Structural Collapse, Farm, and Industrial Rescue Practice Questions

25 multiple-choice questions on Structural collapse, farm, and industrial rescue for paramedic and EMT students, from Chapter 49 (Vehicle Extrication and Special Rescue). Read each question, pick your answer, then tap Show answer to check it and read the explanation.

25 practice questions

1. One wall of a building fails, and the floor above drops at that end while staying attached at the other. This collapse pattern is a:

   1. A. Pancake collapse
   2. B. V-shaped collapse
   3. C. Cantilever collapse
   4. D. Lean-to collapse
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   Answer: D. Lean-to collapse

   In a lean-to collapse, one end of a floor or roof falls while the other stays supported, forming a triangular void under the high side where survivors may be found. A V-shaped collapse fails in the middle.

2. Multistory floors fall flat onto each other in a pancake collapse. This pattern matters to rescuers because it:

   1. A. Is the most stable of all patterns
   2. B. Creates large voids along each wall
   3. C. Leaves few voids for survivors
   4. D. Collapses outward away from the base
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   Answer: C. Leaves few voids for survivors

   In a pancake collapse, floors stack closely with only small voids, often near furniture or machinery, so survival chances are lower and search is difficult. Large voids along the walls are typical of a V-shaped collapse.

3. In a V-shaped collapse, where the floor has failed in the middle, survivors are most likely to be found:

   1. A. In the voids along both walls
   2. B. At the bottom point of the V
   3. C. On top of the fallen debris
   4. D. Outside the building footprint
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   Answer: A. In the voids along both walls

   When the floor sags in the center, voids form along the outer walls where the floor is still partly supported. The bottom of the V is where the heaviest debris gathers.

4. After a building collapse, most people who survive are:

   1. A. Deep in voids in the lower floors
   2. B. On the surface or lightly trapped
   3. C. Pulled out by technical teams days later
   4. D. Found under the heaviest slab sections
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   Answer: B. On the surface or lightly trapped

   Most collapse survivors are on the surface or lightly trapped and are rescued in the first hours, often by bystanders. Deeply entombed victims are fewer and need technical teams and time.

5. A large building collapse may call for a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) task force, which:

   1. A. Replaces local command for the rest of the event
   2. B. Is used mainly for collapses of homes
   3. C. Arrives within 10 minutes of the collapse
   4. D. Brings rescue, medical, and structural experts
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   Answer: D. Brings rescue, medical, and structural experts

   US&R task forces include rescue specialists, physicians and paramedics, structural engineers, search dogs, and hazmat staff, and they work under local command. They take hours to deploy, so local crews handle the first phase.

6. After a collapsed building is searched, US&R teams spray-paint a large X near the entrance to show:

   1. A. The best place nearby for the ambulances to stage safely
   2. B. Which walls are safe to cut with a power saw
   3. C. Who searched, when, the hazards, and victims found
   4. D. The path the heavy equipment should follow
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   Answer: C. Who searched, when, the hazards, and victims found

   The search marking system records the team, date and time, hazards found, and the number of live and dead victims in each quadrant of the X. It keeps teams from searching the same area twice.

7. Rescuers working in a collapsed concrete building need respiratory protection mainly from:

   1. A. Carbon dioxide from the rescuers
   2. B. Silica dust and other fine debris
   3. C. Radon gas released by the concrete
   4. D. Smoke from the generators outside
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   Answer: B. Silica dust and other fine debris

   Breaking and cutting concrete releases crystalline silica and other dust that harms the lungs, so respirators are needed. Radon and carbon dioxide are not the main concern at most collapse sites.

8. During a void search, rescuers call out and then stop all noise for a period of silence to:

   1. A. Listen for tapping or voices
   2. B. Let the dust in the air settle
   3. C. Give tool operators a rest
   4. D. Allow the structure to settle
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   Answer: A. Listen for tapping or voices

   Calling out and then shutting down tools and generators lets rescuers hear faint tapping or voices from trapped victims. Electronic listening devices are used in the same quiet periods.

9. The leading cause of death in farm work in the United States is:

   1. A. Grain bin engulfment
   2. B. Injury from animals
   3. C. Tractor overturns
   4. D. Pesticide poisoning
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   Answer: C. Tractor overturns

   Tractor rollovers cause more farm deaths than any other cause, often crushing the driver. Grain engulfment, animals, and chemicals are important but less common causes of death.

10. A rollover protective structure (ROPS) on a tractor protects the driver best when he:

    1. A. Jumps clear as it tips
    2. B. Sits with the cab door open
    3. C. Drives faster on slopes
    4. D. Wears the seat belt
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    Answer: D. Wears the seat belt

    The ROPS keeps a crush zone around the seat, but it protects only a driver held in that zone by the seat belt. Drivers who try to jump clear are often crushed by the tractor or the ROPS itself.

11. A farmer's sleeve was caught in a spinning power take-off (PTO) shaft, which has now stopped. To free his arm, rescuers should:

    1. A. Run the shaft in reverse to unwind his sleeve
    2. B. Shut down the tractor and take the shaft apart
    3. C. Pull his arm free while the engine is idling
    4. D. Cut through his arm to separate it from the shaft
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    Answer: B. Shut down the tractor and take the shaft apart

    Running machinery in reverse can cause more injury, and the engine must be off so the shaft cannot restart. The shaft or its shielding is taken apart, or the clothing cut away, to free the arm.

12. A worker's arm is trapped in a grain auger, and taking the auger apart on scene would take hours. The team may need to:

    1. A. Pull the arm out of the auger by force before it swells
    2. B. Leave him trapped until the farm owner arrives
    3. C. Cut out the auger section and transport it with him
    4. D. Run the auger backward to release his arm
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    Answer: C. Cut out the auger section and transport it with him

    When disassembly would take too long, rescuers can cut the auger housing and take the section to the hospital with the patient, where it can be removed in surgery. Forcing the arm out can turn a survivable injury into an amputation.

13. Silo gas, present in the first weeks after a silo is filled, is mainly:

    1. A. Carbon monoxide
    2. B. Methane
    3. C. Chlorine
    4. D. Nitrogen dioxide
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    Answer: D. Nitrogen dioxide

    Fermenting silage gives off nitrogen dioxide, which may look like a yellow-brown haze with a bleach-like smell and is heavier than air. Methane is more typical of manure.

14. A farmer entered a newly filled silo and came out coughing, then felt better within an hour. He should be told that:

    1. A. Lung swelling may appear hours later
    2. B. He has had no lasting exposure
    3. C. The cough shows he cleared the gas
    4. D. His symptoms will not return once gone
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    Answer: A. Lung swelling may appear hours later

    Nitrogen dioxide forms acid in the lungs and can cause delayed pulmonary edema hours after the exposure, even when early symptoms fade. He needs evaluation and observation rather than reassurance.

15. An oxygen-limiting (sealed) silo is dangerous to enter mainly because:

    1. A. Its walls collapse inward when it is opened
    2. B. It is filled with smoke from heated silage
    3. C. It has steep ladders that are easy to slip on
    4. D. Its air has too little oxygen to survive
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    Answer: D. Its air has too little oxygen to survive

    Sealed silos are designed to keep oxygen low to preserve the feed, so the air inside cannot support life. Entry requires supplied air, not just a filter mask.

16. Once grain begins flowing out of a bin beneath a worker, he can sink knee deep and be unable to free himself in about:

    1. A. 1 to 2 minutes
    2. B. 4 to 5 seconds
    3. C. 5 to 10 minutes
    4. D. 30 to 60 minutes
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    Answer: B. 4 to 5 seconds

    Flowing grain acts like quicksand: a person can be knee deep in seconds and fully buried in about 20 seconds. This is why no one should be in a bin while grain is being unloaded.

17. To free a worker buried to the chest in grain, rescuers place a grain rescue tube around him to:

    1. A. Hold back the grain so it can be removed
    2. B. Pump air to him through its open center
    3. C. Pull him straight up and out of the grain
    4. D. Mark his place for the team's search dogs
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    Answer: A. Hold back the grain so it can be removed

    Panels of a rescue tube are driven into the grain around the victim, then grain is scooped out from inside, relieving pressure so that he can be freed. Pulling him up without first removing grain takes great force.

18. A farmer is buried to the waist in corn in a bin. A neighbor wants to pull him straight up with a rope. This is dangerous because:

    1. A. The rope will slide off his harness
    2. B. The grain will flow faster out the bin
    3. C. The force needed can injure his spine
    4. D. His legs will go numb from the cold
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    Answer: C. The force needed can injure his spine

    Grain grips the body so tightly that the pulling force needed can be several hundred pounds, enough to injure the spine and joints. Grain is removed from around the victim first.

19. When grain must be emptied from a bin to free a buried worker, rescuers cut openings:

    1. A. In one spot nearest the worker
    2. B. Through the roof at the top of the bin
    3. C. Evenly around the bin's lower walls
    4. D. Through the floor under the worker
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    Answer: C. Evenly around the bin's lower walls

    Cutting several openings evenly spaced around the lower wall lets grain drain without causing uneven loading that can collapse the bin. A single opening near the victim can make grain flow toward him and pull him down.

20. Gas levels in a liquid manure pit are most dangerous:

    1. A. While the manure is being agitated or pumped
    2. B. In winter, when the pit surface has frozen
    3. C. Several months after the pit has been emptied
    4. D. On sunny days when the pit cover is open
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    Answer: A. While the manure is being agitated or pumped

    Stirring or pumping manure suddenly releases large amounts of hydrogen sulfide, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide; hydrogen sulfide can rise to deadly levels in seconds. Quiet, ventilated pits are less dangerous but still require testing before entry.

21. Anhydrous ammonia, a common farm fertilizer, injures people mainly by:

    1. A. Causing seizures by blocking the enzyme acetylcholinesterase
    2. B. Causing severe alkali burns to the eyes, skin, and airway
    3. C. Displacing oxygen without causing any tissue damage
    4. D. Producing a slow rash that appears days after exposure
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    Answer: B. Causing severe alkali burns to the eyes, skin, and airway

    Anhydrous ammonia reacts with moisture in the body to form a strong alkali that burns the eyes, skin, and airway; it is also very cold and can cause frostbite. Blocking acetylcholinesterase describes organophosphate pesticides.

22. At an industrial plant rescue, EMS should first make contact with:

    1. A. Plant security at the front gate
    2. B. Any worker who saw the incident happen
    3. C. The worker's union representative
    4. D. The plant's safety officer or liaison
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    Answer: D. The plant's safety officer or liaison

    Plant safety staff know the processes, chemicals, energy sources, and layout and can provide Safety Data Sheets and lockout/tagout. A witness can help with history but usually cannot make the site safe. Gate security can guide you in but rarely knows the process hazards, and a union representative supports the worker rather than controlling the site's hazards.

23. A worker's hand is trapped between industrial rollers. The person most helpful in freeing it is often:

    1. A. A plant mechanic who knows the machine
    2. B. The worker's shift supervisor on duty
    3. C. A police officer trained in evidence
    4. D. A bystander who can lift heavy objects
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    Answer: A. A plant mechanic who knows the machine

    Maintenance staff know how to lock out the machine and take it apart, so the rollers can be separated without further injury. Rescuers work with them, rather than forcing the rollers apart.

24. At an industrial site, the most reliable information about a chemical's hazards and first aid comes from:

    1. A. The label on the break-room door
    2. B. The chemical's Safety Data Sheet
    3. C. A coworker's memory of the product
    4. D. The color of the chemical's drum
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    Answer: B. The chemical's Safety Data Sheet

    Safety Data Sheets list each product's hazards, protective equipment, and first aid and must be available at the workplace. Container color and a coworker's memory are not reliable.

25. After a collapse, a floor section juts out from a standing wall with its far end unsupported. Rescuers treat this cantilever collapse as very dangerous because it:

    1. A. Leaves no voids where people survive
    2. B. Has already settled into a stable shape
    3. C. Is the most likely to fail again
    4. D. Is made of lighter materials than floors
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    Answer: C. Is the most likely to fail again

    A cantilevered floor hangs from one point of support, so vibration, aftershocks, or removing debris can bring it down without warning; it is considered the least stable collapse pattern. Voids beneath it can hold survivors, which is why rescuers must shore it before entry.