Firefighter Reasoning & Judgement 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You arrive first at a vehicle accident with downed power lines lying across the car. The occupant appears conscious. What is the BEST initial action?
- Pull the occupant out immediately
- Establish a safety perimeter and wait for the utility company to confirm power is off (Correct answer)
- Use a wooden pole to move the lines
- Spray the lines with water to ground them
Correct answer: Establish a safety perimeter and wait for the utility company to confirm power is off
Downed lines may be energized, so isolate the scene and wait for confirmation that power is cut before approaching.
Question 2: Two emergency calls come in at once: a reported kitchen fire with people inside and a stuck elevator with no medical complaints. With limited units, which gets priority?
- The stuck elevator, since it is simpler
- The kitchen fire, because life is at immediate risk (Correct answer)
- Whichever called first
- Split crews evenly between both
Correct answer: The kitchen fire, because life is at immediate risk
Life safety from an active fire outranks a non-life-threatening elevator entrapment.
Question 3: During overhaul, a firefighter notices the floor feels spongy underfoot in a burned room. The MOST reasonable judgement is to:
- Continue working but move faster
- Stop, communicate the hazard, and evaluate structural stability before proceeding (Correct answer)
- Jump up and down to test it
- Ignore it since the fire is out
Correct answer: Stop, communicate the hazard, and evaluate structural stability before proceeding
A spongy floor signals possible collapse, so stop and assess structural integrity before continuing.
Question 4: A bystander insists on entering a smoke-filled building to retrieve a pet. The appropriate response is to:
- Allow them since it is their property
- Firmly stop them and explain that trained crews will handle any rescue (Correct answer)
- Hand them a spare mask
- Follow them inside to assist
Correct answer: Firmly stop them and explain that trained crews will handle any rescue
Civilians must be kept out of hazardous atmospheres; trained firefighters handle searches.
Question 5: You are given an order over the radio that you believe is unsafe based on conditions you can see. The BEST action is to:
- Ignore the order and do what you think is right without saying anything
- Acknowledge and immediately relay your safety concern and observations to command (Correct answer)
- Refuse to respond on the radio
- Carry out the order even though it is unsafe
Correct answer: Acknowledge and immediately relay your safety concern and observations to command
Report safety concerns up the chain so command can adjust with full information.
Question 6: While searching a residence, you find one victim who is unconscious and another who is alert and walking. With one of you and limited time, who do you address first?
- The walking victim, because they can talk
- The unconscious victim, who is in greater immediate danger (Correct answer)
- Whoever is closest to the exit
- Leave both and call for backup before acting
Correct answer: The unconscious victim, who is in greater immediate danger
The unconscious victim cannot self-rescue and faces the highest immediate risk.
Question 7: A chemical placard on an overturned truck is unfamiliar to you. The soundest judgement is to:
- Approach to read the label up close
- Consult the Emergency Response Guidebook from a safe distance and isolate the area (Correct answer)
- Begin washing the spill toward a drain
- Assume it is non-hazardous and proceed
Correct answer: Consult the Emergency Response Guidebook from a safe distance and isolate the area
Use the ERG from a safe distance to identify hazards and set isolation zones before acting.
