Frequently asked questions.
It’s early days for The Fire Door Academy, so surely, it’s a bit soon to be talking about ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ – the good old FAQ’s we’re all used to.
It appears not.
We had a lot of feedback both at FSE2023 last week and through the website, so it seems only right that we answer any early queries/concerns with people interested in enrolling on The Fire Door Academy Fire Door Installation Course, Part 1 or Part 2.
We estimate that our timber fire door installation course part 1 will take between 20 and 30 hours to complete depending on the participant’s current knowledge of fire doors and the speed at which they absorb information – On average, we believe that most students can complete the online course in 25 hours.
Fire doors are a very complex product with a lot of components. In addition to understanding the product thoroughly, it is also important to have a working grasp of the legislation that governs their use. We could have shortened the course to 10 hours or so, but we don’t believe this would make the training course suitable and sufficient.
Don’t forget fire doors are life-critical components, a thorough understanding of their installation requirements is therefore critical.
The subject matter is extensive; a quick 20 questions with a low pass mark would not assure that the candidate had retained the required level of knowledge to draw upon when needed.
Instead, we have two separate exams:
The first is a 45-question set (randomly drawn) for which the pass mark is 90%.
The second consists of 10 questions that relate directly to an actual fire door certificate to ensure the candidate understands the document structure and can decipher the permitted parameters.
We could have made the exams easier, but again, we need to provide our clients with a higher degree of knowledge than most.
Real-life conditions are the answer.
In a training centre, all materials must be available on the day. Conditions must be perfect.
The candidate must also be able to complete the allocated task on the day, or the training centre is at fault.
But in the real world, how often are active site conditions perfect?
We believe that if a student faces real-world challenges, this equips them with a more realistic environment to be assessed against.
Imagine if learner drivers didn’t take their test on real roads but instead used a driving simulator; this would not provide a real-world driving scenario to be assessed against. We feel that this idea also applies to crucial life-saving components such as fire door installation.
We must be sure the candidate is capable of reacting to real-life issues that can occur ON a building site, even if it means telling the site manager that they cannot proceed because of unforeseen issues.
We assess the candidate using very strict guidelines set by our CAVA Assessor, both from a practical viewpoint and an in-depth professional discussion, to ensure the candidate has retained knowledge and KNOWS the subject.
Using the driving analogy again, You don’t get a driving licence without getting behind the wheel of a car and, indeed, spending a good number of hours behind the wheel improving your proficiency before your driving test.
Why should it be any different for the installation of fire doors?
An online theory-only course does not, we believe, make anyone competent to fit fire doors. That can only be done by a mix of intensive theory study and a real-life practical assessment.
Our installer cards aren’t easy to get, but those carrying them have completed what is probably the most suitable fire door installation course in existence in the UK.
Yes, however, how candidates receive their certificate and which certificate they receive depends on the following scenarios;
Candidates who take part one only:
On completing part one, candidates will receive a certificate of completion from us. We will also inform FireQual of thier success, and an official FireQual certificate will be sent to their registered address.
Candidates who take parts one & two:
On completing part one, candidates will receive a certificate of completion from us. Once candidates have successfully completed part two (the onsite assessment), they will receive an official certificate from FireQual to their registered address.
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