Fire Engineering

Fire Engineering can be defined as the art and science of designing buildings and facilities for life safety and property protection in the event of an unwanted fire. This includes the application of scientific and engineering principles, based on an understanding of the phenomena of fire and its effects as well as the knowledge of the reaction and behavior of people, property, and the environment, besides studying the impact of fire protection systems including detection, alarm, and sprinkler systems. The most important responsibility of a fire engineer is reducing the impact of fire in case of a mishap. Since it involves saving life and property amid dangerous circumstances, fire engineers have a reputation for service. Some of the prerequisites for becoming a fire engineer are good communication skills, organizational ability, skills in evaluating situations, quick decision-making and problem-solving skills. The other qualities include physical agility, presence of mind, and self-discipline.

Courses and Eligibility:

The basic requirement for a BE course in Fire Engineering is a BSc with Chemistry and either Physics or Mathematics or both as core subjects. The age limit for joining BE is between 19 and 24 and the duration of the course is 3 ½ years. After completing class 10 or its equivalent examination, one can opt for a diploma or a certificate course in Fire Engineering.

Career Prospects:

A degree in Fire Engineering makes one eligible to join the management cadre in the government or public sector Fire Service. Fire engineers have always been in great demand by corporations, educational institutions, consulting firms, and government bodies around the world. They get employed in Fire Safety departments in local government bodies, insurance companies, architectural and building designers, project management companies, the aircraft industry, industrial processing units, and other places dealing with fire safety concerns. Manufacturing units such as petroleum refineries; industries dealing with petrochemicals and plastic, fertilizers, and textiles; LPG and LNG handling and bottling plants; and chemical factories and other plants offer enormous job opportunities to fire engineers as such products are deemed vulnerable to fire and combustion. Fire engineers may also work as surveyors in insurance companies.

Remuneration:

In the public sector, the starting gross salary of a fire engineer could be in the range of Rs. 5,000–7,000 per month. In the private sector, salary on joining may gross around Rs. 8,000–14,000 per month.