FLSD Study G uide Exam Questions With Correct Answer 1-Manual pull stations are red. Those in Group "B" buildings and Group "R -1" hotels have a one -
inch diagonal white stripe from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. What is the meaning of the white stripe? Why are these white -striped pull stati ons found in "B" and "R -1" properties? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔The white stripe indicates that when a manual pull station is activated, the fire alarm signal will be automatically sent to the Fire Alarm Control Panel, the Central Station and the Fir e Department. Group "B" and "R -1" properties must have the fire alarm systems monitored by Central Stations; therefore, the fire alarm does not stay "in-house." Note: The 2008 Fire Code mandated that all buildings with fire alarm systems have central stati on monitoring, regardless of whether the manual pull stations have the white stripe. 2-A smoke detector is designed to detect smoke and activate a fire alarm. Why must area smoke detectors be located in elevator lobbies? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔Area smoke detectors must be located in elevator lobbies to activate elevator recall. The elevator lobby area smoke detectors activate because there is smoke in the elevator lobby, hence the proximity of the smoke to the elevators and their occupants is priori tized and the elevators recall to the Ground Floor or lowest terminal landing to protect the elevator occupants and allow them to escape the property. When two smoke detectors are located in elevator lobbies, they must both activate to sound the alarm and recall the elevators. They are known as "cross -
over smoke detectors." 3-A "sky lobby" is an upper floor where passengers must transfer from one elevator bank to another to reach the desired floor. In a two -bank building, will there be a blind shaft on the bank that services the higher floors? Yes/No? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔No. A sky lobby exists when passengers must transfer from one elevator bank to another elevator bank to reach the desired floor. The option of getting in the high -rise bank elevat ors on the lobby level does not exist. Therefore, the high -rise bank elevators are not express elevators. In the high -rise bank, the space between the second floor and the sky lobby floor consists of office space. 4- The FLS Building Evacuation Supervisor is not required to hold a certificate of fitness FLS Director but must have a certificate of fitness fire guard in the event there is a torch operations job scheduled when the building has 500 people or less. True or false? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔False. The FLS Building Evacuation Supervisor (FLS BES) is not required to hold a Certificate of Fitness of any category. Because the FLS BES must be available to respond to the Fire Alarm Control Panel when the building has 450 occupants or less and a fire alarm activates, then it is impossible for the FLS BES to oversee torch operations as a Fire Guard, even if the FLS BES did in fact have a Certificate of Fitness Fire Guard F -60. 5- The heat that is generated by the sun is transferred via radiation. Why i s it not via conduction? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔Heat transfer via conduction requires an intervening medium (direct contact) that allows the heat to transfer from point "A" to point "B." For example, a metal pipe heated at one end will eventually h eat the opposite end and anything touching the pipe. There is no solid object connecting the sun to Earth. Heat transfer from the sun is via Radiation (electromagnetic waves). 6- The ball -drip valve in a fire suppression system is located on the first sub -Grade level of a building. Why is it not located on another level? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔The Ball -Drip Valve is designed to detect when the Lower Check Valve in the system is defective or has failed completely. It is also designed to drip excess w ater from the pipe between the Fire Department Connection and the Lower Check Valve to prevent the water from freezing after the Fire Department disconnects the fire hoses from the Fire Department Connection. Hence, the Ball -
Drip Valve must be at a level t hat is lower (Cellar level) than the location of the Fire Department Connections (street level). 7- aww If a FLS Director is not required to be present in a Group "B" building, then who is required to be in the building to address fire and non -fire emergen cies in the absence of the FLS Director? And, what determines when a FLS Director is required to be in the building? Explain your answers. - answer✔✔The FLS Building Evacuation Supervisor (FLS BES) is required to be in the Group "B" property when the Fire and Life Safety Director is not required to be in the property. A Fire and Life Safety Director is required to be in the property when there are more than 450 in the entire building or more than 100 people above or below the Ground Floor, excluding the Gro und Floor; and during normal business hours of the building. 8- No fire alarm activation goes directly from an alarm -sending device to the Fire Department. In a fire alarm system, where do all fire alarms first report the activation of an alarm -sending device and why? Explain your answers. - answer✔✔All automatic and manual alarm -sending (peripheral) devices first send the signal to the Fire Alarm Control Panel to alert the Fire and Life Safety Director that a fire alarm has activated. 9- Area smoke detecto rs are readily visible and usually appear on the ceiling level of a room. Duct smoke detectors are also designed to detect smoke. What are duct smoke detectors and why are they necessary? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔Duct smoke detectors are positioned to detect smoke particles in the duct work associated with the Heat, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. Upon detecting smoke, the duct smoke detectors activate a fire alarm signal and commences the process of controlling the smoke by closing sm oke dampers and shutting down HVAC fans. 10- In all instances when the system is "off -line" with the central station, what must the FLS Director do to ensure a Fire Department response and why? Explain your answers. - answer✔✔The Fire and Life Safety Direc tor must call 911 upon activation of a fire alarm since being "off -line" prohibits the central station from transmitting the signal to the Fire Department. When the system is "off -line", the Fire and Life Safety Director or FLS Building Evacuation Supervis or, as a "Rule of Thumb", must remain at the Fire Alarm Control Panel until the system is back "on -line". 11- A "drain down" occurs when the building engineers have to drain the water from the branch lines on a floor in order to perform work on the sprinkl er system. Will the fire alarm activate when the water is drained from the branch lines or when the branch lines are refilled with water after the work is completed? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔Because of the location of the Waterflow Switch in the fire suppression system, it will only activate when the Branch Lines are re -filled. If the Waterflow switch is not disabled upon the drain down, it will not activate a fire alarm signal, but the Tamper Switch will transmit a signal to the Fire Alarm Control Pa nel. 12. What is the purpose of the OS&Y valve? Why is it chained/padlocked in the open position even when a Tamper Switch already exists? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔The OS&Y valves cut off water to the fire suppression system, therefore as a precautio nary measure the valves are usually chained/padlocked in the open position even when monitored by Tamper Switches, this will prevent anyone from physically attempting to close the valve. 13. Besides asking someone or searching online, where can a person fi nd the name of the FLS Director in a Group "R -1" hotel? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔The Fire and Life Safety Director's name appears in the Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plan. 14. The stairwell design that allows tenants to travel freely between two or more floors is known as an access stair or "convenience stair." Why it is critical for all access stairs in the building to be listed in the Comprehensive Fire Safety and Emergenc y Action Plan? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔Access stairs are listed in the Fire Safety and Emergency Action Plan because they are a means of smoke spread to all the floors connected by the access stairs. Upon a fire condition all the floors connected by access stairs must be in -building relocated or evacuated, depending on the location of the access stairs. 15. If alarm -sending devices are disabled (by -passed) where necessary, for example, due to construction work, it is also necessary to go "off -line". Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔False. When a peripheral device such as a smoke detector is disabled, the smoke detector will not activate a fire alarm signal to the Fire Alarm Control Panel, therefore a fire alarm signal wi ll not be transmitted to the central station. Hence, there is no need to take the system "off -line" since the Fire Department will not be responding to the property. 16. Manual pull stations are programmed to not activate fail -safe door release due to secu rity concerns. This then prevents the fire alarm from being transmitted to the Fire Department. True or false? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔False. The fail -safe door release system is mutually exclusive from "taking the system off -line". The activation o f a manual pull station will transmit the signal to the Fire Alarm Control Panel, central station and Fire Department. 17. Elevators recall upon the activation of certain automatic smoke and water -flow detecting devices. In Phase I of elevator recall, elev ator occupants may communicate with a security officer at the lobby desk via the activation of the elevator's "alarm" button. Is this true or false? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔True. The two -way communication system that is activated by pressing the "Al arm" button in elevators does not become inoperable during Elevator Recall Phase I (or Phase II). 18. The sprinkler system's Fire Department connections have color -coded caps to identify the type of system in the building. Why are the caps made of metal? E xplain your answer while considering the integrity of the Lower Check Valve. - answer✔✔The caps are made of metal (Iron) in the event the Lower Check Valve fails. If the Lower Check Valve fails, the caps will not allow the water from the standpipe/sprinkle r system to be discharged out to the street via the Fire Department Connections. 19. The "Inspector's Test Valve" in a sprinkler system is located in a specific area of the system to ensure that there is water in the entire system upon inspection. Based on the premise that "if there is water at this point, there must be water in the entire system," where should the Inspector's Test Valve be located? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔The Inspector's Valve is located at the farthest point from the water source ( Gravity Tank). If there is water at the farthest point, the Cellar Level, then there must be water throughout the system. 20. While the fire alarm system is "on -line," a fire alarm activation is investigated and is determined that it was an unwarranted ala rm due to an employee smoking underneath a smoke detector. The FLS Director should immediately disable the smoke detector and reset the system. Are these the correct actions for the FLS Director to execute? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔No. Disabling the smoke detector after it has activated is unnecessary because it will automatically self -reset after smoke clears the chamber (head) of the detector. The fire alarm system cannot be operationally reset by the Fire and Life Safety Director if the building is "on-
line" (even if it is known that the alarm was caused by something other than a fire) and must wait for directions from the Fire Department supervisor to reset the system. 21. A "rate of rise" heat detector activates when the heat reaches a pre -determi ned fixed temperature. Is this statement true or false? Explain your answer. - answer✔✔False. A Rate -of-
Rise heat detector activates a fire alarm when the room temperature increases at a rapid rate (12-15 Degrees Fahrenheit per minute)
