Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyFires and Fire Extinguisher Use

A commercial driver observes smoke rising from the engine compartment, brings the vehicle to a safe stop off the travel lanes, and turns off the engine. When preparing to fight the engine fire with a portable extinguisher, which action should the driver take?

  1. A
    Open the hood completely to locate the fire source and spray directly onto the center of the flames
  2. B
    Place all emergency reflective warning triangles around the vehicle before attempting to use the fire extinguisher
  3. Keep the hood closed and spray the extinguishing agent through the grille, louvers, or from underneath the vehicleAnswer
  4. D
    Activate the driveline retarder system to cool the engine compartment prior to discharging the extinguisher

Answer

Keep the hood closed and spray the extinguishing agent through the grille, louvers, or from underneath the vehicle
Keeping the hood closed prevents excess oxygen from feeding the fire. Discharging extinguishing chemicals through louvers, the grille, or underneath the vehicle targets the base of the fire while protecting the driver from sudden flame flare-ups.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate the risk of feeding oxygen into the engine fire compartment
Recognize that lifting or opening the vehicle hood allows incoming oxygen to rapidly intensify the fire.
Fire requires oxygen, heat, and fuel to sustain combustion.
2
Select the correct containment and discharge technique
Discharge the portable fire extinguisher through louvers, the front radiator grille, or from beneath the truck while keeping the hood firmly closed.
This suppresses the flames safely without risking a sudden flare-up that could injure the driver.

Key Concept

Engine fire containment and extinguisher application procedures
Estimated Time:45s
Rate this question

Topics

Fires and Fire Extinguisher Use

More questions from this topic