HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fire protection engineering is the application of science and
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
principles to protect people, property, and their environments from the harmful and destructive effects of
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...
and smoke. It encompasses engineering which focuses on
fire detection Fire detectors sense one or more of the products or phenomena resulting from fire, such as smoke, heat, infrared and/or ultraviolet light radiation, or gas. In dwellings, smoke detectors are often stand-alone devices. In non-domestic buildings, fir ...
, suppression and mitigation and fire safety engineering which focuses on human behavior and maintaining a tenable environment for evacuation from a fire. In the United States 'fire protection engineering' is often used to include 'fire safety engineering'. The discipline of fire engineering includes, but is not exclusive to: * Fire detection - fire alarm systems and brigade call systems *
Active fire protection Active fire protection (AFP) is an integral part of fire protection. AFP is characterized by items and/or systems, which require a certain amount of motion and response in order to work, contrary to passive fire protection. Categories of active fi ...
- fire suppression systems *
Passive fire protection Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floo ...
- fire and smoke barriers, space separation * Smoke control and management * Escape facilities -
emergency exit An emergency exit in a structure is a special exit for emergencies such as a fire: the combined use of regular and special exits allows for faster evacuation, while it also provides an alternative if the route to the regular exit is blocked. ...
s, fire lifts, etc. *
Building design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complica ...
, layout, and space planning * Fire prevention programs * Fire dynamics and fire modeling * Human behavior during fire events * Risk analysis, including economic factors *
Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
management Fire protection engineers identify risks and design safeguards that aid in preventing, controlling, and mitigating the effects of fires. Fire engineers assist
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
s, building owners and developers in evaluating buildings' life safety and property protection goals. Fire engineers are also employed as fire investigators, including such very large-scale cases as the analysis of the collapse of the World Trade Center.
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
uses fire engineers in its space program to help improve safety. Fire engineers are also employed to provide 3rd party review for performance based fire engineering solutions submitted in support of local building regulation applications.


History

Fire engineering's roots date back to
Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
, when the Emperor
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
ordered the city to be rebuilt utilizing passive fire protection methods, such as space separation and non-combustible building materials, after a catastrophic fire. The discipline of fire engineering emerged in the early 20th century as a distinct discipline, separate from civil,
mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations ...
and
chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...
, in response to new fire problems posed by the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. Fire protection engineers of this era concerned themselves with devising methods to protect large factories, particularly spinning mills and other manufacturing properties. Another motivation to organize the discipline, define practices and conduct research to support innovations was in response to the catastrophic conflagrations and mass urban fires that swept many major cities during the latter half of the 19th century (see city or area fires). The insurance industry also helped promote advancements in the fire engineering profession and the development of fire protection systems and equipment. In 1903 the first degree program in fire protection engineering was initiated as the Armour Institute of Technology (later becoming part of the Illinois Institute of Technology). As the 20th century emerged, several catastrophic fires resulted in changes to buildings codes to better protect people and property from fire. It was only in the latter half of the 20th century that fire protection engineering emerged as a unique engineering profession. The primary reason for this emergence was the development of the “body of knowledge,” specific to the profession that occurred after 1950. Other factors contributing to the growth of the profession include the start of the Institution of Fire Engineers in 1918 in the UK, and the
Society of Fire Protection Engineers The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) is a professional society for fire protection engineering Fire protection engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people, property, and their environments ...
in 1950 in the US, the emergence of independent fire protection consulting engineer, and the promulgation of engineering standards for fire protection.


Education

Fire engineers, like their counterparts in other engineering and scientific disciplines, undertake a formal course of
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
and continuing professional development to acquire and maintain their competence. This education typically includes foundation studies in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and technical writing. Professional engineering studies focus students on acquiring proficiency in material science,
statics Statics is the branch of classical mechanics that is concerned with the analysis of force and torque (also called moment) acting on physical systems that do not experience an acceleration (''a''=0), but rather, are in static equilibrium with ...
, dynamics,
thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...
,
fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) a ...
,
heat transfer Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange of thermal energy ( heat) between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as thermal conducti ...
, engineering economics,
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
, Systems in engineering, reliability, and
environmental psychology Environmental psychology is a branch of psychology that explores the relationship between humans and the external world. It examines the way in which the natural environment and our built environments shape us as individuals. Environmental Psychol ...
. Studies in
combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combus ...
, probabilistic risk assessment or risk management, the design of fire suppression systems,
fire alarm system A fire alarm system warns people when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other fire-related or general notification emergency, emergencies are detected. These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors and heat detectors or may also ...
s, building fire safety, and the application and interpretation of model
building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permissi ...
s, and the measurement and simulation of fire phenomena complete most curricula.
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
was one of the first countries in the world to introduce performance based assessment methods into their building codes in regard to fire safety. This occurred with the introduction of their 1991 Building Act. Professor Andy Buchanan, of the
University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
, established the first post graduate and only course available in New Zealand, at the time, in fire safety engineering in 1995. Applicants to the course require a minimum qualification of a bachelor's degree in engineering or bachelor's degree in a limited list of science course. Notable alumni from the university of Canterbury include Sir Ernest Rutherford, Robert (Bob) Park, Roy Kerr, Michael P. Collins, and John Britten. A master's degree in fire engineering from the University of Canterbury is recognized under the Washington Accord. In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...
(UMD) offers the
ABET The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineering ...
-accredited B.S. degree program in Fire Protection Engineering, as well as graduate degrees and a distance M.Eng. program.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now has 14 ac ...
(WPI) offers an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Fire Protection Engineering as well as online graduate programs in this discipline (M.S. and a Graduate Certificate). , Cal Polycalpoly.edu
/ref> offers an M.S. in Fire Protection Engineering.
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
offers an
ABET The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineering ...
-accredited B.S. in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology (established in 1937), Eastern Kentucky University also offers an
ABET The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineering ...
-accredited B.S. in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology, the Case School of Engineering at
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
offers a master's degree track in Fire Science and Engineering, University of New Haven offers a B.S. in Fire Protection Engineering, and the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
offers an associate degree in Fire Science and a bachelor's degree in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology as distance learning options, the only university in the U.S. and Canada to hold this distinction. Other institutions, such as the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
,
Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...
,
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
,
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is ...
,
Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online u ...
, and the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
have or do offer courses in Fire Protection Engineering or technology. Canada has fire engineering programs at York University and the University of Waterloo. The practice of final fire sprinkler systems design and hydraulic calculations is commonly performed by design technicians who are often educated in-house at contracting firms throughout North America, with the objective of preparing designers for certification by testing by associations such as NICET (National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies). NICET certification is commonly used as a proof of competency for securing a license to design and install fire protection systems. In
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
offers a degree in Fire Engineering and had its first fire research group in the 1970s. These activities are now conducted at the new
BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering The Edinburgh Fire Research Centre (formerly the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering) is the research group at The Institute of Infrastructure and Environment, University of Edinburgh conducting research in fire, structures and environment. Th ...
. The
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
uniquely offers an MSc award in Fire ''and'' Explosion Engineering. Other European Universities active in fire engineering are: * Bergische Universität Wuppertal * Ghent University * Imperial College London * Letterkenny Institute of Technology * Linnaeus University *
Luleå University of Technology Luleå University of Technology is a Public Research University in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The university has four campuses located in the Arctic Region in the cities of Luleå, Kiruna, Skellefteå, and Piteå. With more than 19,000 students ...
*
London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough ...
*
Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Stord/Haugesund University College Stord/Haugesund University College (HSH), Norwegian: Høgskolen Stord/Haugesund) was a medium sized state university college in Norway before it was merged with Bergen University College and Sogn og Fjordane University College to becomHVL.The uni ...
* University of Applied Sciences Cologne * University of Cantabria *
University of Central Lancashire , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...
*
University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along with it ...
*
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...
* University of Poitiers *
University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...
*
University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
* University of Wales (Newport) * University of Warwick * Glasgow Caledonian University * Vilnius Gediminas Technikal University The University of Ulster introduced its first fire safety programmes in 1975, followed by the first MSc Programme in Fire Safety Engineering in the United Kingdom introduced in 1990. In 2005 this MSc Programme will celebrate 25 years of unbroken service to higher fire safety engineering education. In 2004 the Institute for Fire Safety Engineering and Technology at the University of Ulster FireSERT occupied its new fire safety engineering laboratories which were funded by £6 million pound Infrastructure Award. The new facilities are state of the art fire safety engineering laboratories including a large scale burn hall and a 10 megawatt calorimeter. In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, Victoria University in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
offers postgraduate courses in Building Fire Safety and Risk Engineering as does the University of Western Sydney. The Centre for Environmental Safety and Risk Engineering (CESARE) is a research unit under Victoria University and has facilities for research and testing of fire behaviour. The Charles Darwin University and the University of Queensland have active programs. Asian universities active in fire engineering include: Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Tokyo University of Science, Toyohashi University of Technology, and the University of Science and Technology of China.


Professional registration

Suitably qualified and experienced fire protection engineers may qualify for registration as a
professional engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thro ...
. The recognition of fire protection engineering as a separate discipline varies from state to state in the United States.
NCEES The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors. The Council’s members are the engineering and surveying lice ...
recognizes Fire Protection Engineering as a separate discipline and offers a PE exam subject. This test was last updated for the October 2012 exam and includes the following major topics (percentages indicate approximate weight of topic): * Fire Protection Analysis (20%) * Fire Protection Management (5%) * Fire Dynamics (12.5%) * Active and Passive Systems (50%) * Egress and Occupant Movement (12.5%) Few countries outside the United States regulate the professional practice of fire protection engineering as a discipline, although they may restrict the use of the title 'engineer' in association with its practice. The titles 'fire engineer' and 'fire safety engineer' tend to be preferred outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries influenced by the British fire service. The Institution of Fire Engineers is one international organization that qualifies many aspects of the training and qualifications of fire engineers and has the power to offer chartered status.


See also

*
Active fire protection Active fire protection (AFP) is an integral part of fire protection. AFP is characterized by items and/or systems, which require a certain amount of motion and response in order to work, contrary to passive fire protection. Categories of active fi ...
*
Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
*
Architectural engineering Architectural engineers apply and theoretical knowledge to the engineering design of buildings and building systems. The goal is to engineer high performance buildings that are sustainable, economically viable and ensure the safety health. Archi ...
* Building services engineering *
Civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
*
Fire test A fire test is a means of determining whether fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a building code or other applicable legislation. Successful tests in laboratories holding national accreditation for testing and ...
* Institution of Fire Engineers * Listing and approval use and compliance *
Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...
*
Passive fire protection Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floo ...
* Product certification


References


External links


Society of Fire Protection Engineers website

Indian Institute of Fire Engineering - MSBTE recognized Fire Engineering Institute
{{Authority control Fire protection