Fire Engineering

Fire engineering is a specialist discipline that looks at how a building will actually behave in a fire, rather than simply checking whether guidance has been followed.

At MAF Associates, fire engineering is about understanding risk properly, using evidence, experience, and professional judgement — and then helping clients make safe, proportionate, and defensible decisions.

Fire Engineering vs Fire Risk Assessment

A Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) focuses on:

• Day-to-day fire safety arrangements
• Means of escape
• Fire alarms, lighting, signage
• Management and maintenance

Fire engineering goes further – It examines the building itself, its design, construction, materials, and fire strategy and then assesses how these elements perform together in a real fire scenario.

What Fire Engineering Actually Involves

Fire engineering considers questions such as:

• How could a fire realistically start?
• How might fire and smoke spread?
• How does the building structure behave in fire?
• Will compartmentation perform as intended?
• Can people escape safely?
• Does the external wall influence fire spread?
• Is the overall fire strategy robust and proportionate?

This approach recognises that every building is different — especially existing residential buildings.

How Fire Engineering Links to Our Services

Fire engineering underpins many of the services provided by MAF Associates, including:

Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEW)

• Understanding full external wall build-ups.
• Identifying combustible materials and cavities.
• Assessing cavity barriers and fire-stopping.
• Applying PAS 9980 methodology.

Fire engineering ensures the assessment is evidence-based, not assumption-led.

PAS 9980 Assessments
PAS 9980 requires a holistic, fire-engineering approach.
This includes:

• Understanding how external walls interact with the internal fire strategy.
• Assessing fire spread risk proportionately.
• Avoiding unnecessary remediation while ensuring safety.

Fire engineering allows risks to be properly evaluated and clearly justified.

Compartmentation & Fire-Stopping Reviews

Fire engineering looks beyond drawings and specifications to assess:

• Whether compartmentation exists where it should
• Whether fire-stopping is effective and continuous
• How defects could affect fire and smoke spread

This is particularly important in existing and refurbished buildings.

Fire Strategy Reviews & Technical Advice
Fire engineering supports:

• Review of existing fire strategies
• Advice where buildings do not meet current guidance.
• Resolution of design constraints or legacy issues.
• Liaison with regulators, insurers, and stakeholders.

The aim is always to provide clear, defensible advice.

Fire Engineering Is Not About Over-Engineering
A common misconception is that fire engineering automatically leads to:

• Expensive remediation.
• Overly cautious conclusions.

In reality, good fire engineering often:

• Reduces unnecessary works.
• Identifies where risks are already controlled.
• Supports proportionate, targeted solutions.
• Helps unblock stalled projects.

Fire engineering is as much about what does not need to be done as what does.

Why Fire Engineering Matters for Existing Buildings
Many residential buildings:

• Were built under different standards.
• Have incomplete or unreliable records.
• Have been altered over time.

Fire engineering allows these buildings to be assessed as they actually exist today, rather than against assumptions or idealised standards.

In Simple Terms Fire engineering:

• Looks at how your building behaves in a fire.
• Goes beyond checklists and surface inspections.
• Uses evidence, inspection, and professional judgement.
• Supports safe, proportionate decisions.
• Provides confidence to owners, residents, lenders, and insurers.