The Fire Industry Association has made available the fire detection and alarms Advance Maintainer unit of the qualification pathway, which is available now.  This unit forms one of the specialist units of the new qualifications that are designed for those working in the fire detection and alarm sector.  

The FIA provides nationally recognised qualifications for fire detection and alarm.  Those studying the Maintainer unit as part of the qualification pathway will be awarded the FIA AO Level 3 in Fire Detection and Alarm Maintenance, Theory, and Regulatory Requirements.  

In order to gain the full qualification, learners must take and pass four units:

• Foundation course
• Health and Safety
• Environmental
• Advanced Maintainer 

Before taking the Advanced Maintainer unit, learners need to have taken and passed the Foundation course first so that they can build on their knowledge and go on to specialise in maintenance.  The Foundation course is the entry point for the qualification, and the other units can be studied in any order.

“As a not for profit organisation, our main aim for these new qualifications was to provide a high level of education for those in the industry, and to raise the bar and the standard of professionalism. Overall, by giving our technicians and engineers the opportunity to study and walk away with a qualification, we are giving employers more knowledgeable staff, and end users more confidence in the skills they are purchasing,” commented Ian Moore, CEO of the FIA.

“We’ve invested heavily into these courses with a range of new technology for the assessment and booking processes, and into the development of the courses themselves to suit the needs of learners and employers, and we are constantly reinvesting so that we stay at the forefront of development.”

Those studying the Advanced Maintainer unit as part of the qualification will learn about legislative requirements, codes of practice such as BS 5839, necessary documentation, maintenance methods, false alarm management, and waste management.

“By studying with us, learners will gain an extensive knowledge and understanding of what they need to know as a fire detection and alarm systems maintainer.  This unit builds on what learners will have been introduced to in the first unit of the qualification pathway, the Foundation unit.  The Advanced Maintenance unit develops that knowledge and takes it further and deeper into the subject of maintaining a fire alarm system – discussing things like what you do to fix specific problems, how to test, and to understand a variety of common problems that may occur,” said Ian Moore.

The Advanced Maintenance unit is available to now to those that have already taken and passed the Foundation unit of the qualification pathway.