CFPS CFPS - Certified Fire Protection Specialist Fire Investigation Principles Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which NFPA standard is the primary guide for the origin and cause investigation of fires and explosions in the United States?
- NFPA 921 (Correct answer)
- NFPA 13
- NFPA 1033
- NFPA 72
Correct answer: NFPA 921
NFPA 921, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, is the nationally recognized standard methodology for conducting fire origin and cause determinations.
Question 2: According to NFPA 921, the scientific method as applied to fire investigation requires that a hypothesis be:
- Based solely on witness testimony
- Testable and either supported or eliminated by available data (Correct answer)
- Submitted to the fire marshal within 48 hours
- Based only on physical burn patterns
Correct answer: Testable and either supported or eliminated by available data
NFPA 921 requires that investigative hypotheses be formed and then tested against all available data, with competing hypotheses eliminated before a conclusion is reached.
Question 3: In fire investigation, the 'area of origin' is defined as:
- The room where the most damage occurred
- The general geographic location where the fire began (Correct answer)
- The point of first ignition
- The area where suppression forces first attacked the fire
Correct answer: The general geographic location where the fire began
The area of origin is the general geographic location — such as a room or zone — where the fire started, which is broader than the specific point of origin.
Question 4: A 'V-pattern' observed on a wall at a fire scene most commonly indicates:
- The path of fire fighting water streams
- A plume-generated burn pattern pointing toward the area of fire origin (Correct answer)
- Suppression system discharge marks
- Electrical arcing damage at a panel
Correct answer: A plume-generated burn pattern pointing toward the area of fire origin
V-patterns form when a fire plume rising from a burning item chars and scorches the wall above it in a characteristic 'V' shape that points toward the base of the fire.
Question 5: The four elements required to complete a 'fire triangle' are heat, fuel, and:
- Pressure and ignition
- Oxygen and a chain reaction (fire tetrahedron) (Correct answer)
- Smoke and char
- An accelerant and ignition source
Correct answer: Oxygen and a chain reaction (fire tetrahedron)
The fire tetrahedron — the modern model — adds the uninhibited chemical chain reaction to the classic fire triangle of heat, fuel, and oxygen.
Question 6: Which term describes a fire cause determination that all accidental and natural causes have been eliminated, leaving only intentional human act as the explanation?
- Undetermined
- Accidental
- Incendiary (Correct answer)
- Natural
Correct answer: Incendiary
An incendiary fire is one intentionally set by human action; this determination is made after investigators have systematically eliminated accidental, natural, and undetermined causes.
CFPS CFPS - Certified Fire Protection Specialist Fire Investigation Principles Questions and Answers 1
Which NFPA standard is the primary guide for the origin and cause investigation of fires and explosions in the United States?