FCTC Verbal and Visual Information 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A dispatcher broadcasts the following: 'Engine 7, respond to 422 Oak Street for a reported kitchen fire. Caller states smoke is visible from the front of the residence. No reported injuries at this time.' What is the address of the incident?
- 224 Oak Street
- 422 Elm Street
- 422 Oak Street (Correct answer)
- 742 Oak Street
Correct answer: 422 Oak Street
The dispatcher clearly stated the address as '422 Oak Street.' Accurate retention of address information from verbal broadcasts is a critical operational skill.
Accurate recall of dispatched address information is one of the most fundamental skills tested in the verbal information section of the FCTC. In operations, incorrect address information can mean arriving at the wrong location, delaying response, and endangering lives. The address given is 422 Oak Street — not 224 (transposed numbers), not Elm Street (wrong street), and not 742 (different number). Candidates must practice careful attention to numeric and verbal information.
Question 2: Your officer verbally gives you four assignments in sequence: (1) connect to the hydrant, (2) charge the supply line, (3) advance the attack line to the door, (4) report to the officer when ready. Which task is performed third?
- Connect to the hydrant
- Charge the supply line
- Report to the officer
- Advance the attack line to the door (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Advance the attack line to the door
The third task in the sequence given is 'advance the attack line to the door.'
Sequential task recall tests the ability to retain and follow multi-step verbal instructions in the correct order. The officer's instructions were: (1) connect to hydrant, (2) charge supply line, (3) advance attack line to door, (4) report to officer. Task three is 'advance the attack line to the door.' This skill is directly relevant to fireground operations, where officers give multi-step orders verbally and expect crew members to execute them in sequence without written reminders.
Question 3: A fire investigation report states: 'Fire origin determined at the northeast corner of the living room. Fire spread to the adjacent bedroom via the open doorway. Estimated time from ignition to full room involvement: 8 minutes.' How many minutes passed before full room involvement?
- 6 minutes
- 8 minutes (Correct answer)
- 10 minutes
- 12 minutes
Correct answer: 8 minutes
The report states 'Estimated time from ignition to full room involvement: 8 minutes.'
The report explicitly states 8 minutes from ignition to full room involvement. Verbal and visual information questions require accurate extraction of specific data from verbal or written passages. This tests numerical recall combined with reading comprehension — candidates must identify and retain the specific figure stated, not estimate or substitute a plausible alternative number.
Question 4: During a safety briefing, the training officer states: 'Our three top causes of firefighter injuries last year were: first, overexertion; second, falls; and third, burns. Overexertion accounted for nearly half of all injuries.' Which injury type ranked second?
- Burns
- Overexertion
- Slips
- Falls (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Falls
The training officer listed the causes in order: first overexertion, second falls, third burns. Falls ranked second.
The training officer gave an explicit ranked list: (1) overexertion, (2) falls, (3) burns. The second-ranked cause is falls. This tests sequential verbal information retention. A common error is selecting the most recently mentioned item (burns) or the most emphasized item (overexertion, which was described as nearly half of all injuries). Accurate recall of order/rank from verbal presentations is essential in the fire service.
Question 5: The incident commander transmits over radio: 'All units, all units — evacuation order is now in effect for the structure. All interior crews withdraw immediately. Accountability officer, confirm all personnel are out.' What is the incident commander ordering?
- A defensive attack from outside only
- Immediate withdrawal of all interior crews from the structure (Correct answer)
- Additional crews to enter the structure
- A water supply relay
Correct answer: Immediate withdrawal of all interior crews from the structure
The IC is ordering 'immediate withdrawal of all interior crews from the structure' — an evacuation order.
Emergency evacuation orders are transmitted when conditions inside a structure become untenable — imminent collapse, sudden fire progression, or confirmed firefighter entrapment. The radio transmission is unambiguous: 'evacuation order is now in effect,' 'all interior crews withdraw immediately.' This is the most critical type of verbal order a firefighter can receive. Correctly understanding and immediately acting on evacuation orders is a life-safety competency. The accountability officer's role is to confirm all personnel are out of the structure.
Question 6: A company officer describes a building diagram verbally: 'The main entrance is on the south wall. There is a stairwell in the northeast corner and a second stairwell in the northwest corner. The elevator is centered on the east wall.' Where is the elevator located?
- Northwest corner
- South wall
- Northeast corner
- Centered on the east wall (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Centered on the east wall
The officer stated 'the elevator is centered on the east wall.'
Visualizing building layouts from verbal descriptions is a key component of fire service verbal/visual information testing. The officer's description places the elevator at the center of the east wall — not at a corner, and not on the south or other walls. Candidates must translate verbal directional information into accurate spatial understanding. This skill is directly used during pre-incident planning, tactical briefings, and incident command operations.
FCTC Verbal and Visual Information 2
A dispatcher broadcasts the following: 'Engine 7, respond to 422 Oak Street for a reported kitchen fire.
Caller states smoke is visible from the front of the residence.
No reported injuries at this time.' What is the address of the incident?