In addition to your knowledge already gained from the fundamentals Unit 1 & Unit 2 course in FD&A systems, at the end of this fundamentals to advanced conversion course, you should have an understanding of the following;

• Legislation;
• Explosive Environments;
• Construction Product Regulations (CPR);
• The Equality Act;
• Types of Contracts;
• Third Party Certification;
• The Fire Event and Passive Protection;
• The Fire Risk Assessment;
• Construction, Design & Management (CDM);
• Standards, Codes of Practice, Guidance and Technical notes;
• A brief introduction to BS5839-6 for domestic premises;
• Fire Detection & Alarm System Technology;
• False Alarms and Un-Wanted Fire Signals;
• Documentation.

Whilst we will re-cap some BS5839-1 recommendations during this course, you will need to draw on your knowledge of BS5839-1 learnt during the Fundamentals Unit 1 & Unit 2 modules.

At the end of the course, delegates will take the foundation examination to test their knowledge. The examination is closed book; however, delegates are allowed to take blank note paper, a pen &/or pencil, a traditional calculator (Not a mobile device or a software driven calculator on a PC) and other such basic stationary into the exam. 

The exam question format for the Foundation course and that for the advanced courses, differs in complexity & difficulty compared to that of the Fundamentals course. During the course we will therefore explain the different question format, and also run through how to approach these questions during the exam.

The course & subsequent examination can be taken both online and in the classroom. For details about the online examination process, please visit, FIA online examinations for its industry-leading qualifications.

Delegates taking the one-day conversion course will receive a course book at the start of the course. The course book will contain a copy of the slides used during the course, along with an explanation to accompany each slide and space to make their own learner notes. This book can be retained by the delegates and is a useful reference tool for the work place.

For courses that take place within the classroom environment, a hard copy of the course notes will be provided at the start of the course. For courses taking place on-line, delegates will have access to the course notes digitally. Following completion of the course, delegates will be contacted and have the option to receive a hard copy of the course book in the post. Details on how to access the digital course book will be provided within the course invitation e-mail. Delegates will need to set up access to the digital course book prior to the start of the course.

This unit is open to anyone who has passed the Fundamentals of Fire Detection and Alarm Systems in Non-Domestic Premises or accepted equivalent Qualifcation*

It is recommended that delegates have more than one year’s experience in the industry.

Before taking this course, we would recommend delegates undertake some pre-learning by reading through the ‘Learner Manual for Legislation & Contracts’ that is available for download using the link provided here - Learner Manual Legislation & Contracts Section to download.

We would also recommend watching our Pre-learning videos, that are available by clicking the links provided below:

Fire Safety Law

Fire Science

Third Party Certification

Passive Fire Protection

FD&A Revision Session

These videos contain information that is vital to the course and we strongly recommend that learners watch them before taking the course for the best chance of success in the examination.  They can also be used for revision by delegates taking an exam resit.

Six practice examination questions are also available via the survey monkey website, a link to which is provided here - Practice exam questions.

We also have a short video available to help delegates tackle multiple choice exam questions. This video will be useful not just for the foundation course examination, but also for anybody taking the advanced qualifications.  Please click on the following link to view this video, FIA Multiple Choice Exam Techniques.

For those wishing to undertake some prior reading before the course, we would recommend a book written by C S Todd, MBE, The Design, Installation, Commissioning and Maintenance of Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems in Non-Domestic Premises. A Guide to BS 5839 1:2017. 5th Edition.

*Equivalent Qualification Information:

If an applicant for this course has not attained the FireQual non-domestic qualification but have with another exam body, they must provide the following information and send it to [email protected]:

1. Full Name
2. Individual's Email Address
3. Date of Birth
4. Company Name and Address
5. Copy of the Qualification Certificate

Upon receipt of this information, we will verify if the qualification is accepted and set up the individual with a Unique Learner Number (ULN), enabling them to be booked on this course. Subsequently, the FIA will email all relevant information back to the applicant.

The successful completion of this course & the exam, is the first step towards an Advanced Qualification.

Upon completion of the exam, delegates will get an instant result and successful delegates can then progress to the Advanced Qualifications for Installation, Maintenance, Commissioning and Design.

We do not issue certificates for completing the conversion course as it is not a qualification, it is part of one. A certificate will be issued when the qualification is complete. In the interim period, e-mails will be sent out confirming pass/fails that can be used as evidence.

Yes, this training has 6.5 Hours CPD.