Understanding Fire Engineering: What Every Property Manager Should Know

Fire safety rules have evolved rapidly following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and with the introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022, making fire engineering even more important. Property managers now play a key role in ensuring buildings are not only compliant but truly safe. Knowing when and how to engage a fire engineer can make that job much easier.

What is Fire Engineering?

Fire engineering is the science of understanding fire and how buildings respond to it. It combines physics, chemistry, human behaviour, and engineering design to reduce fire risk. Unlike standard fire assessments that focus on general compliance, fire engineering looks deeper.

It considers:

● Fire prevention: Reducing the chances of a fire starting.

● Fire detection and alarm systems: Ensuring early warnings for residents.

● Suppression systems: Installations such as sprinklers or water mist systems.

● Evacuation modelling: Analysing how people will escape in a real-world context.

● Structural fire performance: How the building will respond to fire.

Fire engineers are involved in both the design of new buildings and the retroactive design of older ones. Their input is vital in high-rise residential blocks, buildings with complex layouts, or where standard fire safety guidance does not fit the real-world use of a building.

Following the Grenfell tragedy, the demand for qualified fire engineers has grown. Their role in shaping safer buildings is now seen as critical.

When is Fire Engineering Required?

Fire engineering is especially useful when constructing a new building - especially if it’s a high-rise or has a unique layout. The principles of fire engineering are also applicable to the refurbishment or conversion of existing buildings e.g. changing offices into flats or a single-dwelling into multiple dwellings.

Fire engineers should advise those managing buildings with unusual occupancy, such as care homes, student accommodation or hotels. They should also be brought in when standard fire guidance does not fully address the building’s needs.

Fire engineers typically work through the RIBA design stages, from concept to completion. They help ensure:

● Escape routes are correctly designed.

● Structural fire protection is appropriate.

● Systems like alarms and sprinklers are placed effectively.

● Fire strategy documents meet both current guidance and the building’s actual use.

They also provide solutions where there are design challenges, such as limited stairwells, open-plan layouts, or protected lobbies - ensuring safety without compromising usability.

How Fire Engineering Interacts with Compartmentation and Intrusive Surveys Compartmentation is a core element of passive fire protection. Fire engineers help design and assess compartment boundaries to contain fire, heat and smoke and protect escape routes.

They may:

● Specify the fire ratings for walls, floors, and doors.

● Advise re cavity barriers and fire-stopping details.

● Determine if alternative strategies (such as sprinklers) can support the overall fire design.

In existing buildings, a fire engineer may recommend intrusive surveys. These check whether existing compartments are still effective - especially where past alterations may have caused hidden damage.

As a practical example, a building converted from offices to flats may have had walls added or removed. A fire engineer may request a survey above ceilings and behind risers to check whether new partitions maintain fire resistance. If not, they can advise how to fix it to meet the current fire strategy.

What Property Managers Should Consider

As a property manager, you don’t need to be a fire engineer, but it’s important to understand how and when to involve one:

● Don’t rely only on standard guidance. If your building has been altered or is complex, standard fire safety rules may not apply fully.

● Know when to get expert input. If you’re unsure whether compartmentation is sound or if your evacuation strategy is still appropriate, consult a fire engineer.

● Align your fire strategy with your building’s current use. Occupancy types change over time, so should your fire strategy.

● Maintain clear documentation. Fire engineers rely on accurate plans, maintenance records, and survey results.

Some good questions to ask when appointing a fire engineer include:

● What experience do you have with similar buildings?

● Will your work support our fire risk assessment and golden thread duties?

● Can you help us understand how to maintain your recommendations over time?

In Summary

Fire engineering goes beyond the standard checks to provide tailored, risk-based solutions. They have an in-depth knowledge of prescriptive legislation and Approved Fire Codes, which they use to mitigate fire risk in the design of buildings. Where conflict with design requirements occur (or are challenged by Local Authority planning or the fire inspectorate) Fire Engineers can often develop engineering solutions to problems to reduce the fire risk so far as is reasonably practicable.

But Fire Engineer expertise isn’t just for new builds - older and refurbished buildings can benefit hugely from professional fire engineering input to help ensure your building is not only legally compliant, but genuinely safe for the people who live and work there.

This article was written by the 4site Consulting team.