Please note this advice is for the unit FC2 from the old syllabi qualifications – National/International Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management.
To maximise your marks, check this list of Do’s and Don’ts
Observation sheets – the sheets are not marked, but must be submitted.
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) Include where the hazard is located, the nature of the hazard, the risk involved, measures in place to prevent/reduce fire risks and any remedial actions. | 1) Forget to return the Observation sheets with Forms 1, 2 and 3. |
| 2) Use the sheets to complete Forms. 1, 2 and 3 |
Form 1, Column A – Range and number of fire hazards (15 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) Include 20 different items. | 1) Don’t repeat the same items in different areas. |
| 2) Make sure you include items of ignition sources, fuel sources and oxygen. | 2) Don’t miss out on oxygen sources, you could mention open windows, air conditioning etc.Don’t include items not related to ignition, fuel or oxygen sources eg fire doors etc. |
| 3) You need to give some explanation with each item. | 3) Don’t just put ‘cooker’ but say cooker switched on and left unattended etc. |
Form 2, Column A – Range of fire spread/fire risk to persons (15 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) Include items related to fire spread eg adequacy of fire doors, holes and voids compartmentation, fire dampers, fire suppression systems etc. | 1) Don’t include items that are not specifically related to fire spread. |
| 2) Include some items related to the risks of fire to persons eg suitable fire warning systems, suitable evacuation procedures and routes, maintenance of fire detection systems and fire extinguishers etc. | 2) Don’t include items that are not related to risk of fire spread or risk of fire to persons. |
| 3) You new at least 15 points in this section. | 3) Make sure all your points are relevant to the heading title. |
Forms 1 & 2, Column B – Identification of persons at Risk (5 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) You need to include all people working in the building, visitors, contractors, lone workers, young people and vulnerable people. | 1) Don’t just lump all these together and put the same people for every item eg children would probably not be in a workshop etc. |
Form 1, Column C – Recognition of measures to reduce the risk of fire occurring (15 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) You need to recognise measures to reduce the risk of a fire occurring and this involves preventing oxygen, fuel and ignition sources from coming together. | 1) Don’t include items that are not relevant to keeping oxygen, fuel and ignition sources apart. |
| 2) Here you need to give measures that will reduce the risks from ignition sources eg PAT testing, maintenance of equipment, control of smoking etc. | 2) Don’t just put the title ie PAT testing, say, for example, out of date test label etc. |
| 3) You also need to give measures to reduce the risk from fuels eg only keep minimum quantities, store flammable materials properly etc. | 3) As in 2) Don’t just put the title but do give a brief explanation eg flammable chemicals are stored in a fire proof cabinet. |
| 4) You could also include measures to reduce arson (if you mentioned arson in Form 1, Column A). Measures could include – security lighting, CCTV fencing etc. | 4) As in 2) & 3) Don’t just give title but give a brief explanation. |
Form 2, Column C – Recognition of measures to reduce the risk of fire/smoke spread and recognition of measures to remove/reduce the risk to persons. (15 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) You need to show that you recognise the measures that are there to reduce the risk of fire/smoke spread eg adequacy of fire doors, fire detection and fire fighting systems, compartmentation etc. (5 marks) | 1) Don’t include items that are not relevant to reducing the risk of fire/smoke spread. |
| 2) You also need to recognise measures in place to reduce the risks to persons eg fire warning systems, evacuation routes & procedures, include measures for vulnerable people etc. (10 marks) | 2) Don’t just give a title, a brief explanation is needed of the 10 points, you need to gain 10 marks. |
Form 3 – Assessment of existing risk (15 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) Section 3.1 – you need to give the OVERALL risk of a fire occurring in the premises. You need to assess the risk as High, Medium or Low. (5 marks) | 1) Don’t give different risks for different parts of the building, you need an overall risk. If there are a number of risks of fire occurring, then don’t give the assessment as Low. |
| 2) You need to justify why you have given the assessment by choosing examples from Forms 1 & 2. Some detailed explanation is needed. (5 marks) | 2) Don’t include detail about fire spread or risks to persons, just discuss details of the risks of fire occurring. |
| 3) Section 3.2 – you need to give the OVERALL risk of fire spread, again using High, Medium or Low. (5 marks) | 3) Again, don’t give different risks for different parts of the building, you need an overall risk. As in 1) above ensure your assessment matches the justification. |
| 4) Again, justify your assessment using examples and include good detail. | 4) Don’t include detail about the risk of fire occurring or risks to persons, just discuss details of the risks of fire spread. |
| 5) Section 3.3 – you need to give the OVERALL risk to persons of fire, using High, Medium or Low. (5 marks) | 5) Don’t give different assessments for different groups of people, give an overall assessment. |
| 6) Again, justify your assessment using examples and properly explain the justification. | 6) Don’t include detail about the risk of fire occurring or the risks of fire spread, just discuss details of the risks of fire to people. As in 1) above ensure your assessment matches the justification. |
Forms 1& 2, Column D – Suitability of additional measures recommended (15 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) Try to give as many additional measures as you can, your mark depends on how many you give eg all items have additional measures, the majority have additional measures etc. For example, for reducing the risk of fire occurring you could suggest the use of permit to work system for hot works etc. | 1) Don’t just give ‘lip service’ to this, your measures must be realistic and need to cover the three themes – risk of fire occurring, risk of fire spread and risk to persons. |
Form 3 – Recommended review date (5 marks)
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| 1) You need to suggest a review date after considering the assessments you made in 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3. If the assessments were high then give a date of 2 months, etc. You need to give justification of why you have chosen the date and this could include the risks and the fact that wok may need to be undertaken before the next review. Make the date realistic. | 1) Don’t give more than one date. If all the assessments in 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 are High then a date of 12 months would not seem realistic. |
Spend time to make sure you all included all the Do’s and have avoided the Don’ts
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Eva Ainscough Env(NEBOSH) Dip, GradIOSH, CBIFM, M.Phil, M.Ed, BA, RSA(Dip)
RRC Tutor & NEBOSH Practical Assessment Marker