There are many different aspects to the work of an architect. It is not just all about designs and imagination. Many practical and real life situations need to be incorporated into the work that is produced by architects around the world.

One very important factor is that of fire safety engineering, which plays a vital role in the protection and safety of a property or structure. Efficiency in construction and the impact on the environment are two of the main goals of the construction industry, and fire safety is fundamental in achieving these.

The success of managing fire safety begins with the initial design and construction of a building. Safety engineers work together with architects on every stage of the project from the initial design, through to the construction and then completion of the building project.

The key to fire safety engineering is being able to predict and anticipate potential problems and to react in a positive way, thus preventing the potential of a very serious incident. As well as having a deep understanding of how structures and buildings react to a fire, the engineers must also understand human nature, and the way people would react if they were inside a building that suddenly caught ablaze.

Fire Engineers will have a very high skill level of topics including, but not limited to, aspects such as how fire and structures behave in the event of a fire. They will also understand how fire can affect various materials used during the construction of the building.

There have been huge advances in fire safety engineering over the past hundred or so years. Originally, the prime focus was to prevent the fire from spreading from one building to another. Over the years, and with the advances in both technology and the understanding of fires, this focus has shifted to limiting the fire to the room or section of the building where it first appeared.

Nowadays, fire safety engineers are part of the design and construction team from the initial planning stages. If the fire safety engineers are brought into the team after potential problems are uncovered, then this could result in increased costs for the project, as well as substantial delays in it being completed, especially if already completed parts have to be scrapped and rebuilt again.  

They are one of the most important parts of the team, and their benefits include a more flexibility in terms of the design of the structure, as well as better practice in construction in terms of the best materials to use. They can also add valuable input on the overall design of the project in terms of safety.

Fire safety engineers will adhere to various industry standards and codes, and will make sure that these are applied correctly through all stages of the project. Fire safety engineering consultants can provide many services that can greatly help the success of a projects design and construction phases being approved.

One of the most important services is to create a specific fire safety strategy for the project. By outlining how potential issues can be resolved and tackled before becoming more serious, the authorities will be more likely to approve the project at an early stage.

In addition to the typical designs that are created by the architects working on the project, the fire safety engineers will also provide detailed plans and designs that highlight the fire safety features and aspects of the design. For projects such as housing properties, then they will also need to provide a clear and concise plan of escape for any people that are inside a building during an outbreak of fire. 

Smoke control is also a very important factor in this as well as emergency lighting and ventilation. Managing the smoke in a fire is extremely important as not only will it better help people to evacuate the premises, but will also make things a lot easier for the fire rescue departments who have been called out to tackle the fire.

There are also services such as fire audits, fire risk assessment, fire safety training, design of fire protection system, structural fire engineering, inspection of hazardous goods and materials and many others that all play important roles in a construction project. Each service of course will depend on the specific construction project, but there are now fire safety services that cover virtually every possible aspect of such a project, and are applicable in all stages, from the initial design and concept through the final grand opening.