[mark s]

i had a written test this morning,one of the questions was

if you entered the a room at 11;15 and had 36 minutes of air left in your tank,when will the air run out?

A,11;48
B,11;51
C.11;49
D,11;52

what do you think?

[robertostallioni]

in the tank? 36 minutes after you turn the tap to let it out?


but.....

Is there breathable air in the room?

[Duma]

Is this a trick question? Or a joke? Or perhaps there's some context I'm unaware of?

Because otherwise

15+36=51
so B, 11:51

But surely nobody would struggle with this.

Perhaps the semi colons have some meaning I'm unaware of?

[robertostallioni]

are you expected to turn the air-flow on, upon entry to "the a room" or is it just a room under normal air conditions? If you leave the air in you tank, it will not run out. no not never.

[mark s]

not a trick or anything,its if the air is too smokey to breath

i was thinking the 36 minutes would take you to the end of 11;51 then run out at 11;52

i put 11;52

[robertostallioni]

The correct answer must be 11.51.

I understand your thinking but I doubt its right.

the 11.52, without your explanation could just look like the ravings of a buffoon. Then again, if you fail a firefighter exam on the basis of that answer something is wrong with the selection process.

It was a wanky question.

FWIW I read a GCSE maths exam the other week and the vagueness of the questions were amazing.

Overcomplicating the answers is easy when the questions are not precise

[Duma]

Since they've not specified the seconds I'd assume you enter at 11:15:00, in wich case 36 minutes would only take you to 11:51:00

Hope it's not the question that makes or breaks it for you.

[mark s]

yeah i think i over thought on it,i had put the 11;51 answer but had about 5 or so minutes left at the end and messed with it.

not to worry,that was the only one that ground the cogs.
all the other questions were ok.just the type that are simple enough but you think too much.not usually a problem for me.

[fatdoc]

Only turn yr air supply on when u are becoming hypoxic, so I'd say after 60 secs after entering the room.

[moose]

Surely the question refers to when the cylinder runs out of air, not when the user does.  In that case the answer is 11:51.  Interpreting it any other way is a non-starter... unless you think the examiner has an intimate knowledge of how long you can hold your breath for?!

[Oldmanmatt]

You have to split into thirds. One third to search, one third to exit, one third reserve. So in fact you have 24 minutes of air. At least it used to be.
I'm guessing the examiners are using a different reserve ratio or assuming that a portion of the cylinder will be unbreathable at low pressure (what regulators are they assuming?).
This would mean 11:48...

[robertostallioni]

I think reading anything into the question is a mistake. The answer is easy, but also easy to over-complicate.

Never make an assumption. You'll make an ass of u, and mumption.

[tomtom]

To quote the Nobel Laureate Stephen Segal "assumption is the mother of all fuck ups"

[tomtom]

Ps. I hate exams.

[Oldmanmatt]

True... What was the context? Sounded like a typical offshore/maritime firefighting course question...

[mark s]

True... What was the context? Sounded like a typical offshore/maritime firefighting course question...

firefighter test.

[SA Chris]

Sounds like a bit of a crap question TBH. Good luck.

[dave]

Just makemsur you know all the rules vis a vis if they play two shot carry, winner stays on protocol etc.

[slackline]

sounds like a poorly passed question.

regardless, make sure you do know how much air you have left when you do get round to entering a burning house (and how to get the fuck out sharpish!)

[mark s]

 Just been mailed.
3rd stage passed.so even though I got that wrong I did enough.
Next stage is the physical,climbing ladders etc that shouldn't be too bad.

[SA Chris]

Just been mailed.
3rd stage passed.so even though I got that wrong I did enough.
Next stage is the physical,climbing ladders etc that shouldn't be too bad.

Remeber to demonstrate good technique; 3 points of contact. And don't show off by climbing the underside of the ladder footless

[mark s]

Haha chalking up and 1-5-9 under the ladder won't go down too well.

[AndiT]

Nice one Shazbot. You'll cruise it, if, for no other reason, you look a lot more like a firefighter than a truck driver. I've heard that the physical tests are pretty tough though. All those years of you walking to the crag with nowt in your bag and me lugging the rack, the rope and the ciggies might be about to bite you on the ass however 

Good luck hombre.