FirefightersVertical ventilation: A basement, cutting through the floor (house, night)
A basement, cutting through the floor. The building is a house. It happens at night. As part of a team, with an assignment, protective gear, ground and roof ladders and tools, you ventilate a structure vertically: the ladders are placed for ventilation, the opening is made, every barrier is removed, the structure stays sound, the products of combustion get out and the team retreats once the job is done. It is station 4-13 of Ohio's Firefighter I practical exam (NFPA 1001 4.3.12).
Free to startThis scenario
- A basement, cutting through the floor.
- The building is a house.
- It happens at night.
The steps
- Select, carry, raise and secure the ground ladders for ventilation.
- Sound the roof for integrity.
- Set up roof ladders on pitched roofs, secured to a ground ladder.
- Carry and operate the ventilation tools and equipment.
- Carry the ventilation tools and equipment while going up or down ladders.
- Hoist the ventilation tools to the roof.
- Cut the roofing or flooring on a flat roof, a pitched roof or a basement so the products of combustion get out of the structure.
- Do not compromise the structural integrity.
- Clear the opening with hand tools, removing every ventilation barrier.
- Retreat from the area as a team once the ventilation is done.
- No unsafe act during the evaluation.
To pass
- All 11 steps, or all 7 when ventilating a basement.
- A roof simulator approved by the program can be used, with a smoke-generating device; an elevated simulator is preferred.
- Two candidates can be evaluated at the same time if each one makes 2 cuts on the opening.
- The evaluator can stop the station at any time for an unsafe act.
Official source
Firefighter I Practical Examination Skill Sheets (EMS 5919)
Ohio publishes every Firefighter I skill sheet free: the steps, the critical points and the minimum to pass.
Making Synapses is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by NFPA, IFSAC, Pro Board, OSHA or any state agency. NFPA 1001 and NFPA 1010 are trademarks of their respective owners and are named only to describe the exams.