Graduate Fire Engineer

A Graduate Fire Engineer is new to the fire engineering industry and tasked to enhance their knowledge in all areas of fire engineering to develop into a competent engineer. A Graduate Fire Engineer will help further the company’s standing in the industry and support the rest of the engineering team in providing specialist fire-related information across the built environment. This will include producing designs and drawings, using fire-advanced mathematical, scientific and engineering principles, undertaking site inspections on construction sites and completed buildings, or researching ground-breaking technologies. Under suitable supervision from senior technical staff, you will review building designs to assess their compliance whilst also designing solutions to bespoke fire engineering problems as part of the overall design team alongside the architect and Statutory Authorities.

Graduate Fire Engineers are expected to complete the BB7 Graduate Fire Engineer Framework. The program will also allow a Graduate to learn and apply fire engineering theory on live projects in practice, but it will also provide experience in becoming an engineering consultant. This involves developing non-technical skills and behaviours like project management, commercial and financial awareness, and communication skills. The framework will focus on BB7 Best Practices, consultancy and technical skills in fire design, construction knowledge and fire assurance, fire engineering principles and Fire Risk Management.

The following points outline the key expectations of the role. This should be read in conjunction with the skills matrix, project role descriptions, and career path guide, which will assist in aligning career progression with personal career goals. It is difficult to define large/Complex/small/medium projects, and that view must be agreed upon with the Regional Director at the start of a project.

Developing knowledge of fire design, prescriptive guidance/legislation and implementation throughout the project life cycle.

The primary function of a Graduate Fire Engineer is to learn and develop their skills within the industry to be a successful supporting member of the team. You must develop your knowledge of fire design legislation, prescriptive guidance, and local & British Standards to apply appropriate and relevant specialist fire safety guidance and codes of practice on fire design projects.

A Graduate Fire Engineer must also develop an appreciation for implementing fire strategies during construction and throughout the building's lifetime.

Develop knowledge of fire engineering principles and techniques

A Graduate Fire Engineer will need to develop an understanding of the first principles of fire engineering, including fire dynamics, smoke dynamics, heat transfer, human behaviour, the psychological impact of fire on humans, physiological impacts of fire (tenability), combustion process, products of combustion, and structural response.

A Graduate Fire Engineer should also be able to develop knowledge on applying advanced mathematical, scientific and engineering principles, methods and modelling to design fire engineering solutions with the support of engineers and above.

Develop an appreciation of fire assurance and fire risk management

Develop an appreciation of the principles, techniques, and methodologies of risk assessment used to evaluate the impact of fire safety on life, property, and the environment in the built environment. Also, the importance of management and maintenance requirements for different fire safety strategies and systems and the impact these may have on owners/tenants during the life cycle of the building.

Develop knowledge of construction fundamentals, develop an understanding of how a fire strategy is implemented during construction, and develop the ability to identify components of active and passive systems on-site. This is achieved by shadowing site visits with Fire Assurance or experienced Fire Engineers.

Drafting fire strategies and engineering technical reports for different sectors

A Graduate Fire Engineer is expected to be able to differentiate between different stages of the building cycle and understand how they contribute to each stage. The Graduate is expected to be able to identify the level of information required to satisfy the deliverables needed for the design stage of the project. The Graduate Fire Engineer is expected to produce fire strategies for a range of different sectors, such as residential, mixed-use, and commercial buildings while taking care and attention when producing deliverables to reach a good level of quality and able to do self-check to ensure meets the required standard.

It is expected that a Graduate will be able to apply acquired knowledge to develop technical reports and review fire safety solutions and objectively review, identify issues, or offer alternative solutions/opinions on fire-engineered analysis, means of escape calculations, smoke ventilation calculations, heat transfer calculations, hazard identification, and fire risk assessments with support from seniors.

Supporting the team working on technical problems & projects

A Graduate Fire Engineer will illustrate their competency and capacity to work well within a team environment to achieve key project and non-project goals. They will be able to clearly explain a technical problem to a client and a colleague and be confident enough to discuss with their peers solutions through varying methods: design models, calculations, reports, drawings, specifications, presentations, digital media and discussions with those both inside and outside the industry.

Developing an understanding of project management as well as BB7 processes & procedures

Graduate engineers are expected to have skills in planning their work to achieve a task within the set deadline and budget. This should involve understanding how the task relates to the scope of work for which we have been appointed. The Graduate Fire Engineer should learn technical, commercial, and negotiating skills on projects.

Graduate engineers are expected to become efficient in following BB7 processes and procedures, particularly ensuring that BB7’s QA policy and procedures are adhered to. They should also become aware of how different corporate services (HR, Finance, Legal, Marketing, and sales) play an important role in these processes to deliver successful projects.

Developing professional conduct when dealing with internal and external personnel

A Graduate Fire Engineer will be expected to develop communication skills. This will include providing guidance to others using appropriate language to suit the audience's technical and non-technical needs. This behaviour will show that a Graduate engineer can create, maintain, and enhance productive working relationships.

As Graduate Fire Engineers develop their skills, they are expected to have direct contact with clients via email and phone. The next step would be to attend meetings and observe, eventually leading to participation in a meeting and directly emailing a client with a Fire Engineer or Senior included.

Requirements

BEng Hon’s in Fire Engineering or Engineering related discipline

Behaviours & Soft Skills;

A Graduate Fire Engineer's role is essential to the progression and future of the company. To be successful in this role, a graduate must adopt these behaviours.

• Keen learner
• Driven
• Responsive
• Professional demeanour
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Attitude of taking initiative, enthusiasm and eagerness to learn

View our full list of benefits here.