SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED UNIT STANDARD THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Preserve evidence for a fire cause investigation

SAQA US ID	UNIT STANDARD TITLE
115221	Preserve evidence for a fire cause investigation
ORIGINATOR
SGB Fire and Rescue
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY
-
FIELD			SUBFIELD
Field 11 - Services			Cleaning, Domestic, Hiring, Property and Rescue Services
ABET BAND	UNIT STANDARD TYPE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	CREDITS
Undefined	Regular	Level 4	NQF Level 04	2
REGISTRATION STATUS		REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE	SAQA DECISION NUMBER
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		2018-07-01	2023-06-30	SAQA 06120/18
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30		2027-06-30

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This unit standard does not replace any other unit standard and is not replaced by any other unit standard.

PURPOSE OF THE UNIT STANDARD

Brief description of competence
The qualifying learner achieving this unit standard will be able to limit, within the bounds of safety, the effects of fire fighting on the scene of the fire thus preserving evidence for later determination of cause.

The learner will describe an appreciation for the effects and benefits of loss control activities and post-fire investigation.

Benefit to the learner
The learner will be competent in a crucial component of fire fighting.

Broader benefit of competent practitioners
Competent qualifying learners will assist emergency services in facilitating subsequent evidence collection and investigation by experts to determine fire origin and cause.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

It is assumed that anyone wishing to enter a programme leading to this unit standard will already be competent at communication and mathematical literacy at NQF level 3 or equivalent.

UNIT STANDARD RANGE

Where necessary, range statements have been included under specific outcomes, assessment criteria or essential embedded knowledge.

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1

Describe the importance of evidence and its place in fire origin and cause determination.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Types of potential evidence are listed.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Uses to which evidence will be put by various parties are described.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

The chain of evidence and its importance are described.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2

Describe mechanisms for locating and securing evidence.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Procedures for locating evidence are described and demonstrated.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Procedures for preserving evidence are described and demonstrated.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 3

Perform all overhaul operations.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Industry accepted standards are described for all aspects of overhaul.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

The employing agency's standard operating procedures are used to contextualise industry standards while performing an overhaul operation.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 4

Secure the scene of a fire and preserve evidence.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Industry accepted procedures for securing a fireground scene are described.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Evidence is located, and preserved according to industry accepted standards.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 5

Observe and report suspicious circumstances at the scene of an emergency.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

All observations from the fire ground are indicated on the incident report.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

A range of possible forms or types of suspicious circumstances are listed.

UNIT STANDARD ACCREDITATION AND MODERATION OPTIONS

1. Anyone assessing a learner or moderating the assessment of a learner against this unit standard must be registered as an assessor/moderator with the relevant ETQA.

Such registration assumes that the assessor has both ETDP competence as well as substantial functional competence in the relevant area of practice.

This point leads to the assumption that any assessor assessing this unit standard is not relying simply on the content of the unit standard to guide their practise. Rather the assessor is drawing on a wealth of experiential knowledge for which this unit standard provides a quality benchmark.

2. Any institution offering learning that will enable the achievement of this unit standard must be accredited as a provider with the relevant ETQA.

Such accreditation assumes that the institution has access to relevant resources and staff with a substantial functional competence in the relevant area of practice.

This point leads to the assumption that any person providing education or training leading to this unit standards is not relying simply on the content of the unit standard to guide their practise. Rather the trainer/educator is drawing on a wealth of experiential knowledge for which this unit standard provides a quality benchmark.

3. Assessment and moderation of assessment will be overseen by the relevant ETQA according to:

The ETQA's policies and guidelines

Agreements reached concerning assessment and moderation between ETQAs (including professional bodies)

UNIT STANDARD ESSENTIAL EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE

The chain of evidence

Types of evidence

A range of suspicious circumstances at a fireground

Industry accepted methods of locating and preserving evidence

UNIT STANDARD DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME

N/A

UNIT STANDARD LINKAGES

N/A

Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO):

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COLLECTING

Collect, analyse and organise information

By locating, collecting and preserving evidence.

By handing over evidence to the appropriate person.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COMMUNICATING

Communicate
By communicating with all relevant persons in the location and preservation of evidence.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO SCIENCE

Use technology
By demonstrating an ability to use industry accepted methods for preserving various types of evidence.

UNIT STANDARD ASSESSOR CRITERIA

N/A

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this unit standard was Reregistered in 2012; 2015.

UNIT STANDARD NOTES

Notes about assessment

Assessment of this unit standard should focus on signing off a learner as competent against the competence described in the purpose statement at the beginning of the standard. The implication of this is that no part of this unit standard is a mini-competence in and of itself, but is rather part of the bigger competence described in the purpose statement. The parts should be seen to be pieces of a jigsaw puzzle none of which make sense by themselves, and each one of which affects the others.

For this reason, assessment criteria in this unit standard should be seen as orientated towards the standard as a whole. This does not mean that assessors should not check that a learner is competent at each outcome, but that they should not necessarily check this separately for each outcome. Similarly, assessors are encouraged not to assess essential embedded knowledge and critical cross-field outcomes separately.

As each situation is different, it will be necessary to develop assessment activities and tools that are appropriate to the contexts in which practitioners are working. These activities and tools may include self-assessment, peer assessment, formative and summative assessment.

Assessment should include practical demonstration of competence, either in the workplace or through work-realistic, out-of-classroom simulation.

A range of assessment methods should be used, including:
Direct observation - watch the practitioner carry out the task or produce a desired outcome during the course of his or her normal work under normal workplace conditions.
Product sample - examine the outcomes previously produced by the practitioner.
Simulation of a specific task - set a specific task for the practitioner to demonstrate in a simulated environment.
Questioning (verbal or written) - ask relevant questions linked to the unit standard.
Testimony - collect a portfolio of evidence from suitable people, e.g. report from a third party.

It may be more effective and efficient to assess a number of unit standards together thus reducing the overall number of assessment 'events'.

Consider a complete activity in the workplace (the 'whole of work' approach) and see which unit standards relate to this activity.

Work out how practitioners could collect evidence on a number of unit standards at the same time covering all the critical aspects of the standards.

Ensure that commonalities that exist between a number of unit standards are captured in a way that makes sense for assessment.

By checking for applied competence and critical cross-field competence as described below, the assessor must design a holistic assessment focused at the competence described in the purpose statement of this unit standard.

The learner must demonstrate applied competence in the following way:

1. The learner must demonstrate an ability to consider a range of options and make decisions about:

Whether any circumstances at a fireground appear to be suspicious

Ways in which best to collect and preserve evidence given the circumstances at a fireground..

2. The learner must demonstrate an understanding of:

The chain of evidence

Types of evidence

A range of suspicious circumstances at a fireground

Industry accepted methods of locating and preserving evidence

3. The learner must demonstrate an ability to learn from her/his actions and to adapt to changes by:

Reflecting on own practice, and adapting and modifying it accordingly.

Reflecting on their own patterns of learning and creating opportunities for future learning.

QUALIFICATIONS UTILISING THIS UNIT STANDARD:

	ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	STATUS	END DATE	PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QA FUNCTIONARY
Elective	79246	Further Education and Training Certificate: Wild Land Fire Fighting	Level 4	NQF Level 04	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2015-06-30	FPMSETA
Elective	48855	National Certificate: Emergency Services Operations	Level 5	Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2009-02-18	Was LG SETA until Last Date for Achievement

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS UNIT STANDARD:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

1.	ENB TRAINING SERVICEPTYLTD
2.	Legal Environment Safety & Health Requirements cc
3.	Phambile Skills Training (Pty) Ltd
4.	UMBUSO TRAINING SERVICES