CFEI Study Guide With Complete Solution

Evidence - Demonstrative - Answer Tangible items; see, touch, smell, hear. Evidence - Documentary - Answer Written form; business records, banking, calendars, phone records, fire reports, etc... Evidence - Testimonial - Answer Competent live witness speaking under oath; two types; fact and expert Evidence - illustrative - Answer Photos, sketches, maps, diagrams. Modes are frequently used at trial. Evidence - illustravtive - Answer Photos and Videos; what, why, how, when Evidence collection - Answer Document in place, document the collection, use proper container, (flag, bag, & tag) Evidence - collection - Answer Fuel gas powered tools outside the perimeter. Find out where tools were refuels. Heat transfer - Answer Conduction, convection, radiation Interviews - Answer Purpose of the interview; prepare for the interview, document the interview Vehicle Fires - Answer Sparks from an aluminum wheel are not a competent ignition source. Vehicle Fires - Answer The most common source of an open flame in a vehicle is an exhaust system backfire out of a carburetor. Vehicle Fires - Answer Carburetor backfire leaves a distinct pattern on the hood. Vehicle Fires - Answer Two basic fuel systems: vacuum/low pressure carbureted system, and high-pressure, fuel injected system. Vehicle Fires - Answer Loose battery connections; not over-current protected; loose connections can result in intermittent arcing. Vehicle Fires - Answer Power steering fluid: Flashpoint 347-356*F, autoignition 680-720*F. Vehicle Fires - Answer Automatic Transmission Fluid: Flashpoint 302-536*F, autoignition 626-716*F. Vehicle Fires - Answer Overcharging a battery does not cause it to explode. Explosions - Answer Low order damage: characterized by walls bulge out or laid down, virtually intact, next to the structure. roofs slightly left. Explosions - Answer High order damage: shattering of the structure, producing small debris pieces. Explosions - Answer Post blast effects: burned debris away-fire preceded, unburned the debris away-no fire. Explosions - Answer Dust explosions: most often occur in confined areas of relatively wide dispersal. Explosions - Answer Search 1.5 times further than the farthest piece of debris. Fire effects/ fire patterns - Answer Char shrinks as it forms. More reliable for evaluating fire spread, deduce the direction based on depth, large shiny blisters (alligatoring) is not evidence of the use of an accelerant. Fire effects/fire patterns - Answer Spalling: loss of surface material due to cracking, breaking, chipping, breakdown in surface tensile strength, moisture present in the concrete, may appear lighter in color. Fire effects/fire patterns - Answer Crazed glass: caused by rapid cooling. Fire effects/fire patterns - Answer Light bulbs 25W or more "pull" (gases expand and bubble out); 25W or less contain a vacuum and can pull in. Fire effects/fire patterns - Answer Annealing (softening) of springs may provide clues concerning direction, duration, and intensity. Fire effects/fire patterns - Answer Saddle burns - A U-shaped burn pattern found on the top of floor joists, caused by fire burning down through the floor. Often, a saddle burn is caused by a burning liquid on the floor or radiant heat from a material close to the floor. Saddle burns display deep charring. Fire effects/fire patterns - Answer Inverted cone burns are indicative of the vertical flame plume not reaching the ceiling, short-lived fires with a low HRR Fire effects/fire patterns - Answer Melting Temperatures: Copper 1981*F; Aluminum 1220*F; Steel 2760*F Heat Sources - Answer Mechanical: converted to heat when two materials rub against each other and create friction. Chemical: chemical reaction; exothermic and endothermic. Electrical: Converted to heat energy; flowing through a conductor. Nuclear: splitting the nucleus of an atom into two smaller nuclei (nuclear fission) Electrical - Answer Resistance Heating: properly installed, produces low resistance. Loose connections: high resistance with increased heating at the contact. Electrical - Answer Ground Fault: the purpose if grounding an electrical system is to make sure that any housings or exposed metal in the system or connected to it cannot become electrically charged. Electrical - Answer Sleeving: the softening and sagging of thermoplastic conductor insulation due to the heating of the conductor. Electrical - Answer Lightning: a form of static electricity, a polarized electrostatic charge in the clouds. Electrical - Answer 9.2.2.2.2: the unit of measurement of potential difference or voltage is usually volts. Electrical - Answer 9.2.2.3: the rate of charge flow is called electrical current, and current is measured in amperes. Electrical - Answer 9.2.6.1: power - the rate at which energy is used. Electrical - Answer 9.3.3: the cables of a service drop go into a weather-head, which is designed to keep water from entering the system, and then down a service raceway to a meter base. Electrical - Answer 9.6.2.1: fuses are basically non-mechanical devices with a fusible element in a small enclosure. Electrical - Answer 9.6.3.1: a circuit breaker is a switch that opens either automatically with over-current or manually by pushing a handle. Electrical - Answer 9.7: Branch Circuits: the individual circuits that feed lighting, receptacles, and various appliances are the branch circuits. Electrical - Answer 9.9.4.1: Arc: is a high temperature luminous electric discharge across a gap or through a medium such as charred insulation. Electrical - Answer 9.10.3: Arcing through a carbonized path due to thermal means (arcing through char), insulation on conductors, when exposed to direct flame or radiant heat, may be charred before being melted. That char is conductive enough to allow sporadic arcing through the char. Fatalities - Answer Charred bones are an indication of fire intensity and duration Fatalities - Answer The Pugilistic posture is as a result of the muscle dehydrating and shrinking, shrinkage causes flexion Fatalities - Answer Humans do not spontaneously combust Miscellaneous - Answer Hire a FPE to examine a flow valve, EE for a toaster, Mechanical Engineer for a furnace and a metallurgist for metal issues