The LWF Blog

Fire Engineers | Who are they and what do they do?

February 26, 2014 2:32 pm

Whilst Fire Engineering has been around for many years now, it is still considered to be a relatively new discipline.  In fact, even now, it is not uncommon for Fire Engineers to work with project teams on fire safe designs for the first time.  With some design teams using Fire Engineers for the first time, the level of involvement of fire engineers and the input into the design is not always clearly understood at the outset of a project.  

Occasionally this lack of previous involvement means that fire engineers are not always engaged at the most appropriate time.  Examples of this come from projects where problems have been encountered, often with submissions being rejected from the approving authorities, which have led to fire engineers being engaged to try and resolve the problem; this should be avoided where possible.  

Whilst fire engineers can assist in those circumstances, due to the stage of the design the level of flexibility is lessened and often their resolution may require a level of compromise in the design from other areas.  

This blog aims to give designers an improved overview of what fire engineers do, where they come from and how their involvement can benefit a variety of projects.

Who are they?

It is fair to say that fire engineering crosses a range of disciplines and on this basis it is not surprising that many people working in the industry have a background in other, more traditional, design roles before converting to fire engineering. These fire engineers are then able to specialise using their previous skills and knowledge.  

Fire engineers can come from a multitude of disciplines, including; structural engineering, mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical and enforcing authorities, to name but a few.  In more recent times, many of those working in the industry have specifically trained and qualified as fire engineers.  

The reason fire engineers come from a range of backgrounds is understandable due to the range of activities they undertake.  Fire engineering requires an understanding of structures, particularly when considering structural fire protection, material reaction to fire and relevant timescales. Similarly, solutions can involve measures such as smoke control, where an understanding of mechanical engineering is required.  Equivalent examples can be made with most construction and engineering disciplines, which means it is unsurprising that the industry is made up of a mixture of backgrounds.  

What is fire engineering?

To start, let’s first define engineering.  Collins English Dictionary defines engineering as:

“the profession of applying scientific principles to the design and construction of engines, cars, buildings, bridges, roads and electrical machines”.

This definition encompasses the principles of fire engineering, with the most common form taking the role of engineered design to buildings, as this is typically where fire concerns us most.

Before the advent of ‘fire engineering’, a very prescriptive approach to fire safety was adopted.  A wide range of documents applied ‘rules’ to buildings that, in turn, governed what fire precautions were necessary.  

The main problems associated with these rules are that they could not encompass all of the variables that have an impact on fire and design.  Even very simple features such as ceiling heights were not explicitly taken into account.  For example, a storage facility for highly combustible material, with a floor to ceiling height of 3m would not necessarily require different precautions to a similar facility storing low risk goods with a ceiling height of 15m. 

However, common sense would indicate that due to the difference in risk of goods and the open space above occupants, the latter example will inherently be safer. Buildings need to be assessed on their own merits, taking into account all relevant features, including; building geometry, occupancy, construction (materials etc), design flexibility, building management, client objectives and so on.  

A key term in approach, as with much current thinking, is that fire engineering should adopt a ‘risk based approach’, where the fire precautions measures are commensurate to the risk.

It is important to understand that fire engineering is not a method used to reduce fire precautions in buildings, but is required to get the right precautions in place.  In the example above, the higher risk facility, once subject to fire engineering review, may be deemed to require precautions in excess of traditional codes in order to ensure life safety, whilst the lower risk example is found to achieve acceptability with less onerous precautions than those given in a prescriptive document.

The second and final part of this short series on fire engineering will examine the potential reasons for using a fire engineer and how fire engineering methods and tools can assist with making your design fire safe.

If you would like to discuss this article, or fire engineering, in more detail, please contact Peter Gyere on 020 8668 8663. 

Lawrence Webster Forrest Limited is a fire engineering and fire risk management consultancy, with over twenty years experience in the development of fire engineered technology and the application of fire safety standards including fire engineered techniques.

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