IFE Level 2 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection

Introduction

The IFE Level 2 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection was originally developed by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) in conjunction with the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP). The content and structure of the qualification has been established to cover the basic knowledge and understanding required by those working in the passive fire protection industry.

Qualification Structure
In order to achieve the IFE Level 2 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection, candidates must achieve four mandatory Awards as follows:

• Award 1: Building structural frame and flame retardant coatings – see syllabus here.
• Award 2: Walls, floors, ceilings and glazing – see syllabus here.
• Award 3: Fire stopping, barriers, duct work and dampers – see syllabus here
• Award 4: Doors and shutters – see syllabus here.

See full qualification syllabus here.

IFE Level 3 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection

The IFE Level 3 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection was originally developed by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) in conjunction with the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP). The content and structure of the qualification has been established to cover the basic knowledge and understanding required by those working in the passive fire protection industry.

The IFE does not provide training courses for candidates preparing for the examinations. Candidates are required to manage their own learning in preparation for the examinations.

Candidates should use the published syllabus as the starting point for their learning and reading. The syllabus can be downloaded here

This qualification will be appropriate for individuals either directly engaged in passive fire protection or those who need to develop an understanding of the passive fire safety systems that are essential to the delivery of their primary role.

Examinations

Both of the qualifications are assessed by examination.  Examinations take place in March and October each year.  Please see the pages on this website relevant to March and October examinations for further information on timetables, booking arrangements, etc.

Recommended Reading Material

Candidates should be aware that this reading list is advisory rather than definitive. Candidates should use the syllabus for the examination as their guide in deciding what reading materials they need to help them prepare for the examination. The IFE recommends that all candidates should read widely in order to extend the depth and breadth of their knowledge and understanding.

IFE Level 2 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection Book list can be found here.
IFE Level 3 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection Book list can be found here.

All the free downloads listed on the book lists for all qualifications are available free of charge from the IFE Office.  Please send an email to adminstaff@ife.org.za with a full list of the required downloads and we will gladly email them to you.

Preparing for Examinations

Information on recommended reading is provided in the relevant qualification syllabus/specification.

Past Papers and Examiner Reports

Please take note: Going through and practising past papers brings many benefits. However, this should not be your primary method of studying for IFE exams. The IFE examination questions are styled in such a way as to test your knowledge and understanding of the topic. The IFE does not recycle examination questions, and thus studying model answers from past papers and examiner reports is not always going to give you the correct/precise answer to a possible variation of a similar question.

With reference to the document ‘Preparing to Pass IFE Examinations – Candidate Guide, the most common reason for failing examinations is that candidates do not provide enough information in their responses to secure marks. Candidates need to be familiar with the syllabus and to have undertaken studies relevant to each part of the syllabus in order to be able to attain the maximum number of marks available.

The benefit of going through past exam papers is to give you the opportunity to conduct a simulation exercise under near-exam conditions, following which you can get a better understanding of shortcomings or gaps in your exam prep and this allows you to make the necessary remedial actions to improve your exam-taking skills.

There is no quick fix to studying for examinations! At no time should students be under the misapprehension that studying model answers replaces knowledge and understanding of the topic.

Free Downloadable Resources

All the free downloads listed on the book lists for all qualifications are available free of charge from the IFE Office. Please send an email to adminstaff@ife.org.za with a full list of the required downloads and we will gladly email them to you.

The IFE no longer releases past papers older than the last two years.