HLSS 212 W1: CBRN Based on this week’s reading and lesson notes, evaluate the arguments and evidence that terrorist groups are likely or unlikely to use CBRN weapons. In particular, what do you think are the prospects for ISIS and/or other sub-state actors to acquire and use a CBRN weapon in a foreign country? In the United States? Why or why not? W2: CBRN Overview Discussion Questions: After thoroughly reading this week’s course material, choose one potential weapon from one of the chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) categories (i.e. you could select Tularemia, which could be a potential biological weapon). Write in your own words your assessment of your selected potential weapon’s characteristics, accessibility, consequences of terrorists using that weapon based in researched facts. W3: Chemical Weapons and Threats Discussion Questions: Have chemical attacks conducted in the past by such groups like the Japanese terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo or the Syrian government in the past half decade had a significant effect on counterterrorism preparedness against chemical weapons domestically in the United States? Why or Why not? And do you feel the more recent chemical attacks by the Russian government against their former spy in the UK and political opponents will have an impact on chemical weapon preparedness here in the United States? Why or why not? W4: Biological Weapons and Threats Discussion Questions: Choose one Biological Weapon and theorize how it could be used to impact the most amount of people. Take into account the availability of the bioweapon, the skill needed to weaponize the agent, and the ability of the medical and public health community to respond to the attack. W5: Agroterrorism Discussion Questions: Based on the course material, examine the potential effects of agroterrorism, as a subset of biological terrorism, on the United States agricultural sector and economy. How significant a threat do you view agroterrorism as broader subset of biological terrorism? Where in the food chain is this attack most likely to occur? FSMT 102 W2 Contains unread posts Using the Internet as well as journal articles, research a major fire in United States history. Summarize the fire, noting cause, loss of life, what caused the fire to spread, and could have the fire been avoided and how so. W3 Contains unread posts Classes of Fire Extinguishers For your discussion post, please address the following topic this week: 1. What are the five basic classifications of fire? 2. Explain the various types of agents used to extinguish or control fires in these five classifications. After writing your initial post, please thoughtfully reply to at least two other students. Please see the following link to help you with your post: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/extinguishers.html https://firefightergarage.com/classes-of-fire/ W4 Contains unread posts For the Week 4 Discussion, please post a link to a webpage, article or video that deals with fire behavior on the fireground. Good examples include UL videos, NIST videos, Fire Engineering articles and a variety of other sources. Give a description and summary of your post and describe the ramifications of understanding this information on the fireground. After writing your initial post, please thoughtfully reply to at least two other students. Here is a link to a good article on fire behavior from Fire Engineering to get you started. https://www.fireengineering.com/firefighting/ventilation-limited-fire-keeping-it-rich-and-other-tactics-based-off-science/#gref W5 Contains unread posts Line Choice The object of firefighting (wet stuff on the red stuff) is to overcome the BTU’s with GPM’s; thus line choice is a huge tactical decision by the company officer. A huge tool and a world of difference is the 2.5″ Blitz Line. One would think that there is little difference between 1.75″ standard pre-connect and a 2.5″; but it’s truly night and day. The issue with the 2.5″ is staffing and the ability to deploy it. If a company is fully staffed and a heavy fire load is noticed; try not to overlook this line and its effectiveness. This week for the discussion you are to list advantages and disadvantages to each of the following two sizes of attack lines: a) 1.75″ and b) 2.5″ 1. What situations would warrant a fire company to utilize each of these lines? (Think size of the fire, type of occupancy – commercial versus residential, etc.) 2. How can staffing affect our ability to deploy and use larger lines? 3. Discuss your thoughts on the different lines. If you are currently with a fire department, what are the standard procedures for deploying these two size lines?
