ACQP TRAINING CENTRE

Sources & course scope

Course scope

Prepared on 30 October 2026. This extended course covers concealed cavities, requirements and responsibilities, system evidence, layouts, substrates and fixings, masonry, ventilated façades, open-state operation, junction continuity, openings and roof interfaces, inspection, damage, alterations and handover.

This is awareness and knowledge training. It is not a practical competence assessment, specialist qualification, fire-engineering manual or authority to certify an installation. Use actual project requirements, current system documentation and appropriately competent decisions. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have distinct arrangements; England-specific examples are identified.

Using the technical references

The public scope of BS EN 1364-6:2025 was checked for open-state cavity barriers. A standard's general scope does not establish the permitted orientation or application of every product. Classification, test, assessment and installation documents have different purposes. This course does not reproduce paid standards or claim a clause-by-clause review. Obtain applicable full documents for specialist work. Government compilations can include future amendments: check commencement and project transitions. Historical test reports and older guidance need appropriate contextual review.

The 24 original diagrams explain concepts, not approved installation details. They provide no universal barrier locations, performance periods, cavity widths, residual gaps, compression, fixing patterns or repair methods. The 12 module images and landing image are illustrative scenes, not manufacturer evidence or proof of compliance. No lesson image is repeated in another module.

Fictional scenarios and blank records support clear decisions. They do not certify work, assign universal repair deadlines or authorise occupation. Keep missing evidence and inaccessible work visible as limitations. Product sources illustrate the need to check actual scope; they are not endorsements or instructions to select those products.

Source register

Sources were checked on 30 October 2026. Source bodies do not endorse this course. Lessons, diagrams and exercises are original; linked publications retain their copyright. Check currency and applicability before workplace use.

1. S01: Fire safety: Approved Document B

   England's official source for the applicable dwelling/other-building volumes and amendment documents. Use it to teach jurisdiction, building category, date and transition checks before relying on a detail. Page last updated 16 September 2026. Current consolidated PDFs include future 2029 amendments. A current download does not mean every collated provision has commenced. England guidance must not be described as UK-wide law.

2. S02: Approved Document B Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings, 2026 consolidated publication

   Section 9 addresses concealed cavities, subdivision, edges/openings, continuity, support and movement. It distinguishes cavity barriers from firestopping, and says a cavity barrier cannot simply complete a compartment wall above its termination. Section 10 addresses protected openings. Read provisions, exceptions and commencement together. Avoid universal barrier ratings, cavity dimensions or spacing. Supporting constructions and junctions matter. ADB is guidance, not approval of a particular installation or product.

3. S03: Approved Document B: fire safety

   Wales has its own approved-document source and amendment slips. Learners should establish the building's nation and obtain the applicable complete package before interpreting requirements. Landing page updated 19 June 2025 and specifically directs readers to amendments applicable from 20 December 2025. Do not substitute England's 2026 consolidated PDF or assume matching paragraph numbers and exceptions.

4. S04: Building standards technical handbook: domestic — April 2026

   Scotland uses the Building (Scotland) Regulations framework and technical handbooks. This edition applies to warrant applications and applicable non-warrant work from 6 April 2026; select the correct domestic/non-domestic handbook and project date. The 13.6MB full PDF exceeded the browser parser's size limit; landing-page application/date verified, not all current clauses. January 2025 PDFs still rank in search but are not the current default for new work. Use S25 for verified 2026 cavity principles in traditional-building conversions.

5. S05: Technical Booklet E — Fire Safety

   Northern Ireland has its own fire-safety regulations and Technical Booklet E. Its cavity provisions address location, compartment interfaces, openings, construction and supporting elements, with purpose-group distinctions. The landing page requires the 2012 booklet to be read with AMD7 (2022) and AMD9 (effective 6 May 2025). The linked tracked-change version contains amendment markings. Do not teach table values or exceptions without their full context.

6. S06: Design and building work: meeting building requirements

   Planning, monitoring, coordination, information exchange, competence and refusal of work beyond competence. Supports an awareness role of identifying uncertainty and obtaining a recorded decision from the responsible competent role. Applies to England; higher-risk-building duties are additional, not universal. CDM and building-regulations roles have different purposes. Course completion is not design, installation or inspection authorisation.

7. S07: The Building Regulations 2010, regulation 38: Fire safety information

   Fire-safety information must be usable by the responsible person for understanding, operating and maintaining relevant buildings. Current text includes receipt/sufficiency acknowledgement and applicable notification routes. Good cavity-barrier records support that purpose. Official indexed text verified; XHTML parsing limits apply. England amendments arose from SI2023/911 on 1 October 2023, not from the 2025 ADB update. Wales has separate amendments from July 2026. Do not teach one UK-wide deadline or universal application.

8. S08: ASFP Technical Documents

   Verifies TGD19's open-state cavity-barrier testing purpose and February 2026 issue; TGD17's installation/inspection scope includes small cavity barriers. Also identifies current guidance on performance evidence, test evidence and information responsibilities. Directory descriptions are not the full technical documents. No paid Colour Book or unaccessed standard text was reproduced. Do not claim to teach detailed TGD19 criteria from this directory.

9. S09: BS EN 1364-6:2025 — Fire resistance tests for non-loadbearing elements — Open-state cavity barriers

   Current published standard, dated 31 May 2025. Scope covers non-loadbearing horizontal or vertical open-state barriers designed to close in fire; distinguishes this from closed barriers and penetration seals. Optional flame criteria are identified in the public scope. It is no longer merely prEN1364-6. A standard's broad scope does not grant every product both orientations or every exposure. Full normative test procedures were not accessed; avoid invented closure times or pass criteria.

10. S10: BS EN 13501-2:2023 — Fire classification using fire resistance and/or smoke control tests

    Helps distinguish a tested assembly's resistance classification from a component's reaction-to-fire class. The classification has a defined application basis; a headline product rating is not the whole design evidence. BSI identifies the 2023 edition as current, under review. Full standard not accessed. An older test/classification referenced in a product document is not automatically invalid solely because a later edition exists; competent evidence review is required.

11. S11: BS EN 1366-4:2021 — Fire resistance tests for service installations — Linear joint seals

    Confirms current linear-joint-seal test standard. The public scope of EN1364-6 routes closed cavity barriers to EN1366-4, illustrating why the correct test/application family matters. Do not infer suitability for every cavity, curtain-wall perimeter, opening or service penetration from the test name. Full normative clauses were not accessed.

12. S12: RH Technical Data — Open State Horizontal Cavity Barriers

    Explains the designed ventilation gap and intumescent leading edge; links classification to void, air gap, product variant and supporting assembly. Distinguishes primary stone-wool reaction class from the intumescent component and whole fire-resistance evidence. Page still uses historical prEN1364-6 wording for its test evidence; use S09 for the current standard's status. Product-specific air gaps, closure observations and bracket options are not universal instructions. System-test participation is not approval for arbitrary façade substitutions.

13. S13: RV Technical Data — Vertical Cavity Barriers

    A closed vertical product can fully fill a ventilated façade cavity while horizontal barriers use an open-state approach. Supports joint continuity, compression, service movement, bracket selection and substrate-fixing discussions. Specific compression, bracket spacing and tape details apply to this documented system only. Do not rotate RH to replace RV or infer an arbitrary abutment detail. The legacy embedded installation link redirected to the homepage; use current technical downloads or S16's verified scoped guide.

14. S14: Siderise EW Cavity Barrier and Firestop — Technical Data Sheet v6.05 March 2026

    Masonry cavity product example with different configurations, orientation-dependent evidence, bracket arrangements, horizontal cavity tray and vertical DPC interfaces. Additional testing addresses specified masonry-support-angle intersections. Do not export this product's DPC dimensions, compression, bracket spacing or support-angle exceptions to other systems. A range marketed as barrier and firestop still requires selection for the actual function and performance.

15. S15: CW-FS and CW-CB Technical Data

    Curtain-wall perimeter seals close the floor/wall-to-façade interface to maintain fire resistance. Shows the importance of façade movement and the appropriate curtain-wall test/application rather than treating every external-wall void as the same cavity-barrier task. Terminology can overlap in product ranges. Identify the required function and complete assembly evidence. Do not use a rainscreen open-state detail as a substitute for a compartment-floor perimeter seal.

16. S16: RV-RH Quick Guide to Installation for Small Voids — version 2.05 July 2025

    Shows that cutting direction, gap checks, mechanical retention, continuity of intumescent edges, junctions and opening details are designed installation variables. Explicitly warns that project interfaces may need independent detailing. Applies only to listed small-void configurations. Do not reproduce its dimensions, diagrams or fitting instructions as generic practice. A guide is not a project-specific approval; current system instructions still need checking.

17. S17: FF102/25 Ventilated Cavity Fire Barrier — Technical Data Sheet TDS33 Rev2

    Horizontal open-state barrier example for defined uninsulated cavities. Distinguishes total cavity width from residual free-air space. Preselection information includes both substrates, insulation, required performance, ventilation and intended layout. Do not call the product name a universal permissible air-gap dimension. Historic regulation references within the PDF are not the current legal authority. Manufacturer recommendation is input to project design, not permission for an awareness learner to approve use.

18. S18: Cavity Fire Barriers for External Weatherboards — FF102/50 and NVFB-WB

    Illustrates complementary horizontal open-state and vertical closed products. Lapped versus flat weatherboards and resulting irregular geometry affect the tested arrangement. Fibre orientation and actual interfaces are relevant evidence variables. The document explicitly limits FF102/50 to horizontal use in this system. Do not infer all weatherboards, battens, substrates or gaps are covered by a headline rating. Use full performance tables only for competent project selection.

19. S19: NVFB Non-Ventilated Fire Barrier

    Closed-state family demonstrates that similar stone-wool forms may serve different jobs: external cavities, weatherboards, cassette infills, profiled voids or linear joints. Ratings depend on orientation and construction, with product-specific evidence for DPC/support interactions. The family page is not a universal installation detail. Distinguish exact variants; do not exchange NVFB-WB, cassette infill and linear-gap products because they look alike. 'No maintenance required' is not permission to ignore damage or subsequent alterations.

20. S20: SCB — Sleeved Cavity Barrier

    Masonry-cavity example: sleeved stone-wool strips installed under compression, with identified outer/inner construction combinations. Useful for comparing installed barrier function with ordinary insulation and examining party-wall perimeter interfaces. Page specifies masonry outer leaf and particular masonry, OSB-faced timber or cement-particle-board-faced steel inner constructions. Do not assume every board, frame or outer-leaf arrangement is included. Full detail and evidence remain required.

21. S21: SP FireStop OSCB 44 — Open-state cavity barrier

    Demonstrates a documented horizontal rainscreen system with a reactive leading edge, specified residual opening and named adjacent insulation products. Supports explaining why insulation substitutions and cavity tolerances can change the evidence match. Explicitly designed/tested with RainScreen Duo Slab and NyRock RainScreen 032 only. Do not export ratings or gaps to other insulation or reverse/vertical orientation. Do not generalise sleeve colour or product appearance into an approval test.

22. S22: RockClose EN — Insulated cavity closer for external walls

    A cavity closer may combine thermal-bridge reduction, a waterproofing/DPC layer and documented fire performance. This is a useful counterexample to both 'all closers are barriers' and 'no closer can provide fire protection'. Fire performance is conditional on specified application, substrates, gap and installation before the frames. A generic thermal closer or frame does not inherit this product's evidence.

23. S23: Fire safety — Inspection app

    Supports planned records and review before works are concealed. Product identity, project location, images, inspection data and issue resolution form a useful evidence trail. Incorrect product selection makes a submitted manufacturer report unusable. A specific vendor service, not a statutory requirement or independent certification of an entire façade. Photos reveal only recorded visible features; a software report cannot establish unrecorded hidden geometry or approve departures.

24. S24: ASFP On-site guide to installing fire-stopping

    General checks on evidence, substrate, component compatibility, movement, records and manufacturer-approved remediation. Highlights that penetrations through flexible cavity barriers need tested arrangements rather than ordinary masonry-penetration assumptions. Older general guide includes broad prescriptions and fallback dimensions; do not teach these as universal rules. Manufacturer/system evidence takes precedence for the actual application. Avoid its generic repair instructions becoming DIY advice for concealed façade systems.

25. S25: Guide to Conversion of Traditional Buildings — 2.4 Cavities

    Concealed routes in existing buildings may need investigation, including roof spaces and links between cavities. Fire protection, historic fabric, ventilation and damp control require coordinated specialist decisions. Supports safe escalation in retrofit cases. Interim guide published 20 March 2026 supporting Scotland's April 2026 handbooks. Context is traditional-building conversion, not blanket permission to omit barriers or apply alternative measures to new construction.

26. S26: Fire Barrier EN — Technical datasheet version 1.02 March 2026

    Internal-void example: reinforced stone-wool roll with specific concrete-soffit/timber-truss arrangements, supporting hardware and separate evidence for services or doors. Prevents the course from treating all cavities as façade rainscreens. Do not substitute an ordinary insulation quilt, extrapolate supported height/layers, or assume a service opening is permitted. Current Fire Barrier EN replaces Fire Barrier/Fire Barrier Slab discontinued in November 2024; older installation sheets are not interchangeable.

Assessment and certificate

Two checks per module. The final assessment selects 24 questions from a bank of 36, two from every module; pass mark 20/24. Allow approximately 3–4 hours including exercises and assessment, and record actual study time for CPD. The three-year certificate period is ACQP policy, not a statutory competence or barrier-inspection interval. NOCN approval relates to the Training Centre; this course is not an NOCN qualification.