fully developed
- Maximum heat release, ventilation-limited
- Decay stage
- Fuel or oxygen depleting
- Backdraft
- Explosive ignition on sudden ventilation
Risk, Modeling & Cause
- Fire risk assessment
- Identify hazards, evaluate risk
- Fire modeling tools
- FDS, CFAST, BRANZFIRE
- Fire cause categories
- Natural, accidental, incendiary, undetermined
- Decomposition
- Break complex problem into parts
RACE Emergency Response
Rescue, Activate, Confine, Extinguish or Evacuate
Rescue: remove occupantsActivate: sound the alarmConfine: close doorsExtinguish or evacuate area
Emergency & Risk Management
- NFPA 1600
- Mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery
- NFPA 1620
- Pre-incident plan for responders
- CWPP
- Community Wildfire Protection Plan
- Defend-in-place
- Occupants stay in safe zone
- Emergency plan
- General strategy, not tasks
- Post-incident analysis
- Reviews what went wrong
Strike Team vs Task Force
Strike team
- Same resource type only
- Example: five fire engines
Task force
- Mixed resource types
- Assembled for one mission
Uniform resources vs mixed resources
Incident Command System (ICS)
- Incident Commander
- Overall responsibility for response
- Operations Section
- Executes tactical objectives
- Planning Section
- Develops incident action plan
- Logistics Section
- Provides resources and support
- Finance/Admin Section
- Tracks incident costs
- Span of control
- 3 to 7 resources
Fire Wall vs Fire Barrier
Fire wall
- Stands alone structurally
- Higher rating: 2-4 hr
Fire barrier
- Relies on building structure
- Minimum rating: 1 hr
Standalone vs structure-dependent
Compartmentation & Smoke Control
- Fire barrier
- 1 hour minimum rating
- Fire wall
- Stands alone if structure collapses
- Fire-rated duct
- Stops fire/smoke via HVAC
- Smoke damper
- Controls smoke in ductwork
- Smoke barrier
- Contains smoke movement
- Engineered smoke control
- Pressurization plus exhaust system
Common Traps
Flashover ≠ Backdraft
Flashover: ventilated growth stage ≠ Backdraft: oxygen-starved sudden explosion
Fire Wall ≠ Fire Barrier
Wall: standalone structural stability ≠ Barrier: relies on structure
MSDS ≠ SDS
MSDS: old pre-GHS format ≠ SDS: current GHS 16-section
Combustible ≠ Flammable
Combustible: flash point 100°F+ ≠ Flammable: flash point below 100°F
Jockey Pump ≠ Fire Pump
Jockey: maintains pressure only ≠ Fire pump: primary suppression flow
Class A ≠ Class K
Class A: ordinary combustibles ≠ Class K: cooking oil fires
Last Minute
- 1.Weights: Suppression 22%, Built-Env 16%
- 2.Detection & Alarm 14% of exam
- 3.Fire tetrahedron: fuel, oxygen, heat, reaction
- 4.Flashover ignites near 600°C
- 5.Class A-K matches fuel type
- 6.Wet pipe = always water-filled
- 7.Dry pipe = freeze-prone areas
- 8.Deluge = open heads, simultaneous
- 9.NFPA 13 light: 0.10 gpm/sf
- 10.Only 21st-ed Handbook allowed open-book
- 11.Passing score not published (NFPA)
- 12.Span of control: 3 to 7
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