Fire Safety Engineering is to large extent an integral part of the design, engineering and construction of facilities we are involved with. As such, protection of these facilities (whether new or an upgrade) generally requires a fire safety assessment to identify fire-prevention, fire-protection (both passive and active systems), and fire-fighting facilities required, whether extended or improved.
Typically, a fire safety assessment would look into the following:
Project Manager
"Fire safety engineering has substantial relationships with building services, mechanical, electrical, chemical, structural and civil engineering, and embraces an understanding of human behaviour. We're experienced in project managing fire safety projects."
Proper application of codes and standards for design of equipment, interconnecting piping and fittings, together with proven guidelines and good engineering practice is required to ensure facilities are designed with a high degree of reliability and consequently a low probability of loss of containment .
In addition to these measures to prevent hydrocarbon leakage, our Fire Safety Engineer would identify suitable means to reduce the probability of explosion or fire incidents through minimising leakage quantities and also the probability of ignition if a leakage should occur.
These reviews will ensure distances between fire-hazardous equipment is sufficient to reduce risk of escalation to tolerable levels and/or appropriate fire protection measures are implemented where complete separation of individual pieces of equipment in an operational complex is infeasible, as is often the case. The engineer will ensure suffient access is provided for manual fire-fighting operations, or for areas requiring protection, but where access is considered inadequate and cannot be improved, fixed exposure protection systems, which remain in operation typically until the fire brigade has arrived and can determine the most appropriate method of attack. The basic objective of Fire Safety Engineering in layout reviews is to limit or prevent the excalation of a fire, to avoid risk to life and to minimise material damage.
This is typically fireproofing. The Safety Fire Engineer will assess the benefit of fireproofing to retard the rate of temperature rise in structures which may collapse or process vessels which may fail leading to significant escalation. The principal benefit of passive fire protection is realised during the early stages of a fire when efforts are best directed toward shutting down the facility, isolating fuel source to the fire, and then activating fire water supply systems.
This may include water spray systems, deluge systems, sprinkler systems, fire-water monitors etc. which are dormant until activated. Such fire protection is designed to protect against escallation of the fire emergency and avoid the need for manual intervention in the area.
The Fire Safety Engineer will assess the following: