Year joined the IFE: Chartered Engineer registered 2011
Job Title: Principal Fire Engineer and joint head of LFB Fire Engineering Group and LFB Building Design Consultation Hub
Employer: London Fire Brigade (LFB)
Location: London, UK
Additional qualifications: BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, BEng (Hons) Fire Safety Engineering
Please describe your current role:
I am a principal fire engineer and also the joint head of the London Fire Brigade (LFB) Fire Engineering Group and the recently created Building Design Consultation Hub. I support a rapidly grouping team of fire engineers and technical fire safety specialists. Between both teams they review the circa 11-12k Building Regulations consultations received by LFB each year as well as Town and Country Planning consultations and work relating to Gateway two. The teams form part of the Protection Department at LFB and our fire engineers act as internal consultants to fire safety colleagues and other departments within the Brigade. While the primary role of the Fire Engineering Group is to review fire engineering solutions or complex fire safety strategies that have been submitted as part of the Building Regulations Approval process, but our work covers a lot more than this. We participate on numerous technical committees to improve fire safety design standards and take part in a variety of research projects, providing a fire service viewpoint and independent technical comment.
We are all trained fire safety officers able to deal with fire safety contraventions in occupied buildings under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and can provide expert witness support where needed. We also regularly liaise with our fire investigation unit to identify failure trends in building construction or system designs.
Please provide a brief outline of your career so far:
After a spell working as a mechanical project engineer, I decided that I needed a career change and saw an advert for fire safety officers at LFB. I was selected to join LFB in 2004 and offered to join the Fire Engineering Group due to my engineering background. It was a steep learning curve but I was working under two excellent mentors. I retrained in fire, undertaking a fire engineering degree and then focussed on the requirements and experience needed to gain professional registration with the UK Engineering Council as a Chartered Engineer. Having spent 20 years now within the fire engineering group at LFB I’ve gained a wealth of experience across a variety of different technical workstreams and am now a strategic leader within the organisation focussed on the safety of the built environment.
LFB sponsored me to undertake the BEng (Hons) Fire Engineering degree at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), where I graduated with a First Class Honours and received the annual award for the best fire dissertation. I was then supported to progress towards registration as a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council.
Have you worked on any unusual or high-profile projects?
I was extremely lucky to work on the 2012 London Olympics Athletes Village as well as being the lead LFB engineer on the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, one of the biggest undercover shopping malls in Europe. As well as new builds our role also includes existing and heritage buildings and I have been involved in projects for the Tate Britain and Modern galleries as well as the Elizabeth Tower (AKA Big Ben). My role gives me access to very high-profile projects including site visits such as to the top of the Shard, Wembley Stadium, or to see parts of London that most people don’t know exist.
What attracted you to gain membership and become CEng registered?
Becoming registered with the Engineering Council was always something I aspired to and LFB support this by having it written into our job descriptions. The ethos of professional development is well established within our team and is something we all strive to achieve.
How did you gain IFE membership?
I applied for AIFireE (IFE Associate grade) when I graduated from UCLan in 2008. The next step was to apply for CEng registration and as my Mechanical Engineering degree was accredited by the Engineering Council, I was able to apply via the standard route, without having a Masters level qualification.
How has IFE membership benefitted your career?
Having attained registration, I was in an excellent position to seek promotion within the group when a vacancy arose at senior fire engineer level. It has also facilitated my acceptance onto various working parties and committees supporting both my own further development and work of our group.
What is your employer’s attitude towards IFE membership and registration?
LFB is extremely supportive of the need to have both qualified and registered engineers working within our group. My senior engineer and referee were very supportive and helped me to develop and ensure it was the right time for me to apply.
Do you have any advice for potential members/registrants?
Talk to others who have already undergone the process and consider all registration options available. Be honest about your experience and get used to talking and writing about what you as an individual have done – registration is not a time for modesty.