2007-2008 IFIA Board of Directors

Phase I - Preparation Phase
Certification preparation is based on materials specifically designed to prepare the applicant for the Written Examination and Practicum phase. Using the supplied Examination Study Guide, applicants must demonstrate they completed the assignment before they can sit for the written examination. Following completion of the Examination Study Guide, the applicant can sit for the examination. The goal is to facilitate the applicant’s success throughout this challenging program, a key component in the design of high-impact certification programs.

Phase II - Exam Phase
The validated Written Examination is designed, maintained and administered by a third-party test provider. Based on NFPA 1031, both knowledge and skills related to standards application are evaluated. The four-hour open-book examination involves use of various documents that are identified for the applicants prior to their taking the written examination.

Phase III - Practicum Phase
The Practicum Phase is based on a workbook containing instructions on how to prepare and submit plan review written reports. The applicant must submit five written fire plan review reports in order to become certified. Applicants are required to conduct the plan reviews in accordance with well-defined instructions and they must provide external verification that each fire plan review report was completed. Once the Practicum Phase is completed, submitted, and verified, the applicant becomes certified.

Recertification Requirements
Once a Fire Plan Examiner has been certified, five-year Recertification is mandatory. A Recertification requirement serves to promote continuos professional development and skill maintenance, as well as to provide a mechanism that demonstrates a certified Fire Plan Examiner is always up-to-date in an ever-changing field. The applicant may either submit evidence of 100 points of continued activity, in the field of fire plan reviews according to the requirements for Recertification, or take a written examination. Evidence of continued activity in the fire place review may include course certificates, letters of attestment from course sponsors, or a college transcript. All courses must be clearly related to NFPA 1031.

The Three E's: Education, Engineering, and Enforcement
To effectively address the fire safety needs of any population, the three E's, education, engineering, and enforcement, must be addressed. There are certain fire risks that may be best addressed through educational efforts, while others may be better served by increased enforcement or engineering techniques. Each of the three E's exerts a synergistic effect on the others, however, and they are much more effectively than individually. Education can be used to promote engineering possibilities, such as home fire sprinkler systems. Code enforcement can be used as an opportunity for education. Point-of-sale information tags can tell consumers how to use the safety features engineered into products. Each of the three E's can contribute to the development of comprehensive, realistic, and effective solutions. Collectively, they can reduce the effects of fire, if not prevent them.

In 1997 alone, the United States alone experienced 1,795,000, killing 4,050 civilians and injuring another 23,50. The direct property damage alone caused by these fires totaled $8.5 billion. The total cost of fire, including indirect costs such as fire personnel, medical expenditures, insurance overhead, built-in protection, and attributed cost of deaths and injuries is estimated as high as $205 billion.

Mitigation
Despite our best prevention efforts, fires still occur. Once this occurs, what one can try to do is mitigate its impact. There are several approaches to mitigation, including the following:

Limit fuel loads. Most deaths occur in post-flash-over fires. To prevent this, make it harder to, or make it longer for the fire to reach the flash-over point.

Rapid detection and notification. Twenty-five years ago, very few homes were equipped with smoke alarms. Today, less than 7% of homes do not have one. However, 42 percent of reported fires and 59 percent of fire deaths occur in these homes. In addition to homes without smoke alarms, approximately 1 in every 5 homes with alarms has alarms that are not functioning. One third of all home fires in homes with alarms are in homes with non-functioning smoke alarms.

Rapid suppression. Less than 1 percent of homes experiencing a fire are equipped with a fire sprinkler system. More apartments, especially high-rises, experiencing fires, have fire sprinkler systems, but their numbers can be improved. Fire sprinkler systems are very effective and may cut fire deaths by one-half to two-thirds in properties where they are installed.

Compartmentation. Internal barriers help halt the spread of fire and confine it to the room of origin. The construction type is correlated with the extent and type of internal barriers, and so it is correlated with the probability of flame spread.

Evacuation. Although everyone should practice a fire escape plan, most households do not.