Fire safety engineer
Fire safety engineers make sure that buildings are designed to keep people, property and the environment safe from the dangers of fire.
Typical Salary
£26,000 – £70,000
per year
Working Hours
40–42
hours per week
Day-to-day tasks
Depending on your role and where you work, you could:
- use computer modelling to predict how fires start and spread
- make recommendations about building design and materials to prevent fires starting and spreading
- visit construction sites to oversee works
- give advice on fire safety systems and procedures like sprinklers and emergency exits
- liaise with local authorities, construction professionals and architects about fire safety
- keep up to date with new fire regulations and laws
- inspect equipment, buildings and materials to make sure they are safe
- write fire investigation reports
Skills needed
- knowledge of engineering science and technology
- design skills and knowledge
- maths knowledge
- knowledge of building and construction
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- analytical thinking skills
- thinking and reasoning skills
- knowledge of physics
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to get into this role
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
Career progression
With further professional study, you could gain technician, incorporated or chartered engineering status, depending on your level of academic qualification.
You could specialise in a specific building type like commercial, residential or retail.
With experience you could become a self-employed consultant.