Fire Safety Engineering (FSE) is multi-discipline in nature. There is significant overlapping of knowledge between mechanical, electrical and structural engineering as well as building services and access. Fire Safety Engineering also embraces an understanding of human behaviour.

Part B – Fire Safety (Technical Guidance Document B) of the Building Regulations is intended to apply to a broad range of building types, from the simple to the most complex, in which case, the more complex the design the more restrictive the prescriptive measures of the Part B – Fire Safety will be. The same can also be said for relatively ‘normal’ buildings where the measures of Part B – Fire Safety, place too many limitations on a proposed design.

The specific area of practice of Fire Safety Engineering has been established to distinguish professional engineers, whom have expert knowledge and experience that enables Alternative Solutions (as described in TGD-B and other Codes of Practice) to be developed which can overcome these challenges whilst at the same time meet the design goals, safety objectives as well as financial and operational targets of a project.

FSE can be described as the application of engineering principles, rules and expert judgement based on a scientific appreciation of the fire phenomenon, of the effects of fire and of the reaction and behaviour of people in order to:

• Save life, protect property and preserve the environment and heritage from destructive fire.
• Quantify the hazards and risk of fire and its effects.
• Mitigate fire damage by proper design, construction, arrangement and use of buildings, materials, structures, industrial processes and transportation systems.
• Evaluate analytically the optimum protective and preventive measures, including design, installation and maintenance of active and passive fire and life safety systems, necessary to limit, within prescribed levels, the consequences of fire.

MCD Fire Engineering provide a broad range of services including, but not limited to:

• Preparation and submission of documentation for fire safety certificates.
• First principals fire safety engineering analysis.
• Mathematical fire safety models (Zone and Field Models).
• Fire safety advice on the design of life safety systems.
• Fire safety advice on the design of property protection systems.
• Certification of fire safety strategy.  
• Fire safety advice on design of comprehensive fire safety management systems. 
• Fire safety advice on design and management of fire safety in historical buildings.
• Fire safety audits on existing buildings, 
• Fire safety review and provision of fire safety upgrade strategies for buildings subject to Council or Fire Brigade Notices/Orders.
• Fire safety review of product data/application with regard to fire safety standards and compliance.
• Fire engineering alternative solutions on non-compliances within buildings.
• Fire Safety inspection and certification of the approved fire safety design.

MCD Fire Engineering have international and local experience in the design and application of fire safety systems and endeavour to remain up to date with new developments within the fire engineering industry. 

We use both simple and advanced fire engineering computational tools, where we can analyse the fire safety risks from first principles and then develop an appropriate solution that meets the requirements for existing as well as new buildings.