NFPA 1031 PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What are the public organizations - Answers :fire department
Building department
Code enforcement department
What is the overall goal for fire protection and life safety - Answers :protect lives and
property fron uncontrolled fires and other hazards
What is a consensus standard - Answers :rules, principles or measures that are
established through agreement of the members of the standards-setting organization
Prescriptive (model) code vs performance based - Answers :prescriptive; described in
detail the type of materials that can be used and how they must be assembled
Performance; describes acceptable level of performance that an assembly, material or
system must meet without stating how the item is assembled
What are some of the most prominent organizations for developing standards - Answers
:NFPA
ASTM
UL
ANSI
T/F complaints require immediate action - Answers :F
What do you do upon finding violations - Answers :1) initiate corrective action
2) verify correction
3) notify complainant
4) update record
What is a permit - Answers :-an official document that grants a property owner or other
party permission to perform a specific activity
-may be obtained for a single event, continuing operation or processes
What are 2 reasons a permit is issued - Answers :1) ensure hazardous situations or
conditions are not allowed to develop without knowledge and approval
2) enable inspection personnel to verify that the conditions meet the applicable code
requirement
What are the two types of permits - Answers :operational and construction
What is an operational permit - Answers :allows a person or group to conduct operation
or business for a specified time or until the permit is renewed or revoked
Ex; storing and dispensing haz mat, open burning, temporary tents
,What is a construction permit - Answers :-issued for the installation or alteration of a
system or equipment
Ex; repair, removal, storage, abandonment or use of.... Fire ext, medical gas, standpipe
sys, industrial ovens, fl and comb liquids
Physical vs chemical change - Answers :physical; substance remains chemically the
same but changes in size, shape or appearance
Chemical; changes from one type of matter into another
What is an oxidizing agent - Answers :the substance that oxidizes another substance by
accepting its electrons
What is fuel - Answers :a material that will maintain combustion under specific
conditions
Exothermic vs endothermic - Answers :exo; reaction gives off energy (fire)
Endo; reaction absorbs energy (water to steam)
Components of fire tetrahedron - Answers :Heat, Fuel, Oxygen, Chemical Chain
Reaction
Non flaming vs flaming combustion - Answers :non; occurs slower at lower temp
Flaming; produce visible flame above material surface, oxidation involved fuel in gas
phase, req liquid or solid fuel to be vaporized
What is temperature - Answers :measure of average kinetic energy
What is energy - Answers :the capacity to perform work
What is ignition - Answers :the process of initiating self-sustained combustion
Forms of ignition - Answers :piloted; most common, occurs when mixture of fuel and
oxygen encounter an external heat source
Auto ignition; occurs without any external ignition
Auto temp always higher than piloted temp
Pyrolysis vs vaporization - Answers :pyrolysis = chemical decomposition, deals with
solid fuels
,Vaporization = physical process, deals with liquids
Sources of thermal energy - Answers :chemical (most common)
Electrical
Light
Nuclear
Sound
Mechanical
Ways that electrical heating can occur - Answers :resistance heating
Overcurrent/ overload
Arcing
Sparking
What is an inspector - Answers :a person who is trained to perform fire prevention and
life safety inspections of all types of new construction and existing occupancies
Reasons why an inspector may be authorized to perform in the F&LS inspections -
Answers :routine
Issuance of a permit
Response to a complaint
Imminent hazard
New construction
Owner/occupant request
What is due process - Answers :conduct of legal proceedings according to established
rules and principles for the protection and enforcement of private rights
Compliance procedure steps
(how to ensure compliance) - Answers :1) notification
2) follow up inspection (after predetermined time)
3) sanction (if violation not corrected)
4) prosecution
2 types of proceedings - Answers :civil - usually non criminal, usually because of law
suit
Criminal - probable cause for arrest
What are the 3 types of criminal violations - Answers :summary offence
Misdemeanor
Felony
What is a summary offence - Answers :lowest form
Minor infraction
Typically written citation
, Fact witness vs expert testimony - Answers :FW; what he or she saw, heard, touched,
smelled or tasted
ET; can provide opinions, person with sufficient skill, knowledge or experience
What is a felony - Answers :'serious crime'
Punishable by fine, prison or death
Preliminary hearing vs felony trial - Answers :prelim; takes place before the judge, crime
committed is establishes, if sufficient evidence, then pushes forward to trial
Felony; defendant has the right to trial before a jury, or can do it just with a judge
What is a testimony - Answers :an affirmation or delcaration made under oath
What is a misdemeanor - Answers :'lessor' crime
-punishable by a fire or less than 2 years of jail
-allowed to plead guilty or not guilty
Code vs standard - Answers :codes are enforceable, standards are not unless
referenced by a code
-code; collection of rules and regulations to become law
-standard; developed set of principles, protocols or procedures;; minimum guidelines
How often are codes and standards revised - Answers :3-5 years
What is resistance heating - Answers :electric current flows through a conductor, heat is
produced
What is overcurrent or over load - Answers :current flowing through a conductor
exceeds its design limits
What is arcing - Answers :electric discharge across a gap through a medium
What is sparking - Answers :luminous particles form and spatter when arc occurs
How is mechanical energy generated - Answers :friction or compression
What is heat flux - Answers :Energy transfer over time per unit of surface area,
kilowatts/meter(squared) kilojoules/meter(squared) x sec
Btu/feet(squared) x sec
Ways of heat transfer - Answers :conduction, convection, radiation
What is conduction - Answers :Transfer of heat through and between solids, direct
contact
What are the public organizations - Answers :fire department
Building department
Code enforcement department
What is the overall goal for fire protection and life safety - Answers :protect lives and
property fron uncontrolled fires and other hazards
What is a consensus standard - Answers :rules, principles or measures that are
established through agreement of the members of the standards-setting organization
Prescriptive (model) code vs performance based - Answers :prescriptive; described in
detail the type of materials that can be used and how they must be assembled
Performance; describes acceptable level of performance that an assembly, material or
system must meet without stating how the item is assembled
What are some of the most prominent organizations for developing standards - Answers
:NFPA
ASTM
UL
ANSI
T/F complaints require immediate action - Answers :F
What do you do upon finding violations - Answers :1) initiate corrective action
2) verify correction
3) notify complainant
4) update record
What is a permit - Answers :-an official document that grants a property owner or other
party permission to perform a specific activity
-may be obtained for a single event, continuing operation or processes
What are 2 reasons a permit is issued - Answers :1) ensure hazardous situations or
conditions are not allowed to develop without knowledge and approval
2) enable inspection personnel to verify that the conditions meet the applicable code
requirement
What are the two types of permits - Answers :operational and construction
What is an operational permit - Answers :allows a person or group to conduct operation
or business for a specified time or until the permit is renewed or revoked
Ex; storing and dispensing haz mat, open burning, temporary tents
,What is a construction permit - Answers :-issued for the installation or alteration of a
system or equipment
Ex; repair, removal, storage, abandonment or use of.... Fire ext, medical gas, standpipe
sys, industrial ovens, fl and comb liquids
Physical vs chemical change - Answers :physical; substance remains chemically the
same but changes in size, shape or appearance
Chemical; changes from one type of matter into another
What is an oxidizing agent - Answers :the substance that oxidizes another substance by
accepting its electrons
What is fuel - Answers :a material that will maintain combustion under specific
conditions
Exothermic vs endothermic - Answers :exo; reaction gives off energy (fire)
Endo; reaction absorbs energy (water to steam)
Components of fire tetrahedron - Answers :Heat, Fuel, Oxygen, Chemical Chain
Reaction
Non flaming vs flaming combustion - Answers :non; occurs slower at lower temp
Flaming; produce visible flame above material surface, oxidation involved fuel in gas
phase, req liquid or solid fuel to be vaporized
What is temperature - Answers :measure of average kinetic energy
What is energy - Answers :the capacity to perform work
What is ignition - Answers :the process of initiating self-sustained combustion
Forms of ignition - Answers :piloted; most common, occurs when mixture of fuel and
oxygen encounter an external heat source
Auto ignition; occurs without any external ignition
Auto temp always higher than piloted temp
Pyrolysis vs vaporization - Answers :pyrolysis = chemical decomposition, deals with
solid fuels
,Vaporization = physical process, deals with liquids
Sources of thermal energy - Answers :chemical (most common)
Electrical
Light
Nuclear
Sound
Mechanical
Ways that electrical heating can occur - Answers :resistance heating
Overcurrent/ overload
Arcing
Sparking
What is an inspector - Answers :a person who is trained to perform fire prevention and
life safety inspections of all types of new construction and existing occupancies
Reasons why an inspector may be authorized to perform in the F&LS inspections -
Answers :routine
Issuance of a permit
Response to a complaint
Imminent hazard
New construction
Owner/occupant request
What is due process - Answers :conduct of legal proceedings according to established
rules and principles for the protection and enforcement of private rights
Compliance procedure steps
(how to ensure compliance) - Answers :1) notification
2) follow up inspection (after predetermined time)
3) sanction (if violation not corrected)
4) prosecution
2 types of proceedings - Answers :civil - usually non criminal, usually because of law
suit
Criminal - probable cause for arrest
What are the 3 types of criminal violations - Answers :summary offence
Misdemeanor
Felony
What is a summary offence - Answers :lowest form
Minor infraction
Typically written citation
, Fact witness vs expert testimony - Answers :FW; what he or she saw, heard, touched,
smelled or tasted
ET; can provide opinions, person with sufficient skill, knowledge or experience
What is a felony - Answers :'serious crime'
Punishable by fine, prison or death
Preliminary hearing vs felony trial - Answers :prelim; takes place before the judge, crime
committed is establishes, if sufficient evidence, then pushes forward to trial
Felony; defendant has the right to trial before a jury, or can do it just with a judge
What is a testimony - Answers :an affirmation or delcaration made under oath
What is a misdemeanor - Answers :'lessor' crime
-punishable by a fire or less than 2 years of jail
-allowed to plead guilty or not guilty
Code vs standard - Answers :codes are enforceable, standards are not unless
referenced by a code
-code; collection of rules and regulations to become law
-standard; developed set of principles, protocols or procedures;; minimum guidelines
How often are codes and standards revised - Answers :3-5 years
What is resistance heating - Answers :electric current flows through a conductor, heat is
produced
What is overcurrent or over load - Answers :current flowing through a conductor
exceeds its design limits
What is arcing - Answers :electric discharge across a gap through a medium
What is sparking - Answers :luminous particles form and spatter when arc occurs
How is mechanical energy generated - Answers :friction or compression
What is heat flux - Answers :Energy transfer over time per unit of surface area,
kilowatts/meter(squared) kilojoules/meter(squared) x sec
Btu/feet(squared) x sec
Ways of heat transfer - Answers :conduction, convection, radiation
What is conduction - Answers :Transfer of heat through and between solids, direct
contact
