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Understand the importance of studying building construction as a fire fighter.
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Understand why using proper language is so important for understanding building construction techniques and for fire-ground safety.
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Understand why evacuation protocols are critical.
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Identify the role of prefire plans and prefire analysis in firefighting operations.
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Understand the importance of looking for building deficiencies and dangerous conditions while conducting prefire planning walkthroughs.
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Explain why it is so important to study reports of significant fires, NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality and Near Miss reports of the past.
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Understand the relationship between risk and benefit and its impact on fire fighter safety.
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Identify the variety of forces to which buildings are subjected.
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Identify the different types of loads and how they are applied to buildings.
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Define safety factor and explain how it affects the choice of materials used in a building assembly.
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Identify composite materials and explain how the combination of two different materials affects structural elements.
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Identify and define key types of structural members, such as beams, trusses, columns, walls, roofs, and arches.
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Identify the various types of structural connections and explain how they affect transmission of loads and behave in a fire.
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Identify and describe the basic regulations that apply to building construction projects.
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Identify and describe the role of the typical members of a building design team.
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Identify and describe the roles of the various members of the construction team.
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Recognize why it is important for fire fighters to be able to read building plans and specifications.
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Identify the tasks performed during site preparation prior to construction.
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Point out the unique features of modular construction that influence firefighting operations.
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Identify and describe the hazards to fire fighters during the construction, renovation, and demolition of a building.
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Identify and describe the hazards to fire fighters of the different types of materials used in the construction of buildings.
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Recognize how the shape of a material affects its ability to resist a compressive load or a deflective one.
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Explain the history and basis for building and fire codes.
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Explain the differences between fire and building codes.
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Identify other construction codes and standards that have an impact on the fire service.
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Identify important fire protection features of building and fire codes.
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Identify construction-related provisions of fire codes.
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Identify fundamentals of fire behavior and key fire phenomena.
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Describe the development of a compartment fire.
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Identify the ways fire is influenced by a building and its characteristics.
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List the ways buildings and their components are affected by a fire.
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Explain how specific building materials behave under fire attack.
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Describe smoke behavior and the effects it can have on the building, occupants, and fire fighters.
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Understand the basic concepts of providing fire protection in buildings.
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Define fire resistance and understand how it is determined.
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Identify the primary laboratory fire tests and the characteristics they assess.
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Describe research being conducted to enhance fire protection capabilities.
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Explain the ways in which smoke and fire containment is achieved.
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Describe the various types of fire protection systems
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Understand and correctly use the terminology associated with wood construction.
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Identify and describe six types of wood-frame structures classified as Type V construction.
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Identify and describe the specific fire protection differences between balloon-frame and platform-frame construction.
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Describe the construction of a platform-frame building.
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Understand how a truss is constructed and how it performs from a fire protection perspective.
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Explain the difference between firestopping and draftstopping.
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Describe the behavior of engineered and manufactured wood products under fire attack.
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Describe the different types of sheathing, siding, and roofing materials.
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Identify and describe the characteristics of heavy timber buildings and specific characteristics of mill construction (Type IV construction).
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Identify the dimensions of heavy timber members.
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Describe why the misnomer “slow burning” is inappropriate for heavy timber buildings.
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Identify the specific hazards of these conflagration breeders.
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Identify specific problems with mill construction.
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Identify the dangers of concealed spaces in renovated mill buildings.
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Identify the differences between new heavy timber buildings and those built in the past.
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Describe the hazards of vacant heavy timber buildings and structures under demolition.
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Understand the details of ordinary construction, including features found in modern structures of ordinary construction.
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Understand how the structural stability of a masonry wall is compromised.
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Identify specific wall and wall component problems.
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Recognize collapse indicators.
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Identify the problems associated with interior structural elements.
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Identify fire hazards associated with roofs.
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Understand fire spread through void spaces of ordinary construction.
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Explain how masonry walls and fire doors act as fire barriers.
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Understand the difference between noncombustible and fire-resistive construction.
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Identify the different types of steel building components and their characteristics.
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Describe the use of masonry, including concrete, in noncombustible buildings.
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Describe different types of steel structural systems.
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Describe the hazards of a metal deck roof fire.
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Understand the hazards of high fire loads in unprotected steel structures and ways to improve the situation.
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Recall the difference between noncombustible and fire-resistive construction.
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Describe different types of concrete structural systems.
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Describe the two types of prestressing.
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Describe the hazards of formwork.
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Describe the methods of fireproofing steel and of ensuring a level fire resistance in concrete.
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Describe how concrete and concrete structural elements react to fire.
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Define green (sustainable) construction.
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Explain the role of green certification rating programs and green construction regulations.
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Identify and describe the four general categories of green construction.
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Identify firefighting hazards associated with each type of green construction material or green building system.
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Determine the unique design and construction details found in buildings based on occupancy type.
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Establish how occupancy-specific building code requirements dictate particular safety features.
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Identify the unique details and hazards associated with specific occupancies.
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Understand how occupancy specifics affect firefighting operations.
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Explain the role of situational awareness in collapse.
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Identify the indicators used to anticipate collapse.
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Identify the various types of collapse.
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Apply risk analysis to fireground safety.
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Identify the specific basic competencies all fire fighters should have to perform at a structural collapse.
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Explain the essential elements of the collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers on September 11, 2001.
