CSLB C-16 Fire Protection (Trade Exam) — All Questions

A trench is 200 feet long and 4 feet wide, and the bedding is 6 inches deep under the pipe. How many cubic yards of bedding sand is that?

• a.400
• b.29.6
• c.3.7
• d.14.8✓

200 × 4 × 0.5 = 400 cubic feet, and 400 ÷ 27 = 14.8 cubic yards. The figure 400 is cubic feet, 29.6 uses a 12-inch depth, and 3.7 divides by 108.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9 (bedding)

A job needs 450 feet of 4-inch pipe and 36 feet of 6-inch pipe in 21-foot lengths. How many 4-inch lengths are bought?

• a.18
• b.23
• c.22✓
• d.21

450 ÷ 21 = 21.4, which rounds up to 22 because pipe is bought in whole lengths. Twenty-one rounds down and leaves the run short, 18 divides by 25, and 23 over-buys.Estimating arithmetic (whole units)

Which tape does the Sacramento standard require above buried pipe, and how high above it?

• a.Detectable blue tape, 3 inches wide, laid on the pipe
• b.Non-detectable blue tape, 3 inches wide, 12 inches above the pipe✓
• c.Detectable red tape, 6 inches wide, 24 inches above the pipe
• d.Non-detectable yellow tape, 2 inches wide, 6 inches above the pipe

The standard calls for a strand of non-detectable blue tape at least 3 inches wide, marked as a buried water line and placed 12 inches above all piping. Detectable blue tape laid on the pipe has the wrong type and the wrong position, because the metallic locator wire is what is taped on the pipe. Red tape 6 inches wide at 24 inches changes the color, width and depth. Yellow tape 2 inches wide at 6 inches changes the color and is narrower and shallower.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9

Direct cost is $150,000. What is the price with a 20% margin on selling price?

• a.$175,000
• b.$120,000
• c.$187,500✓
• d.$180,000

Price = 150,000 ÷ (1 − 0.20) = $187,500. Adding 20% to cost is markup and gives $180,000, subtracting 20% from cost gives $120,000, and $175,000 follows neither method.Estimating arithmetic (margin)

Direct cost is $90,000 with overhead at 15% of direct cost and profit at 10% of cost plus overhead. What is the price?

• a.$112,500
• b.$103,500
• c.$113,850✓
• d.$99,000

Overhead is $13,500, so cost plus overhead is $103,500, and profit of 10% on that is $10,350 for a price of $113,850. Adding both percentages to direct cost gives $112,500, overhead alone gives $103,500, and profit alone gives $99,000.Estimating arithmetic (markup)

A bid is $130,000 on a direct cost of $104,000. What is the markup on cost?

• a.25%✓
• b.20%
• c.26%
• d.30%

Markup = (130,000 - 104,000) / 104,000 = 25%. The 20% figure is the margin on price, 26,000 / 130,000. Neither 26% nor 30% comes from either division, because 26,000 is exactly one quarter of 104,000 and exactly one fifth of 130,000.Estimating arithmetic (markup and margin)

A bid is $130,000 on a direct cost of $104,000. What is the margin on selling price?

• a.20%✓
• b.25%
• c.80%
• d.26%

Margin = (130,000 - 104,000) / 130,000 = 20%. The 25% figure is the markup on cost, 80% is the cost share of price, and 26% is the profit in thousands of dollars read as a percentage, which matches no division.Estimating arithmetic (markup and margin)

A crew installs 24 sprinklers at 0.9 hours each, 90 feet of pipe at 0.2 hours per foot, and 10 hangers at 0.3 hours each. At $100 per hour, what is labor?

• a.$2,460
• b.$4,260✓
• c.$10,560
• d.$3,960

Hours = 21.6 + 18 + 3 = 42.6, and 42.6 × 100 = $4,260. Leaving out the hangers gives 39.6 hours and $3,960, leaving out the pipe gives 24.6 hours and $2,460, and charging every foot of pipe at the sprinkler's 0.9 hours gives 105.6 hours and $10,560.Estimating arithmetic (labor)

Pipe takeoff reads 318 feet and the estimator adds 8% for waste and cuts. How much is bought?

• a.343.4 feet✓
• b.292.6 feet
• c.349.8 feet
• d.326 feet

318 × 1.08 = 343.4 feet. Subtracting 8% gives 292.6, adding only 8 feet gives 326, and adding 10% gives 349.8.Estimating arithmetic (waste allowance)

What flow does the checklist give for flushing a 12-inch lead-in at 10 feet per second?

• a.2,440 gpm
• b.880 gpm
• c.3,520 gpm✓
• d.1,560 gpm

The checklists give 3,520 gpm for 12 inch pipe, 2,440 for 10 inch, 1,560 for 8 inch and 880 for 6 inch pipe.Idaho and Mercer Island acceptance checklists

A flush needs drainage for five minutes of flow per 100 feet of pipe at 1,560 gpm. For 300 feet of pipe, what volume must the drainage accept?

• a.468,000 gallons
• b.1,560 gallons
• c.7,800 gallons
• d.23,400 gallons✓

Five minutes of flow per 100 feet is 7,800 gallons, and 300 feet is three times that, 23,400 gallons. The figure 7,800 is only the first 100 feet, 468,000 is a mix-up of minutes and seconds, and 1,560 is one minute of flow.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9

Which tests should an estimate for a new dry system carry, beyond the overhead hydrostatic test?

• a.The elevator shunt trip test
• b.The 40 psi, 24-hour air test and the trip test✓
• c.The 24-hour hydrostatic test at 100 psi on the whole system
• d.A yearly repeat of the underground flush

Dry and double-interlock systems add a 40 psi air test for 24 hours and a trip test of the dry-pipe valve to the hydrostatic test. A 24-hour water test at 100 psi, an annual repeat of the flush and the elevator test are not part of acceptance.Idaho acceptance checklist and George Mason inspection guide

A tenant improvement will relocate 21 sprinklers on a wet system. What does the estimate add compared with moving 18?

• a.Shop drawings, calculations, and an isolated 200 psi test✓
• b.A replacement of the riser and its check valve
• c.A new fire department connection and signage
• d.A second underground flush with a new certificate and a replaced check valve

More than 20 sprinklers modified brings drawings, calculations and an isolated hydrostatic test, while 20 or fewer does not. A new riser, a new FDC and a second flush are not triggered by the count.UFC 3-600-01 and George Mason inspection guide

Which line item belongs in an underground estimate for a ductile iron main?

• a.Sprinkler escutcheons
• b.Preaction releasing panel
• c.Polyethylene encasement✓
• d.Air compressor and dryer

Ductile iron pipe and fittings are encased in polyethylene under the Sacramento standard, so encasement is a cost item. Escutcheons, a compressor and a releasing panel belong to the overhead system.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9

An estimator adds a locator wire line item. When is it needed?

• a.On every run of non-metallic underground pipe✓
• b.On each run of ductile iron underground pipe
• c.On pipe passing under a building
• d.On the short runs inside valve boxes

The locator wire is required on every run of non-metallic water pipe and stubbed up inside each valve box. It is not required on iron pipe, and it is not limited to under buildings or valve boxes.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9

A crew's flush must discharge to an approved location. Who obtains the approvals for release of water to the environment, according to the Sacramento standard?

• a.The applicant✓
• b.The water supplier
• c.The pipe manufacturer
• d.The fire department

The standard makes it the applicant's responsibility to obtain all necessary approvals before releasing water to the environment. The fire district, the water supplier and the pipe manufacturer are not assigned that duty.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9