Council-Certified Fire and Smoke Damage (Cfsx) Certification Program
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Council-certified Fire and Smoke Damage (CFSx) Certification Program Exam Study/Review Guide Rev. 4-2017 © 2016 American Council for Accredited Certification PO Box 1000 Yarnell AZ 85362 (888) 808-8381 www.acac.org ACAC would like to thank the following industry peers who have volunteered their expertise to ensure that this document reflects the domains of knowledge relevant to fire and smoke damage consulting and addressed by the CFSx examination. Brad Kovar Chair, CFSx Steering Committee Joseph McCann Chair, CFSx Study Review Guide Committee Servpro of Glendora/San Dimas Safeguard EnviroGroup, Inc. California California Eugenia Mirica, Ph.D. Daniel M. Baxter EMSL Analytical, Inc. Environmental Analysis Associates, Inc. New Jersey California & Michigan Patrick J. Moffett Dr. P. Chakravarty Blue Sky Environmental Consulting, Inc. Pasteur Laboratory California California Monica M. Oscarson Ernest R. Crutcher III MPH, CIH Microlab NW Premiere Environmental Consultants, Inc. Washington California Michael S. Dunlap Dr. Anton Shufutinsky Enterprise Restoration Services Merck & Co. Pennsylvania California Brian Noel Spiegel Kurt Grosz CR, CIEC, CMRS, CEICC, CSDS, CMCC KGA, Inc. IICRC Certified Master Fire/Smoke California Spiegel Property Damage Consulting and Robert W. Hawley, Jr. Forensics CIEC, CEICC, CMC, CMCC, CSDS, California CMRS, CEOP Joe Spurgeon, Ph.D. Environmental AirTechs Bayshore Environmental Massachusetts Georgia Bryan W. Kovar, CIEC Bruce White Safeguard EnviroGroup, Inc. American Environmental Specialists, Inc. California California Michael D. Larrañaga, Ph.D. CIH, CSP, PE Ramboll Environ Texas CFSx Exam Study/Review Guide 2 A Note on Acronyms ACAC’s fire and smoke damage certification program encompasses three examinations: Council-certified Fire and Smoke Damage Consultant (CFSC) Council-certified Fire and Smoke Damage Technician (CFST) Council-certified Fire and Smoke Damage Assistant Technician (CFSAT) This guide describes the knowledge base for all three of these examinations; references to individual certifications will therefore appear as “CFSx,” and should be understood to refer to all three designations. 3 American Council for Accredited Certification Disclaimer This document is designed to aid candidates in preparation for the Council-certified Fire and Smoke Damage (CFSx) certification examination. To this end, the document provides discussion of the domains of knowledge addressed by the exam and the exam topics identified by the CFSx certification board. These discussions are intended as guides to reading and study of the reference texts from which individual exam items are drawn. This document is neither a standard of care nor a field manual for Fire and Smoke Damage Consultants. ACAC disclaims all responsibility for actions taken by individuals based on statements contained herein. CFSx Exam Study/Review Guide 4 5 American Council for Accredited Certification CFSx EXAMINATION TOPICS General Knowledge ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 Characteristics and Behavior of Fire 9 Structure Fires 10 Wildfires 11 Protein Fires (Cooking Activities) 12 Composition of Smoke --------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Particles 15 Char, Ash and Soot 15 Chemicals, Gases and Vapors 17 Distribution and Deposition of Particles --------------------------------------------------18 Temperature and Pressure 20 Rapid vs. Slow Combustion (Phase of Fire) 21 Exterior Particle Distribution Associated with Wildfire Exposure 22 Deposit Patterns -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------23 Smoke Webs and Smoke Chains 23 Ghosting 23 Nail Pop 24 Filtration Marks 24 Threshold Streaks 24 Selective Deposition 25 Site Characterization -----------------------------------------------------------------------------25 Information Gathering/Occupant Interviews 25 Interior and Exterior Surfaces 26 Visual Inspections 30 Smoke Odor 31 Olfactory perception 33 Occupant Exposures -----------------------------------------------------------------------------33 Sample Collection --------------------------------------------------------------------------------35 CFSx Exam Study/Review Guide 6 Sampling Strategies 35 Sampling Methods and Media 36 Tape Lifts 37 Wipes 38 Micro-Vacuuming 39 Sampling Airborne Particles 40 Sample Efficiencies 40 Background Sampling 41 Standards and Guidelines ----------------------------------------------------------------------42 Sample Analysis (Characterizing combustion sources) ------------------------------42 Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) 43 Epi-Reflected Light Microscopy (RLM) 43 Electron Microscopy (TEM or SEM) 44 Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX) 44 Other Laboratory Methods 44 pH Analysis 45 Particle Assemblage Analysis 45 Laboratory Terminology 46 Data Interpretation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------47 Elements of Investigator’s report ------------------------------------------------------------48 Remediation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 Initial Steps 50 Additional Procedures 50 Intense Cleaning 51 Ventilation Systems 51 Exterior Structures 52 Smoke Odor Restoration 52 Post-Remediation Verification ---------------------------------------------------------------53 Glossary of Fire and Smoke Damage Terms ---------------------------------------------54 7 American Council for Accredited Certification GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light and various reaction products. Fires start when a flammable or a combustible material, in combination with a sufficient quantity of an oxidizer such as oxygen gas or another oxygen-rich compound (though non- oxygen oxidizers exist), is exposed to a source of heat or ambient temperature above the flash point for the fuel/oxidizer mix. This process must be able to sustain a rate of rapid oxidation that produces a chain reaction. This is commonly called the fire tetrahedron. Fire cannot exist without all of these elements in place, and in the right proportions. For example, a flammable liquid will start burning only if the fuel and oxygen are in the right proportions. Some fuel- oxygen mixes may require a catalyst: a substance that is not consumed, when added, in any chemical reaction during combustion, and enables the reactants to combust more readily. Once ignited, a chain reaction must take place whereby fires can sustain their own heat by the further release of heat energy in the process. This combustion may propagate, provided there is a continuous supply of an oxidizer and fuel. If the oxidizer is oxygen from surrounding air, the presence of a force of gravity, or some similar force caused by acceleration, is necessary to produce convection. Convection removes combustion products and brings a supply of oxygen to the fire. Without gravity, a fire rapidly surrounds itself with its own combustion products and non-oxidizing gases from the air, which exclude oxygen and extinguish the fire. Of course, this does not apply if oxygen is supplied to the fire by some process other than thermal convection. CFSx Exam Study/Review Guide 8 Fire can be extinguished by removing any one of the elements of the fire tetrahedron. Consider a natural gas flame, such as from a stovetop burner. The fire can be extinguished by any of the following: • turning off the gas supply, which removes the fuel source • covering the flame completely, which smothers the flame as the combustion uses the available oxidizer (the oxygen in the air) and displaces it from the area around the flame with CO2 • application of water, which removes heat from the fire faster than the fire can produce it (similarly, blowing hard on a flame will displace the heat of the currently burning gas from its fuel source, to the same end) • application of a retardant chemical such as Halon to the flame, which retards the chemical reaction itself until the rate of combustion is too slow to maintain the chain reaction. Fire is intensified by increasing the overall rate of combustion. Methods to do this include: • balancing the input of fuel and oxidizer to stoichiometric proportions • increasing fuel and oxidizer input in this balanced mix • increasing the ambient temperature so the fire's own heat is better able to sustain combustion • providing a catalyst or; a non-reactant medium in which the fuel and oxidizer can more readily react. Characteristics and Behavior of Fires There are many types of fires and multitudes of causative factors. However, the CFSx study guide and exam will focus on structure fires, protein fires and wildfires. ACAC encourages CFSx candidates to familiarize themselves with additional fire types, their distinctive characteristics and behavior, and the proper investigative and analytical methods used to determine their impact and exposure risks. 9 American Council for Accredited Certification Structure Fires Overall, structure fires continue to account for the vast majority of civilian casualties in fire related events. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates show that while residential structure fires account for only 25 percent of fires nationwide, they account for a disproportionate share of losses: 83 percent of fire deaths, 77 percent of fire injuries and 64 percent of direct dollar losses. Structure fires can be caused by one or more complex chains of events, including