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TCFP FIRE INVESTIGATOR (MASTER FOR TCFP
EXAM)||2025-2026|| ACTUAL EXAM WITH REAL
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED
ANSWERS||VERIFIED ANSWERS||A+GRADE
Is NFPA 921 a guide or a standard?
- It is the Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations What are the six steps of the scientific method? Recognize the needDefine the problem Collect the data Analyze the data Develop a hypothesisTest the hypothesis What step of the scientific method is inductive reasoning? - Analyze the data What step of the scientific method is deductive reasoning?
- Test the hypothesis What are the four parts of the fire tetrahedron?
- Fuel (reducing agent) Heat Oxidizing agent Uninhibited chemical chain reaction What kind of reaction absorbs energy, an endothermic or an exothermic reaction? - Endothermic What is heat transfer by direct contact called?
- Conduction What is heat transfer by gas flow / air movement called? - Convection What is heat transfer by microwave energy called?
- Radiation What is a fuel controlled fire?
- A fire that is limited by the amount of combustibles. What is a ventilation controlled fire?
- A fire that is limited by the amount of oxygen. What are the stages of fire growth?
- IgnitionGrowth Flashover Fully Developed Decay What is a flashover?
- The transition phase from growth to fully developed, where allsurfaces reach ignition temperature almost simultaneously. What is ignition of the underside of the hot gas layer called?
- Flameover or rollover What factors influence flashover conditions?
- Size of the compartmentHeight of ceiling Ventilation Amount of fuel Layout of fuel Location of fire in the compartment What are fire patterns?
- The physical manifestation of the affects of fire on materials. What are the different types of fire patterns on the walls and ceiling?
- Plume Generated patterns (often V shaped) Ventilation generated patterns Hot gas layer patterns (Line of demarcation) What is spalling?
- The separation of chunks of concrete with explosive force caused by theexpansion of water (moisture) trapped in the concrete as it turns to steam What is char?
- Pyrolized carbonaceous material What is oxidation?
- Physical change in appearance of a material resulting from the combination of oxygen.
What is balloon frame construction?
- The wall studs extend from the foundation to theroof. What is Ohm's Law? – V=IR(E = I x R) What is voltage?
- Pressure What is current?
- Friction, opposition to the flow What is an overload?
- Power needs exceed the circuit's capacity. Alternating Current VS Direct Current
- Alternating current
- the electrons flow out fromthe source and then back to it, alternating directions. Direct current - electrons flow one way. Single Phase service
- Residential. Three conductors: Two insulated conductors at 120 Veach, and a bare ground wire. Three phase system
- Commercial. Four conductors: Three insulated conductors (480, 240,or 208 V), and a bare ground wire. What is the difference between grounding and bonding?
- Grounding connects the system to the earth (ground). Bonding connects to systems together so the charge stays the samebetween them. What is overcurrent protection?
- A device that protects the system from excess current.Includes: Circuit breakers Plug fuses Type S fuses Time delay fuses Cartridge fuses What are the colors of residential wires?
- Hot - black or redNeutral - gray or white Ground - bare or green What are some methods of electrical heat production?
- Resistance heating Short circuit Ground fault Parting Arc Excessive current What is the difference between and arc and a spark?
- Sparks are thrown metal particles Arcs are brief discharges of electricity What is arc tracking?
- Arc following salts, dusts, or liquids along a path. What is arc mapping?
- Mapping out of electrical damage in a circuit. What is static electricity?
- A stationary charge caused by movement of one object against another. Lighting is a static disharge. What are the five conditions nessecery for Static Arc Ignition?
- A Means of staticgeneration A means of accumulating and maintaining the charge A static discharge with sufficient energy A fuel source Coexistence of the arc and fuel source Name two fuel gasses:
- LP (liquid petroleum)Natural gas What is the difference between tanks and cylinders for LP gas?
- Tanks: storage withgreater than 1000 LBs water capacity. Cylinder: Portable, usually consumer. What are some human factors related to fire initiation in a structure? - Improper maintenance and operation Housekeeping Product labels, warnings, and instructions
What are some Basic Investigation Assignments for personnel? - Photography Note Taking Mapping Diagramming Interviewing Witnesses Evidence Collection What are some ways to document a scene? - Photographs Video Notes Drawings (sketches) What items can cause cross-contamination at a scene? - Tools Gear (boots, gloves, etc) Evidence Cans Other emergency equipment Characteristics of evidence: - Physical state: Solid, liquid, gas Characteristics: Size, shape, weight Fragility: Will it disintegrate or break? Volatility: Will it evaporate? What is an accelerant? - Any substance used to initiate or promote fire spread. What are the most desireable collection areas for liquid accelerants? - Lowest areas Samples of porous or fiberous material Cloth, paper, cardboard Seams, tears, cracks Edges of burn patterns Floor drains How much space can you fill up in an evidence can? - 2/3 of the can What data should be included with the evidence? - Date and time Case # Location Brief description Name of investigator What is the difference between Gas chromatography and Mass spectrometry? - GC seperates mixtures into their individual components MS further analyzes the individual components What is the point of origin? - Exact physical location where a heat source and fuel come together and a fire begins.
What is the area of origin? - The room or area where the fire began Recommended procedure for origin determination: - Preliminary scene assessment Preliminary fire spread scenario development In-depth exterior examination In-depth interior examination Fire scene reconstruction Fire spread scenario report What is a competent ignition source? - One that has sufficient energy, temperature, and time to raise the first fuel to its ignition temperature. What are the four elements of determining a fire cause? - Ignition source Fuel first ignited Oxidizer present Ignition sequence Four features of the investigation: - Cause of fire or explosion Cause of damage to property Cause of bodily injury / loss of life Degree to which human fault contributed Four classifications of cause: - Accidental Natural Incendiary Undetermined Should a fire ever be classified as "suspicious?" - No. Suspicious is not an appropriate term to describe the unexplained. What is failure analysis? - A logical, systematic examination of an item, component, assembly, or structure and it splace and function within a system, conducted to identify and analyze the probability, causes, and consequences of potential and real failures. What are hard times? - Incidents with a known exact time. These include dispatch times and other documented times. What are soft times? - Witness statements with approximate times, other observations with approximations. What are benchmark events? - The foundation of the timeline. Includes events related to cause, spread, detection, or extinguishment of the fire. Micro VS Macro times: - Macro can be as far as months or years before the fire, and Micro are small and narrow parts of the timeline.
Exotic accelerants Unusual fuel load or configuration Burn injuries Incendiary devices Other factors not directly related to combustion, but still indicators of incendiary fire: - Remote locations with blocked view Fires near service equipment and appliances Removal/Replacement of contents prior to fire Blocked entry Sabotage to the structure or fire protection Opening windows and exterior doors What are some Evidentiary factors to consider? - Geographical (clusters) Temporal frequency Materials and methods (using the same firesetting method) Financial stress History of code violations Fires at additional properties, same owner Overinsured property What are some timed opportunities? - Natural conditions (flood, hurricains, etc) Civil unrest Fire Dept unvailible What are motives for firesetting? - Vandalism Excitement Revenge Crime Concealment Profit Extremism Carbon monoxide poisining causes what color of the skin? - Cherry-pink What are the different degrees of burns? - 1st degree, reddening of the skin 2nd degree, blistering 3rd degree, full-thickness damage to skin 4th degree, damage to fat/muscle and charring of tissue What should you document on an appliance in the area of origin? - Controls Bonding/grounding Position of moving parts Clocks Power supply Fuel supply (gas)
What identifying info should you get for each appliance? - Manufacturer Model Number Serial Number Date of manufature Name of product Warnings Recommendations What is an exemplar? - A duplicate object, such as an appliance, obtained for testing purposes. Types of heat cutoff devices: - Fluid pressure Bimetal Expanding metal Melting Motion switch (tip over) What do fluorescent lights and HID lights have in common? - They all have ballasts, which can fail and cause a fire. What are ignition sources in vehicles? - Open flames (backfire) Electrical sources Hot surfaces (exhaust) Mechanical sparks (broken parts) Smoking materials What are the two basic fuel systems in a car? - Low pressure and high pressure. Low pressure = 3- 5 PSI, Carbuerated High pressure = 35 - 70 PSI, fuel injected Wildfires have what two types of fuel? - Ground fuels Arial fuels Sometimes: Ground, surface, and crown Three classifications of wind: - Meterological wind (normal wind) Diurnal wind (solar heating / nightime cooling) Fire winds What is the fire head? - Portion of the fire that is moving most rapidly What is the fire heel? - Opposite of the head, less intense What are the causes of wildfires? - Lighting Spontaneous heating
Stability What are some basic concerns for complex investigations? - Transportation Equipment Security Decon Environmental Communications Sanitation Trash removal Snow & Ice Lighting Evidence storage What are two natural causes of wildfires? - Lighting Spontaneous heating What are some human causes of wildfires? - Campsite Smoking Debris burning Glass refraction Incendiary Controlled burn Machines Railroad Juveniles Fireworks What are some utilities that can cause wildfires? - Electrical Gas and oil drilling What are four search patterns? - Segment Loop Grid Lane What are some types of suppression for wildfires? - Class A foam Fire breaks Air drops Firing out What are the two main parts of a wildfire? - Head Heel What are the three types of winds affecting wildfires? - Meterological Diurnal
Fire winds What are some ground fuels? - Duff Roots Leaves Grass Dead wood Low brush What are some aerial fuels? - Tree crowns Snags Moss High brush What are some fuel systems in vehicles? - Gas - low pressure or high pressure, carb or fuel injected Diesel CNG/LPG Name some ignition sources in cars: - Open flames Electrical problems Hot surfaces (exhaust, turbocharger) Mechanical sparks Smoking What is the difference between combustible liquids and flammable liquids? - Combustible = flash point above 100 F Flammable = Flash point below 100 F Name some residential appliances that can cause a fire: - Oven Coffee maker Toaster Can opener Refrigerator Dishwasher Microwave Space heater Electric blanket Air conditioner Hair dryer Iron Dryer Lighting What is an exemplar? - It is an example / exact copy of the product or item burned in the fire. It is for testing purposes.
What is extremism firesetting? - Terrorism Riots or civil distrurbance What are some things to examine in multiple confirmed incendiary fires? - Geographic area Temporal frequency (time) Materials & Method of firesetting What are some indicators of incendiary fires? - Evidence of other crimes (crime concealment) Indicators of financial stress History of code violations Owner with multiple fires Over insurance Timed oppportunity (civil unrest, natural disaster) Other indicators that a fire is incendiary: - Remote locations Fire near service equipment / appliances Removal or replacement of contents prior to fire Entry blocked Sabotage of fire protection systems Multiple Fires Trailers Lack of fuel load / ignition sources Exotic accelerants Unsual fuel load burn injuries Incendiary devices What is the difference between low order and high order explosions? - Low order = less than the speed of sound, pushing / bulging damage, slow pressure rise High order = faster than the speed of sound, breaking / shattering, long range missiles, rapid pressure rise What is a seated explosion? - Seated explosions have a blast crater in the center of the explosion. Generally caused by high explosives like TNT, PETN, RDX, ANFO. Non seated explosions are caused by dispersed fuel gases and dusts. They do not cause a blast crater. What can cause a non-seated explosion? - Fuel gases Pooling of flammable liquids Dusts Backdraft
What does BLEVE stand for? - Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion What are the different basic types of explosions? - Mechanical BLEVE Chemical Combustion Electrical Nuclear What are the parts of a investigation timeline? - Hard times Soft times Benchmark events Describe some causes of injury or loss of life: - Toxicity HazMat Compartmentation (failure to contain fire) Change of occupancy Fire alarms (failure) Human behavior Suppression Housekeeping Fuel loads Ventilation Code Violations Egress Structural failure What are the four classifications of fire? - Accidental Natural Incendiary Undetermined What is the difference between Probable and Possible? - Probable = more than 50% Possible = 50% or less What are the three phases of ignition? - Generation Transmission Heating What are important things to look at when you are comparing fire patterns? - Sequence of patterns Depth of char Ventilation Missing wood Depth of calcination Arc mapping
Structural Interior Utility / Appliance Evidence Victim Witness Viewpoint Aerial What are the two types of cameras? - Digital and film What types of consultants might be needed to provide technical assistance? - Materials Engineer Mechanical Engineer Electrical Engineer Chemist Fire science engineer Insurance agent Canine Team What is the basic infor needed to plan an investigation? - Location Date and time Weather Size and complexity Type and use of structure Nature and extent of damage Security Purpose of the investigation Where can you get an MSDS? - Manufacturer Supplier Facility hazard and communication plan Local Emergency planning committee What are the parts of the NFPA 704 diamond? - Blue = Health Red = Flammability Yellow = Reactivity Special hazards = No water, Oxidizer, etc In the ERG (Emergency Response Guidebook), what are three methods of looking up a hazmat substance? - Locate the UN Number - yellow pages Locate name of material - blue pages Locate matching placard in the table of placards What are the two general hazards found on each guidebook page? - Health and Fire/Explosion
What factors affect scene safety? - Suppression Structural stability Utilities Electrical hazards Standing water Bystanders What are types of hazards at a fire scene? - Physical Structural Electrical Chemical Biological Mechanical What is the difference between a fact witness and an expert witness? - Fact witnesses can only testify to the facts they observed. Expert witnesses can testify to the conclusions they draw from these facts. What are the four methods of right of entry? - Consent Excigent Circumstances Administrative Search Warrant Criminal Search Warrant What is spoliation? - It is the wrongful destruction of evidence What does the Miranda Warning include? - Right to remain silent Anything said or done will be used against you Right to an attorney Right to have one if you cannot afford it You have the right to stop talking What are the ages of child fire setters? - Child - 2 - 6 Adolescent - 7 - 13 Juvenile - 14 - 17 Why do children 2 - 6 set fires? - Curiosity Why do adolescents 7-13 set fires? - Broken families, physical or emotional trauma Why to juveniles 14 - 17 set fires? - Stress, anxiety, anger, other problems What kind of equipment uses fuel gas? - Air heating Water heater Cooking Refrigeration Engines
