California is no stranger to the effects of wildfires. The hot and dry summer climate of the Golden State results in hundreds of small fires each year, and frequent larger fires, such as the Station Fire, which as of September 2, 2009 has burned nearly 150,000 acres of land north of Los Angeles, as reported by CNN.com.
Architects and builders, particularly those in areas that are prone to wildfires like California, use fire protection engineering techniques and materials to mitigate the effects of potential fires on the buildings they are constructing.
What do Fire Protection Engineers Do?
Fire protection engineers build upon an academic base that covers mechanical, structural, civil, and chemical engineering to develop materials and processes to prevent loss of life and damage to property due to fire. Fire protection engineers are concerned with both the protection of both the interior and exterior of a building, although different approaches may be applied to each.
The application of fire protection principles begins long before a building is built. Fire protection engineers perform risk analyses of locations and situations to determine the probability of fires occurring and the degree of damage that occur. Different types of fires require different protection mechanisms, so fire protection engineers take into effect the local environment, weather conditions, on-site materials, and building specifications to determine what mitigation systems are required.
Areas of Study in Fire Protection Engineering
There are several technology areas within fire protection engineering, including:
- Fire Dynamics - Using computer modeling systems validated by controlled experimentation and historical fires to understand how fires start and spread under varying conditions.
- Active Fire Suppression Systems - The design of systems to put out fires, including sprinkler systems, foaming agents, and other methods to stop the spread of a fire.
- Passive Fire Mitigation Systems - The development of building standards, components, or materials to prevent the spread of fire, such as compartmentalization of building zones and coatings to protect structural members.
- Investigation Theory - The study of fires that have already occurred to understand how they were started and how they moved through the building.
- Explosion Protection - Developing systems and methods to prevent explosions in locations that store materials that could potentially combust.
Fire protection engineering courses have been developing as part of engineering college offerings over the last few decades, although only a few schools in the United States have fully accredited fire protection engineering degrees, including the University of Maryland and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Sources
"California Counts Costs of Raging Wildfire", CNN.com website
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Fire Protection Engineering Department Website
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