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Fire engineering deals with fire protection and design, development of fire protection equipment and process etc. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalization, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems. In structures, be they land-based, offshore or even ships, the owners and operators are responsible to maintain their facilities in accordance with a design basis that is rooted in laws, including the local building code and fire code, which are enforced by the Authority Having Jurisdiction. Building must be constructed in accordance with the version of the building code that is in effect when an application for a building permit is made. Building inspectors check on compliance of a building under construction with the building code. Once construction is complete, a building must be maintained in accordance with the current fire code, which is enforced by the fire prevention officers of a local fire department. In the event of fire emergencies, Fire fighters, fire investigators and other fire prevention personnel called to mitigate, investigate and learn from the damage of a fire. Lessons learned from fires are applied to the authoring of both building codes and fire codes.
Fire Engineering is a very dangerous profession which requires a strong sense of commitment to public service. The role of fire engineers span engineering design to operations and management. In India ,the major Fire Engineering programme is the one conducted by National Fire Service College www.nfscnagpur.nic.in at Nagpur that offers a 3 1/2 years programme leading to Bachelors of Engineering. Fire engineers play a pivotal role in ensuring protection and taking the necessary precautions against fires. Fire Engineers main responsibility is reducing the consequences of fire if there is an incident. They are responsible for determining causes of fire and methods of fire prevention. They find new ways to maintain and improve the present fire fighting equipment.
Fire engineers have to work in shifts in dangerous conditions and are at risk of burns, smoke inhalation and exposure to chemicals. They need to be patient and disciplined, quick and efficient, reliable, self-confident and able to work well in teams. They need to know about streets and places in their district, the handling of dangerous goods and building construction. They also need to know about fire-fighting, different types of fires and how to deal with them, and about rescue methods and equipment |
