CSCS Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures Questions
Fire prevention, extinguisher types and emergency response.
Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures — practice questions (untimed, instant feedback)
- 11 questions · pass mark 90%
- Untimed practice — you see the correct answer immediately after each question.
- Some questions need more than one answer — these are clearly marked.
All 11 Fire Safety & Emergency Procedures questions and answers
These are the same 11 questions as the practice test above, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. Name two common fire risks on construction sites. (Choose two)
Answers: Poor housekeeping and a build-up of waste and Hot works carried out without control
- A) 110-volt extension reels
- B) 230-volt power tools
- C) Poor housekeeping and a build-up of waste (correct answer)
- D) Racks of timber
- E) Hot works carried out without control (correct answer)
Why: Waste build-up provides fuel and uncontrolled hot works provide ignition — two common fire risks.
2. What is a fire assembly point?
Answer: Where everyone gathers when the alarm sounds
- A) Where fire engines park on arrival
- B) Where everyone gathers when the alarm sounds (correct answer)
- C) Where extinguishers are stored
- D) The point where the fire began
Why: The assembly point is the safe place everyone goes to when the fire alarm sounds.
3. You discover a fire. What should you do first?
Answer: Raise the alarm
- A) Finish your task if it is safe to do so
- B) Tidy your tools away
- C) Raise the alarm (correct answer)
- D) Try to put it out
Why: Raising the alarm first warns everyone else and is always the priority.
4. You must work in a corridor that is also a fire escape route. What must you check?
Answer: That your tools and materials do not obstruct the route
- A) That every door into the corridor is locked
- B) That only spark-proof tools are used
- C) That the fire-escape signs are taken down first
- D) That your tools and materials do not obstruct the route (correct answer)
Why: An escape route must stay clear, so make sure your tools and equipment don't block it.
5. What does a hot work permit allow you to do?
Answer: Carry out work that could cause a fire
- A) Carry out work that could cause a fire (correct answer)
- B) Carry out work that needs warm protective clothing
- C) Light a bonfire
- D) Work during hot weather
Why: A hot work permit authorises work that could ignite a fire, with controls in place.
6. What will a hot work permit NOT tell you?
Answer: The location of the nearest fire station
- A) How to stop sparks or heat spreading
- B) Which extinguisher or fire watch is required
- C) The times you may start and must finish
- D) The location of the nearest fire station (correct answer)
Why: A permit covers controls, equipment and timing — not where the fire station is.
7. Which is a key step in the DRABC emergency approach?
Answer: Check for danger first
- A) Clear nearby debris
- B) Call for backup
- C) Give abdominal thrusts
- D) Check for danger first (correct answer)
Why: Danger comes first — make sure it is safe before helping a casualty.
8. How should you treat a minor cut on site?
Answer: Clean it and cover with a sterile dressing
- A) Apply a tourniquet
- B) Clean it and cover with a sterile dressing (correct answer)
- C) Pour alcohol on it
- D) Leave it open to the air
Why: Clean the wound and cover it with a dressing to prevent infection.
9. What should you do if someone has a severe allergic reaction?
Answer: Help them use their adrenaline auto-injector
- A) Give them water
- B) Help them use their adrenaline auto-injector (correct answer)
- C) Get them to lie down and wait
- D) Offer them food
Why: An adrenaline auto-injector (e.g. EpiPen) can quickly counter a severe reaction.
10. When giving CPR, what is the compressions-to-breaths ratio?
Answer: 30:2
- A) 15:1
- B) 15:2
- C) 30:2 (correct answer)
- D) 30:1
Why: The standard adult CPR ratio is 30 compressions to 2 rescue breaths.
11. What information is vital when calling the emergency services?
Answer: The exact location of the incident
- A) The casualty's last meal
- B) The site manager's name
- C) The exact location of the incident (correct answer)
- D) The weather
Why: The exact location lets the emergency services reach the casualty fast.
What this topic covers in the CSCS test
A fire needs three things to start: a source of ignition, fuel and oxygen. Take away any one of them and there is no fire, which is why almost every control on site is aimed at separating heat from what will burn. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 sets the law on general fire safety for construction sites, and the CDM Regulations 2015 add a duty to prevent risk from fire.
- The fire triangle and how removing one side prevents or stops a fire
- Site ignition sources: hot works, plant, smoking, electrical faults, bonfires and arson
- Hot work permits, clearing combustibles and keeping a fire watch after the work stops
- Classes of fire and matching the right extinguisher to what is burning
- Escape routes, assembly points, raising the alarm and the site fire plan
- Raising the alarm, calling the emergency services and basic first aid until they arrive
Key facts worth memorising
- The fire triangle
- For a fire to start you need a source of ignition, fuel and oxygen, and removing any one of the three prevents or extinguishes it.
- The classes of fire
- Class A is solids such as wood, paper and textiles, Class B is flammable liquids, Class C is gases, Class D is metals and Class F is cooking oils.
- Match the extinguisher to the fuel
- HSE says use water on wood, paper and cloth, dry powder or foam on flammable liquids, and carbon dioxide on electrical fires.
- Extinguisher colour codes
- Extinguishers to the current standard are predominantly red with a colour-coded band or zone: red for water, cream for foam, blue for dry powder and black for carbon dioxide. Read the label, not the body colour.
- The responsible person
- Under the Fire Safety Order a responsible person, usually the main or principal contractor, must carry out and keep up to date the site fire risk assessment.
- Five steps to a fire risk assessment
- Identify the hazards, identify the people at risk, evaluate and act, record and plan and train, then review it as the site changes.
What people get wrong
Tackle the fire first, then raise the alarm.
Raising the alarm comes first, so everyone can get out and the fire service can be called. Only tackle a small fire if you are trained, it is safe to do so and your escape route stays clear behind you.
A water extinguisher is a safe all-rounder.
Water conducts electricity and spreads burning liquid. HSE directs you to carbon dioxide for electrical fires and foam or dry powder for flammable liquids.
A hot work permit is paperwork you sign afterwards.
A permit authorises the job before it starts, and HSE says a permit-to-work system can help manage the risk on larger projects. HSE lists clearing the area of combustible materials, having suitable extinguishers to hand and maintaining a careful watch throughout the work.
You can block an escape route while you work in it.
Escape routes must be kept available and unobstructed. Your tools, materials, leads and waste must not narrow or block a corridor that people would use to get out.
Answering these questions in the test
Fire questions fall into three groups: preventing fire, escaping from it, and dealing with casualties. For prevention, the correct answer usually removes fuel or an ignition source, which is the fire triangle applied in practice, so look for tidying waste, storing gas cylinders properly or controlling hot works. For escape, the right answer nearly always involves raising the alarm and getting out by the nearest clear route, never going back for tools, a vehicle or personal belongings. For extinguishers, match what is burning rather than what is nearest to hand. And for first aid, the safest option wins: check for danger before you approach, and give the emergency services your exact location.
Sources
Written from the following. Where a figure could not be verified against one of these, it has been left out rather than approximated — our sources and methodology explains how we date and re-check them. Spotted something wrong? Report an error and we will fix it.
Topics that come up alongside fire safety & emergency procedures
Ready for the real thing?
When you are scoring 90% or better here, take a timed 50-question mock under exam conditions, then book your CITB HS&E test.