EAPS Exam 3 Study Guide questions
with verified solutions
Characteristic of fire - correct answer ✔✔- Fire is an exothermic (heat producing), self-
perpetuating, chemical reaction initiated by a small amount of heat.
- The process causes fuels to be combined with oxygen leading to new compounds, a lot more
heat, and light
The fire tetrahedron - correct answer ✔✔Heat - Produced during combustion because the
reaction is exothermic. Since these reactions are ongoing, combustion releases more than
enough heat to make the fire self- perpetuating
Fuel - flammable material that begins the process of combustion. When fuel is heated past its
flash point, it enters the gas-phase & release vapor pressure that can ignite in air and support
combustion
Oxygen- supports burning due to oxidation. This is when gases released by fuel heat up, break
apart & recombine with oxygen. This is what causes burning to begin
Uninhibited Chain Reaction- are when heat is constantly being produced as a result of ongoing
reactions. This is what makes the fire self-sustaining
The importance of the preignition phase of fire - correct answer ✔✔Heat causes fuels to begin
to thermally decompose and give off flammable vapors. Produce less particulate matter (soot
and tar) because flames efficiently consume the fuels
What a surface fire is - correct answer ✔✔grasses, pines needles, and shrubs. The large surface
area to volume ratio of these fuel sallow them to burn more easily and spread more rapidly
, What a crown fire is - correct answer ✔✔Crown fires are those in which flames reach the
top(crown) of trees where fine branches and needles can burn very rapidly. They are the hottest
and fastest moving of all wildfires and extremely difficult to fight.
How most wildfires start - correct answer ✔✔85% of all wildfires in the U.S. are caused by
humans(the rest by lightning)
Why lightning tends to burn more acres - correct answer ✔✔- occur in more remote areas
- burn longer before being notice
-are more difficult
- often left to burn as a natural process
The factors that influence the potential for a wildfire to spread - correct answer ✔✔-
Vegetation, Desert Shrub (most potential for large burns)
-Rain, less rainfall means dryer fuels and larger potential to burn
- average temperature, higher temperature mean dryer fuels and a larger potential to burn
- topography, fires burn faster uphill, so steeper slopes increases the potential of fire to spread
The largest wildfire to occur in United States history - correct answer ✔✔The Great Fire of 1910
The largest wildfire in U.S. history: burned 3 million acres in the northwest in two days
• Killed 87 people, including 78 firefighters
• Marked the beginning of a concerted effort by the National Forest Service to fight all wildfires.
What Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski is famous for - correct answer ✔✔-saved most of his 45-
man hotshot crew during the Great Fire of1910 by bringing them into an abandoned mine and
threatening to shoot anyone who left.
- invented what would be called the Pulaski axe, a single-bladed axe with a grub hoe for scraping
the ground clear that is now standard issue for all wildland firefighters
with verified solutions
Characteristic of fire - correct answer ✔✔- Fire is an exothermic (heat producing), self-
perpetuating, chemical reaction initiated by a small amount of heat.
- The process causes fuels to be combined with oxygen leading to new compounds, a lot more
heat, and light
The fire tetrahedron - correct answer ✔✔Heat - Produced during combustion because the
reaction is exothermic. Since these reactions are ongoing, combustion releases more than
enough heat to make the fire self- perpetuating
Fuel - flammable material that begins the process of combustion. When fuel is heated past its
flash point, it enters the gas-phase & release vapor pressure that can ignite in air and support
combustion
Oxygen- supports burning due to oxidation. This is when gases released by fuel heat up, break
apart & recombine with oxygen. This is what causes burning to begin
Uninhibited Chain Reaction- are when heat is constantly being produced as a result of ongoing
reactions. This is what makes the fire self-sustaining
The importance of the preignition phase of fire - correct answer ✔✔Heat causes fuels to begin
to thermally decompose and give off flammable vapors. Produce less particulate matter (soot
and tar) because flames efficiently consume the fuels
What a surface fire is - correct answer ✔✔grasses, pines needles, and shrubs. The large surface
area to volume ratio of these fuel sallow them to burn more easily and spread more rapidly
, What a crown fire is - correct answer ✔✔Crown fires are those in which flames reach the
top(crown) of trees where fine branches and needles can burn very rapidly. They are the hottest
and fastest moving of all wildfires and extremely difficult to fight.
How most wildfires start - correct answer ✔✔85% of all wildfires in the U.S. are caused by
humans(the rest by lightning)
Why lightning tends to burn more acres - correct answer ✔✔- occur in more remote areas
- burn longer before being notice
-are more difficult
- often left to burn as a natural process
The factors that influence the potential for a wildfire to spread - correct answer ✔✔-
Vegetation, Desert Shrub (most potential for large burns)
-Rain, less rainfall means dryer fuels and larger potential to burn
- average temperature, higher temperature mean dryer fuels and a larger potential to burn
- topography, fires burn faster uphill, so steeper slopes increases the potential of fire to spread
The largest wildfire to occur in United States history - correct answer ✔✔The Great Fire of 1910
The largest wildfire in U.S. history: burned 3 million acres in the northwest in two days
• Killed 87 people, including 78 firefighters
• Marked the beginning of a concerted effort by the National Forest Service to fight all wildfires.
What Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski is famous for - correct answer ✔✔-saved most of his 45-
man hotshot crew during the Great Fire of1910 by bringing them into an abandoned mine and
threatening to shoot anyone who left.
- invented what would be called the Pulaski axe, a single-bladed axe with a grub hoe for scraping
the ground clear that is now standard issue for all wildland firefighters
