F-01 Exam Topics: What the FDNY Study Booklet Covers

The F-01 booklet says the exam covers the entire booklet and any tables. That is the single most useful sentence in it for anyone studying, because it means nothing in the free FDNY study material is safe to skip: the definitions, the example forms, the extinguisher section and the appendix on construction sites are all fair game.

This guide goes through the booklet (revised January 2026) in its own order and pulls out what you should be able to recall without looking. It is a summary in our words; read the free booklet itself too (linked below).

The code sections the booklet names

The booklet says it draws on the New York City Fire Code and tells you to be familiar with:

• 2022 Fire Code Section 401.3 and Section 408 (emergency planning and preparedness, including your duty to notify the FDNY of a fire)
• 2022 Fire Code Sections 901 and 906 (fire protection systems and portable fire extinguishers)
• NFPA 25, Chapter 14 (2002 edition), which the booklet describes as covering fire guard duties during fire watch when a required system is out of service

Introduction: when a fire watch is needed

The opening pages set out the framework, and they are number-heavy, so expect questions here.

• When a required fire protection system is out of service in any occupancy, a fire watch must be maintained by one or more F-01 holders.
• The 4-hour exception: for the first 4 hours of a planned or unplanned outage affecting no more than 50,000 square feet, the impairment coordinator or a trained, knowledgeable person designated by the owner may do the fire watch. After 4 hours, only F-01 holders may patrol.
• Every out-of-service area must be patrolled at least once an hour.
• No single fire guard may cover more than 50,000 square feet of floor area; larger areas need one F-01 holder per 50,000 square feet.
• Impairment fire guards are required 24 hours a day, until the systems are back in good working order.
• The building owner must give the impairment coordinator access to fire protection system records, which are kept on site for three years. With no coordinator designated, the owner acts as one.

The introduction also covers construction sites: no impairment coordinator or fire watch is required before a system is "installed and approved," and the Construction Site Fire Safety Manager (S-56) is designated as impairment coordinator once an installed system goes out of service.

Definitions worth memorizing

Definitions are easy points if you know them precisely. The ones most tied to the job:

• Impairment: any condition where a fire protection system can't perform its fire safety function. The booklet's list of systems is broad: sprinklers, standpipes, fire pumps, water supplies, fire mains, fire alarms and special extinguishing systems.
• Planned vs. unplanned out of service: planned means the impairment coordinator knows in advance (repairs, testing, construction); unplanned means a serious defect such as an empty tank, a major leak or a shut valve.
• Fire watch: a temporary measure of continuous, systematic surveillance to spot hazards, detect fire early, raise the alarm and notify the FDNY.
• Impairment coordinator: the person the owner designates to make sure notifications and precautions happen when a system is out of service.
• Means of egress: has three parts: exit access, exit and exit discharge.
• Personal vs. general supervision: personal supervision means the certificate holder must be present; general supervision means they need not be on the premises at all times.

Part 1: requirements and duties

Orientation

Before patrolling, the booklet says the fire guard should know five things: the entry routes to the affected area, how far the outage extends, where hazardous materials are (including fuel oil tanks), where the portable extinguishers are, and how to make the required notifications. It explains how risk rises with the type and amount of hazardous material, the number of occupants, how familiar they are with the building, and how many systems are impaired at once.

Patrols and logs

The patrol section lists what to check (exits, doors, self-closing doors, lighting and signs, ignition sources, smoking, trash, extinguishers and pull stations, hot work) and the record section lists what the daily log must contain. We cover both in detail in fire guard duties during an impairment, so here are just the testable numbers: exit aisles are generally at least 3 feet wide, and the record is kept on the premises for at least 3 years.

Notifying the FDNY of an impairment

This is the part people mix up. The booklet says the FDNY must be notified:

• For a standpipe: whenever it is or will be out of service, for any length of time.
• For a sprinkler or fire alarm system: when it is out on more than one floor; when sprinkler work can't be finished within 8 hours; when fire alarm work needs the system out for more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period; or when another system in the same area is out at the same time.

The booklet lists a non-emergency number for each borough and the details the impairment coordinator must be able to give, such as the address, which system is out, planned or unplanned, expected duration and affected floors.

Emergencies and pull stations

On fire, the order matters: call 911 immediately, also sound the pull station where there is one, and notify on-site responsible people only after the 911 call. Occupants of the fire floor and the floor above are evacuated first, using stairs, not elevators. The booklet stresses that a manual pull station may not signal the FDNY directly, so never assume the FDNY has been called because an alarm is sounding.

Pull station details to know: single-action stations take one step, double-action stations take two (lift a cover or break glass, then pull); the handle is at least 4 feet from the floor; stations are within 5 feet of the exit doorway; there must be at least one per floor except in residential buildings. Once pulled, an alarm is reset at the fire alarm control panel, and only by an S-95 holder after an FDNY representative advises.

Part 2: fire protection systems and extinguishers

• Sprinklers control and may extinguish a fire. Heads open ("fuse") when heat reaches a preset level. The booklet notes apartment buildings built after March 1999 must have sprinklers, and that an S-12 holder handles sprinkler inspections.
• Standpipes act like a building's fire hydrants. Wet systems are always filled with water ("charged"); dry systems are empty until used. Without them, firefighters may lack water for hose lines.
• Fire alarm systems warn occupants and send signals to the FDNY through an approved central station company. An S-95 holder handles fire alarm inspections and maintenance.

Portable fire extinguishers

Topic	What the booklet says
Mounting	Top no more than 5 ft above the floor; bottom at least 4 in above it; never on the floor
Using one	P.A.S.S.: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. For small fires only; always call 911
Class A	Ordinary combustibles (wood, paper, cloth)
Class B	Flammable or combustible liquids and gases
Class C	Electrical equipment; no water or foam
Class D	Combustible metals; no water
After use	A fully charged replacement is needed before work restarts
Monthly	"Quick check" by a person the owner picks: charged, in place, not used or tampered with, no damage; recorded on the back of the tag or electronically
Annually	Inspection by a W-96 holder from an FDNY-approved company, who replaces the tag
Tags	FDNY standard tag; verify by its hologram strip (3 in by 1/4 in) and QR code

The booklet also covers the picture symbols on extinguishers, including the slashed symbol that marks a fire type the extinguisher must not be used on. For a wider look at classes across all the exams, see fire extinguisher types on COF exams.

Part 3: lithium-ion battery safety

A newer section that is easy to overlook. Key points: stop using or charging and call 911 for smoke, heat, swelling, color change, leaks, odd noises or smells; charging more than five personal mobility devices or their batteries requires a dedicated, ventilated room with a self-closing door; charging batteries need 2 feet of separation for a total capacity of 20 kWh and 3 feet for up to 50 kWh; the booklet states that fire extinguishers do not work on lithium-ion battery fires; and batteries can reignite minutes, hours or even days later.

Appendix A: construction sites

The appendix tables cover new construction, alterations and demolition. Two points stand out: hot work is not allowed anywhere on a construction site while the standpipe is out of service, and an F-60 watchperson on site does not count as the F-01 fire watch.

Two original practice questions

1. A sprinkler outage affects 120,000 square feet and has lasted six hours. Based on the booklet's coverage rule, what is the minimum number of F-01 fire guards?
Answer: three. Each guard may cover no more than 50,000 square feet, so 120,000 square feet needs a third guard.

2. A fire guard discovers smoke coming from a storage room. Who should they contact first?
Answer: 911. The booklet says on-site responsible people are notified after the 911 call, not before.

Practice against the booklet

Read the booklet once end to end, then test yourself on the numbers and the order of steps, since those are where small slips cost points. The F-01 practice page has free questions written from this booklet, and the full bank with timed 20-question mocks is on pricing.