While attempting to extinguish a fire using the PASS technique, the coordinator notices the fire spreading toward the only exit door. What is the FIRST action to take?

Stop, retreat through the exit, and evacuate the area

Pause to retrieve a larger portable fire extinguisher

Aim the extinguisher nozzle directly at the exit door

Continue sweeping the base of the fire aggressively

A trash can fire in a common area grows fast, with thick black smoke, and two sprinkler heads open. What should the coordinator decide?

Abandon portable extinguisher use, execute full evacuation procedures for the building, and ensure the FDNY is notified at once

Attempt to manually shut off the activated sprinkler heads to prevent excessive water damage while the maintenance staff handles the remaining flames

Deploy multiple larger-capacity wheeled fire extinguishers to the affected area while instructing all shelter residents to remain in their closed rooms

Isolate the immediate area by securing the common room doors and attempt to fully extinguish the fire before authorizing a building-wide evacuation

A fire in the laundry room is giving off heavy, thick smoke. Why should the staff member not use a portable extinguisher?

The heavy smoke shows the fire has grown beyond the small, controllable stage for an extinguisher.

Portable extinguishers are only for fires involving energized electrical panels.

Laundry room equipment fires require specialized foam systems only available to firefighters.

Building management must approve the use of any portable fire extinguisher first.

A small fire is burning in a single trash can in the laundry room. Before using a portable extinguisher, what must a staff member check FIRST?

A clear escape path that is free of fire exists

Multiple sprinkler heads have been activated

A second staff member is present to assist

The building evacuation is fully completed

Staff put out a small trash-can fire with a portable extinguisher in under a minute. When must 911 be called?

For any fire, even one already out

Only if the fire starts up again

Only if a person was hurt or burned

Only if the central station got no signal

Concept · Zone I · Extinguishers

PASS, and the moment to put the extinguisher down

PASS is the memory aid the Study Material gives for using an extinguisher. The harder part is the moment around it: when a portable extinguisher is still the right tool, and when it is time to put it down and leave. Both are below; mounting and checks are on the Zone I page (Extinguishers).

Plan ref I2Updated October 25, 2026

The detail that decides the answer

A practice question on extinguishers rarely stops at the acronym. It adds one detail, and that detail decides the answer: how big the fire is, what the smoke looks like, where the door is, or which stage the fire has reached.

Read the options first. Two of them will often describe good extinguisher technique. Then go back to the stem for the detail: good technique is only the answer if that detail still allows an extinguisher at all.

The class of the fire matters too. Pick the unit by its label first, as shown on the classes of fire page.

Hold it or put it down

Checkpoint round

0 of 6 checked · 0 cleared

Practice questions written for study, not taken from the test. The real F-80 is a multiple-choice test on a touch-screen computer at FDNY Headquarters.

Look at the four options before the stem. When two of them both sound like good technique, the stem’s one detail picks between them.

How the checkpoint round works

Read the options first and rule out the ones that break a rule, then pick from what is left. After you answer, the debrief explains every option and scores your strikes. Keys: 1–5 or A–E answer, Shift with a number rules that option out, the arrow keys move.

Checkpoint 1 of 6

Checkpoint 01
While attempting to extinguish a fire using the PASS technique, the coordinator notices the fire spreading toward the only exit door. What is the FIRST action to take?
Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.
1. ACorrect: Use an extinguisher only while a way out stays clear of fire; once the exit is threatened, you leave and get everyone out.
2. BGoing for more equipment keeps you in the room while your only exit closes.
3. CSpraying the doorway does not hit the base of the fire and still leaves you between the fire and the exit.
4. DPASS is the right method, but it stops being safe once the fire moves toward your exit.
Checkpoint 02
A trash can fire in a common area grows fast, with thick black smoke, and two sprinkler heads open. What should the coordinator decide?
Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.
1. ANever stop sprinklers that are controlling a fire; water damage is not a reason to remove the protection.
2. BBigger extinguishers do not change the call; a fire this size is for the sprinklers and the FDNY.
3. CDelaying evacuation to keep fighting a growing fire is backward; people move first.
4. DCorrect: Thick smoke and open sprinklers mean the fire is past what extinguishers can handle; evacuate and make sure 911 is called.
Checkpoint 03
A fire in the laundry room is giving off heavy, thick smoke. Why should the staff member not use a portable extinguisher?
Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.
1. AExtinguishers are rated for several classes of fire, not only electrical ones.
2. BThere is no laundry-only foam rule; size and spread decide whether an extinguisher is safe to use.
3. CNo approval is needed to use an extinguisher on a small fire; the question is whether the fire is still small.
4. DCorrect: Extinguishers are for small fires with a clear way out; heavy smoke signals a fire that has grown past that point.
Checkpoint 04
A small fire is burning in a single trash can in the laundry room. Before using a portable extinguisher, what must a staff member check FIRST?
Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.
1. ACorrect: Use an extinguisher only when there is a way out that is clear of fire, so check your escape path before you start.
2. BSprinklers going off means the fire has grown; it is not a condition to wait for before acting on a small fire.
3. CA second person helps, but it is not the condition that decides whether using an extinguisher is safe.
4. DWaiting for a full evacuation gives a trash can fire time to grow; the escape path is what you must confirm.
Checkpoint 05
When using a portable fire extinguisher, what do the letters P.A.S.S. stand for, in order?
Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.
1. AThe first step is Pull, not Point, and the third is Squeeze, not Spray.
2. BAlert is not one of the four steps; the second step is Aim, and the last is Sweep.
3. CPush and Shake are not in the acronym; the first step is Pull and the third is Squeeze.
4. DCorrect: the Study Material spells it out as Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep, in that order.
Checkpoint 06
Staff put out a small trash-can fire with a portable extinguisher in under a minute. When must 911 be called?
Rule out what you can with the ✕ buttons, then choose. The debrief for every option opens here.
1. AWaiting for the fire to start again loses time; the rule is to call for any fire, not only one that returns.
2. BCorrect: the Study Material says that in case of any fire, 911 must be called, even a small one that is out.
3. CInjuries are not the trigger; the call is required for any fire, whether or not someone was hurt.
4. DA central station signal does not replace the 911 call; the rule covers any fire.

The four moves

Figure 1 P.A.S.S. stands for Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep (Source: Study Material §15). The steps for each unit are printed on its side, and the Study Material says to follow those.

Signs to put it down and leave

The fire is spreading or is no longer small. Extinguishers are not meant for large or spreading fires (Source: Study Material §15).
Your way out is no longer clear of fire. The Study Material allows an extinguisher only when a means of egress is clear of fire.
The fire involves lithium-ion batteries. Extinguishers do not work on these fires: leave, close the door, and call 911 from a safe place (Source: Study Material §19).
The unit has already been discharged. It must be fully recharged or replaced before anyone uses it again.

911 for any fire

In case of any fire, 911 must be called (Source: Study Material §15). How to report it, and the sign required in the lobby, are on the Zone J page (Procedures and logs).

Quick answers

Where should extinguishers hang?

In plain view along normal paths of travel (Source: Study Material §15). The mounting heights are on the Zone I page (Extinguishers).

Do the PASS words replace the instructions on the unit?

No. The Study Material says to use each extinguisher by the instructions on its side. PASS is the memory aid it gives for the same steps.

Which stage is still an extinguisher fire?

Only a small fire early in the incipient stage, the first of the three stages defined on the Zone B page (Key terms). By the time a fire has spread, the Study Material says extinguishers will not be enough, even used well.

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