About Project Fire
Project Fire is a fire engineering practice working on both new and existing buildings throughout the UK. It was founded by Alex Emery, who continues to lead every project.
How we work
Engineer continuity
Staff continuity is so important in construction given the knowledge needed on long term schemes. With a founder based practice, we focus on engineer continuity through the project lifecycle, and no downwards delegation of the project after it’s been commissioned.
Early input
Bring us in at stage 2 or before, when we can add the most value. We’d much rather be at the design team meeting making sketches to inform the design, than undo work through later involvement. Fire safety decisions often move cores and change systems, and that is why early stage input is key.
Modelling - when necessary
If Approved Document B or BS 9999 outline a sensible approach in the context of the building and its users, we consider it. We go to performance-based design and modelling only when the guidance is counter intuitive or impractical for the project.
Our own tools
We’ve built our own software tools for the repetitive parts of the job, and our own automations to support project management and delivery. Genuinely simple automations go a long way to improving accuracy and freeing up time for engineer focus.
Written for whoever reads it next
A good fire strategy should outlive the design team. We write ours in a way the design team can understand and design to, but also for future assessors, managers and designers to understand the logic of how the building was originally conceived, and what could start to instigate means to review and update the strategy.
Seeing it before it’s built
We use the tools now available to the industry to visualise the key concepts of a building’s design, and to work out how best to optimise an approach before it is fixed on the drawings.
A firefighting shaft is a good example. Build it up piece by piece below.
Firefighting shaft, three storeys.
- 1 Enclosure A fire-resisting enclosure around the whole shaft.
- 2 Stair The firefighting stair.
- 3 Firefighting lift A firefighting lift to facilitate firefighter and kit movement in the building.
- 4 Lobby A firefighting lobby on every floor, between the accommodation and the stair and lift.
- 5 Fire main A fire main rising through the building, with outlets in the lobby (non-residential).
- 6 Ventilation A smoke ventilation system intended to help keep smoke out of the stair.
- 7 Fire doors Fire doors between the lobby, the stair and the floor.
- 8 Everything The core components of a firefighting shaft.
Alex has worked as a fire engineer since graduating from the University of Leeds in 2010 with a degree in Fire and Explosion Engineering.
Alex has worked in the UK for Sweco, in Sydney with NDY and in the Middle East with Buro Happold, which has offered up a unique ability to undertake design throughout the world, using a variety of different local techniques and standards. Alex has worked on a series of award winning and iconic buildings throughout the world, and is not shy of demanding projects that require care, attention and diligence.
Credentials
- BEng (Hons) Fire and Explosion Engineering, University of Leeds, 2010
- Professional Member, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (PMSFPE)