ALOA AFL study plan
ALOA AFL · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Fire door assemblies and hardware (doors, frames, closers, latching and exiting hardware) & Codes, standards and life-safety requirements applicable to fire doors
Identify every component of a swinging fire door assembly (door leaf, frame, hinge, closer, latching, exit device, coordinator, gasket, astragal, threshold, viewer) and state the life-safety function each performs.
Explain the difference between a door rating, a frame rating and an assembly rating, and why the inspection always evaluates the opening as a system.
Describe how fire ratings are established through fire-endurance and hose-stream testing, and what a listing covers versus what a field modification breaks.
Classify the common rating designations by both time (20/45/60/90 min) and letter designation, and match each to typical wall assemblies and occupancies.
Summarize the scope and division of labor among the model codes and the door-specific installation and maintenance standard.
Your checkpoint
A labeled single-page diagram of a fire door assembly annotated with at least 20 components, plus a 15-term glossary written in your own words.
Codes, standards and life-safety requirements applicable to fire doors
Map each governing document to the question it answers (construction type, opening protection, egress, maintenance and inspection) and state where they overlap.
Determine the required opening protective rating for a given wall rating, occupancy and opening type, and justify the answer by citing the applicable table or section.
Apply egress requirements that interact with fire doors: swing direction, occupant load thresholds for panic hardware, clear width and door-release rules.
Trace the origin of the periodic inspection obligation, including who is responsible, how often it must occur and what must happen when a deficiency is found.
Resolve five fact patterns in which two requirements appear to conflict, and state which controls and why.
Your checkpoint
An eight-row crosswalk table listing code citation, plain-language requirement, and where the requirement applies on a real project.
Fire door assemblies and hardware (doors, frames, closers, latching and exiting hardware)
Differentiate closer types and adjustment parameters (sweep, latch speed, backcheck, delayed action) and predict the failure signature of a misadjusted closer.
State the opening-force and closing-force limits that govern accessible egress doors and explain how field measurement is performed.
Match hardware sets to door function: choose between latch, exit device and fire-exit hardware based on occupant load, occupancy and egress direction.
Evaluate at least ten common field modifications (added viewer, drilled frame, swapped closer, removed gasket, added kick plate) and classify each as acceptable or listing-voiding.
Explain the role of coordinators, astragals and gaskets in smoke and fire control, and how to verify they function as a set.
Your checkpoint
A hardware compatibility matrix covering ten door types, each with an acceptable configuration and a commonly seen non-compliant one.
Inspection procedures, field testing and documentation
Sequence a complete inspection from pre-visit document review through opening identification, component-by-component check, and closing interview.
Execute a component-by-component inspection on two practice openings using a checklist of at least 25 items, recording each observation in real time.
Classify every finding as critical, operational or cosmetic, and state the corrective action and urgency tier for each.
Demonstrate field verification techniques for positive latching, self-closing, automatic-closing devices and clear opening width.
Explain how to handle an opening you cannot fully access, including what must be documented and reported.
Your checkpoint
Two completed inspection checklists (25+ items each) with every deficiency tagged by severity class and paired with the rule it violates.
Inspection procedures, field testing and documentation
Draft inspection narratives that state location, rating, observed condition, cited requirement, corrective action and responsible party for each finding.
Distinguish as-built records from as-inspected records, and identify the documents a complete inspection file must contain.
Select and sequence photographic evidence so the report stands on its own without further explanation.
Critique a sample report for defensibility: identify unsupported conclusions, missing citations and ambiguous findings.
Explain record retention expectations and how the report may be used in a later code or liability dispute.
Your checkpoint
A full mock inspection report for one opening containing at least 12 findings, each with a code citation, photo reference and corrective recommendation.
Professional practice, ethics and code of conduct
Apply professional conduct principles to conflicts of interest, including situations where the inspector is retained by the installing contractor or the seller.
Distinguish the inspector's role from installer, consultant and authority-having-jurisdiction roles, and state where each role's authority ends.
Evaluate confidentiality, impartiality and reporting-integrity scenarios, and identify the correct course of action in each.
Describe the professional and legal consequences of a falsified, inflated or softened report.
Define your own scope-of-competence boundary and write the referral language you would use when a question exceeds it.
Your checkpoint
Written responses to 12 ethical scenarios, each naming the governing conduct principle and the specific action you would take.
Fire door assemblies and hardware (doors, frames, closers, latching and exiting hardware) & Codes, standards and life-safety requirements applicable to fire doors & Inspection procedures, field testing and documentation & Professional practice, ethics and code of conduct
Re-diagnose weak areas from all prior quizzes and rank them by expected point recovery per study hour.
Solve a timed 50-question mixed set under exam pacing, then analyze every miss for rule gap versus misread versus guessing.
Re-explain your two weakest domains aloud from memory, without notes, and verify accuracy against source material.
Rebuild any flashcard or summary sheet that failed to prevent a repeat error.
Your checkpoint
An error log of at least 20 missed items, each with root cause, the correct rule restated in one sentence, and the remediation completed.
Fire door assemblies and hardware (doors, frames, closers, latching and exiting hardware) & Codes, standards and life-safety requirements applicable to fire doors & Inspection procedures, field testing and documentation & Professional practice, ethics and code of conduct
Complete two full-length timed simulations under exam conditions, with no references and a fixed clock.
Recite from memory the citations, thresholds and numeric limits you repeatedly missed, and verify each against source.
Compress the entire body of material into a one-page recall sheet generated without notes, then check it for errors.
Finalize a test-day plan covering pacing rules, when to flag and return, and how to handle unfamiliar hardware scenarios.
Your checkpoint
Two scored full-length mock exams at or above 85 percent plus a corrected one-page recall sheet.
Milestones
Week 2: Without references, correctly assign opening protective ratings to eight wall/occupancy scenarios and cite the governing provision for each; score 80 percent or better on a 25-question domains 1-2 quiz.
Week 4: Complete both practice inspections in under 45 minutes each with no missed critical deficiency, and achieve 80 percent or better on a 30-question checkpoint spanning domains 1, 2 and 3.
Week 6: Submit the mock report and the 12 ethics responses for review; every finding and every scenario must carry a citation, with zero unsupported conclusions.
Week 8: Score 85 percent or better on both timed full-length simulations, with no domain falling below 75 percent, and confirm the recall sheet is error-free.