CSLB C-16 Fire Protection (Trade Exam) — All Questions
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24 questions
A person must descend into a trench 5 feet 2 inches deep. What does Cal/OSHA require before work begins?
- a.A permit when 8 feet or deeper
- b.A permit within 10 feet of a roadway
- c.No permit when a shield is used
- d.A permit, since the trench is 5 feet or deeper✓
Title 8 section 341 requires a permit for trenches 5 feet or deeper that a person must descend into. The 8-foot and roadway conditions are not in the rule, and a shield is a protective system rather than a replacement for the permit.Title 8 section 341
Before excavation commences, what must the excavator have received from known owner-operators of subsurface installations?
- a.A written bid
- b.A positive response✓
- c.A signed work order
- d.A site map of their vaults
Excavation shall not commence until the area is marked and the excavator has received a positive response from all known owner-operators. A bid, a work order and a vault map are not what the rule requires.Title 8 section 1541
A soil has an unconfined compressive strength of 1.2 tsf and is not fissured or vibrated. How is it classified?
- a.Stable rock
- b.Type C
- c.Type B✓
- d.Type A
Type B is cohesive soil with strength greater than 0.5 but less than 1.5 tsf, so 1.2 tsf is Type B. Type A needs 1.5 tsf or more, Type C is 0.5 tsf or less, and stable rock is solid mineral material.Title 8 section 1541.1 Appendix A
A soil is cohesive with 0.4 tsf strength. How is it classified?
- a.Stable rock
- b.Type B
- c.Type A
- d.Type C✓
Type C is cohesive soil of 0.5 tsf or less. Type B needs more than 0.5 tsf, Type A needs 1.5 tsf or more, and stable rock is not soil.Title 8 section 1541.1 Appendix A
What is the maximum allowable slope, and its angle, for Type A soil in Appendix B?
- a.Vertical, 90 degrees
- b.3/4:1, 53 degrees✓
- c.1-1/2:1, 34 degrees
- d.1:1, 45 degrees
Appendix B gives 3/4:1 (53 degrees) for Type A, 1:1 (45 degrees) for Type B, 1-1/2:1 (34 degrees) for Type C and vertical for stable rock.Title 8 section 1541.1 Appendix B
A trench shield used in a compound excavation must extend how far above the vertical walls?
- a.At least 12 inches
- b.At least 18 inches✓
- c.At least 30 inches
- d.At least 6 inches
Title 8 section 1541.1 requires shield sides on compound excavations to extend a minimum of 18 inches above the vertical walls. The other figures are not the requirement.Title 8 section 1541.1(g)
Where does removal of a shoring system begin?
- a.At the top, progressing downward
- b.At either end, progressing inward
- c.At the middle, progressing outward
- d.At the bottom, progressing upward✓
Removal begins at, and progresses from, the bottom of the excavation, with backfilling progressing together, so the upper members keep supporting the walls while the lower ones come out. Starting at the top removes the support the lower members depend on. Starting at the ends and working inward leaves the middle of the run unsupported while the ends are open. Starting at the middle and working outward does the same to the sections beyond it.Title 8 section 1541.1(e)
At what interval does the Title 8 inspection rule require a competent person to inspect a trench?
- a.When a worker raises a concern
- b.Daily, and after every rain storm✓
- c.Weekly, and after each rain storm
- d.Monthly, and after rainfall over an inch
Inspections of excavations, adjacent areas and protective systems are made daily before work starts and as needed, and again after every rain storm or other hazard-increasing event. Inspecting only when a worker raises a concern leaves the check to chance, because the rule is not triggered by complaints. Weekly is too infrequent, even though it keeps the rain-storm trigger. Monthly with an inch-of-rain threshold invents both the interval and the rainfall figure.Title 8 section 1541(k)
What does a thrust block resist?
- a.Water hammer inside the fitting body
- b.Frost heave under the pipe in winter
- c.Pressure thrust at a bend, tee or dead end✓
- d.Settlement of the trench backfill over time
A thrust block resists the force of pressure acting on a fitting where the pipe changes direction or ends, equal to pressure times area. It is not for settlement, water hammer or frost heave.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9
Against what must a thrust block bear?
- a.The pipe barrel alone
- b.Loose backfill
- c.Undisturbed earth✓
- d.Compacted gravel bedding
Thrust blocks are placed between undisturbed earth and the fitting to be restrained. Loose backfill and bedding gravel do not provide the bearing, and the pipe barrel cannot resist the thrust.Moreno Valley Fire Department guideline
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What pressure and soil bearing values does the Moreno Valley guideline use for thrust block tables?
- a.200 psi and 1,500 pounds per square foot✓
- b.150 psi and 3,000 pounds per square foot
- c.100 psi and 1,000 pounds per square foot
- d.250 psi and 2,000 pounds per square foot
The tables are calculated on 200 psi water pressure and 1,500 pounds per square foot soil bearing, unless a stamped soils report supports a different value. 150 psi and 3,000 pounds per square foot understate the test pressure and overstate the soil. 100 psi and 1,000 pounds per square foot understate the test pressure and treat the soil as weaker. 250 psi and 2,000 pounds per square foot are not the basis for either value.Moreno Valley Fire Department guideline
At 200 psi, what is the thrust at a dead end of a pipe with a 4-inch inside diameter?
- a.800 pounds
- b.2,513 pounds✓
- c.5,026 pounds
- d.12,566 pounds
Area = pi / 4 x 4 squared = 12.57 square inches, and 200 x 12.57 = 2,513 pounds. Eight hundred pounds multiplies pressure by the diameter, 200 x 4. Five thousand twenty-six pounds doubles the thrust. Twelve thousand five hundred sixty-six pounds uses 1,000 psi instead of 200 psi.Statics of pressure thrust
A 90-degree bend on a pipe with a 6.0-inch inside diameter is tested at 200 psi. What is the thrust?
- a.About 7,996 pounds✓
- b.About 4,326 pounds
- c.About 11,310 pounds
- d.About 5,655 pounds
Dead-end thrust is 200 × 28.27 = 5,655 pounds, and a 90-degree bend is 1.414 times that, 7,996 pounds. The 5,655 figure is the dead end, 4,326 is a 45-degree bend, and 11,310 doubles the dead-end value.Statics of pressure thrust
What test pressure applies to an underground main with a static pressure of 140 psi, under the Moreno Valley guideline?
- a.140 psi for 1 hour
- b.190 psi for 2 hours
- c.200 psi for 2 hours✓
- d.250 psi for 2 hours
The test is 200 psi or 50 psi above static, whichever is greater, for 2 hours, so at 140 psi static the second figure is 190 psi and 200 psi governs. Testing at 140 psi for 1 hour is only the static pressure and half the duration. 190 psi for 2 hours applies the plus-50 rule alone and ignores the 200 psi floor. 250 psi for 2 hours adds 110 psi to static, which the rule does not call for.Moreno Valley Fire Department guideline
What does the Sacramento standard say to use for a flush discharge?
- a.A full-diameter discharge with burlap strainers✓
- b.A closed-end test cap with a gauge on it
- c.A reducer to a 1-inch hose on the outlet
- d.A half-diameter nozzle left open to the street
The flush uses a full pipe diameter discharge with burlap sacks or equivalent to strain the hose outlets, until no foreign objects are found and the water is clear. A closed-end test cap with a gauge holds pressure and moves no water, so it cannot carry debris out. A reducer to a 1-inch hose cuts the flow far below flushing velocity. A half-diameter nozzle left open to the street also restricts the flow and sends unstrained debris onto the pavement.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 9
How many appurtenances may be affected by shutting down any single point of a main, under the Moreno Valley guideline?
- a.Not more than 5✓
- b.Not more than 20
- c.Not more than 10
- d.Not more than 2
Sectional control valves are provided so that no more than 5 appurtenances are affected by a shutdown at any single point, counting each hydrant, riser and standpipe separately. Two would require far more valves than the rule asks for. Ten and 20 allow more of the system to be out of service than the guideline accepts.Moreno Valley Fire Department guideline
How many fire hydrants may be on one service lateral, in the federal criteria document?
- a.Not more than two✓
- b.Not more than six
- c.No limit
- d.Not more than four
The document allows not more than two fire hydrants on a service lateral. Four and six are more than the limit, and no limit at all would let one lateral serve many hydrants and leave all of them out of service in a single break.UFC 3-600-01 section 9-3
What is the clear space the fire code requires around a hydrant?
- a.3 feet around the circumference✓
- b.1 foot on the street side
- c.6 feet around the circumference
- d.10 feet in front of the large outlet
A 3-foot clear space shall be maintained around the circumference of fire hydrants. One foot on the street side only leaves the other sides blocked. Six feet around the circumference is wider than the code requires. Ten feet in front of the large outlet describes one direction only and is not the stated clearance.2025 CFC 507.5.5
How far from a hydrant may a portion of a building be before on-site hydrants and mains may be required, as measured along the access route?
- a.More than 800 feet
- b.More than 100 feet
- c.More than 150 feet
- d.More than 400 feet✓
Where a portion of the building is more than 400 feet from a hydrant on a fire apparatus access road, measured along an approved route around the exterior, on-site hydrants and mains are provided where required; 600 feet applies to sprinklered R-3 and U. Eight hundred feet is double the trigger. One hundred and 150 feet are much shorter than the trigger and would put on-site hydrants on nearly every building.2025 CFC 507.5.1
What height above grade does a Moreno Valley detail allow for the inlet of an FDC?
- a.36 to 72 inches
- b.24 to 30 inches
- c.18 to 48 inches✓
- d.6 to 12 inches
The detail says the connection's inlet height is no less than 18 inches or more than 48 inches above grade, matching the acceptance checklist range. The other ranges are not stated.Moreno Valley Fire Department guideline
What does a check valve on the FDC line prevent?
- a.Pumped water flowing back out through the supply✓
- b.Freezing from forming inside the connection
- c.Hose threads from loosening under load
- d.Air from entering the sprinkler piping
The check valve ensures water pumped in through the FDC goes into the system rather than back out the supply pipe. It does not address air, freezing or hose threads.Idaho State Fire Marshal acceptance checklist
Where does the FDC connect on a wet system with several risers?
- a.Before the main system shutoff valve
- b.After the main system shutoff valve✓
- c.On the discharge side of the fire pump
- d.Directly to each sprinkler branch line
For a wet multi-riser system the FDC connects after the main system shutoff valve, so the shutoff valve cannot cut off the water pumped in, and for a single wet riser it connects on the system side. Connecting before the shutoff valve would let closing that valve block the FDC supply. The discharge side of the fire pump is a pump connection, not an FDC connection. Connecting to each branch line would bypass the riser and its valves and alarms.Idaho State Fire Marshal acceptance checklist
What does the fire code require on every FDC serving sprinklers, standpipes or pump connections?
- a.A flashing blue beacon mounted on a pole
- b.A metal sign with raised letters 1 inch high✓
- c.A locked box with a spare key inside it
- d.A painted number on the pavement beside it
A metal sign with raised letters not less than 1 inch in size naming the system is mounted on FDCs. A beacon, a pavement number and a lock box are not required by that section.2025 CFC 912.5
How far from the curb must a Sacramento FDC be, unless on a building?
- a.At least 30 feet back from the curb
- b.Within 2 feet of the curb or back of walkway✓
- c.Within 12 feet of the curb or walkway
- d.Within 50 feet of the curb or walkway
The Sacramento standard places the FDC within 2 feet of the curb or back of walkway adjacent to a public street or fire lane, with an exception for FDCs on buildings. The other distances are not the rule.Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District FPS 1