Fire engineers, like their counterparts in other engineering and scientific disciplines, undertake a formal course of
education and
continuing professional development to acquire and maintain their competence. This education typically includes foundation studies in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and technical writing. Professional engineering studies focus students on acquiring proficiency in
material science,
statics,
dynamics,
thermodynamics,
fluid dynamics,
heat transfer,
engineering economics,
ethics,
systems in engineering,
reliability, and
environmental psychology. Studies in
combustion,
probabilistic risk assessment or
risk management, the design of
fire suppression systems,
fire alarm systems, building fire safety, and the application and interpretation of model
building codes, and the measurement and simulation of fire phenomena complete most curricula.
New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to introduce performance based assessment methods into their building codes in regard to fire safety. This occurred with the introduction of their 1991 Building Act. Professor Andy Buchanan, of the
University of Canterbury, established the first post graduate and only course available in New Zealand, at the time, in fire safety engineering in 1995. Applicants to the course require a minimum qualification of a bachelor's degree in engineering or bachelor's degree in a limited list of science course. Notable alumni from the university of Canterbury include
Sir Ernest Rutherford, Robert (Bob) Park,
Roy Kerr,
Michael P. Collins, and
John Britten. A master's degree in fire engineering from the University of Canterbury is recognized under the
Washington Accord. In the
United States, the
University of Maryland (UMD) offers the
ABET-accredited B.S. degree program in Fire Protection Engineering, as well as graduate degrees and a distance M.Eng. program.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) offers an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Fire Protection Engineering as well as online graduate programs in this discipline (M.S. and a Graduate Certificate). Cal Poly offers an M.S. in Fire Protection Engineering.
University of New Haven offers a B.S. in Fire Protection Engineering, and the
University of Cincinnati offers an associate degree in Fire Science and a bachelor's degree in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology as distance learning options, the only university in the U.S. and Canada to hold this distinction. Canada has fire engineering programs at York University and the University of Waterloo. Final design of
fire sprinkler systems and
hydraulic calculations is commonly performed by design technicians who are often educated in-house at contracting firms throughout North America, with the objective of preparing designers for certification by testing by associations such as
NICET (National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies). NICET certification is commonly used as a proof of competency for securing a license to design and install fire protection systems. In
Europe, the
University of Edinburgh offers a degree in Fire Engineering and had its first fire research group in the 1970s. These activities are now conducted at the new
BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering. The
University of Leeds uniquely offers an MSc award in Fire
and Explosion Engineering. Other European Universities active in fire engineering are: • Ghent University • Imperial College London • Letterkenny Institute of Technology • Linnaeus University •
Luleå University of Technology •
London South Bank University •
Lund University • Norwegian University of Science • Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg •
Stord/Haugesund University College • University of Applied Sciences Cologne • University of Cantabria •
University of Central Lancashire •
University of Greenwich •
University of Manchester • University of Poitiers •
University of Sheffield •
University of Ulster •
University of Wales (Newport) • University of Warwick • Glasgow Caledonian University • Vilnius Gediminas Technikal University The University of Ulster introduced its first fire safety programmes in 1975, followed by the first MSc Programme in Fire Safety Engineering in the United Kingdom introduced in 1990. In 2005 this MSc Programme will celebrate 25 years of unbroken service to higher fire safety engineering education. In 2004 the Institute for Fire Safety Engineering and Technology at the University of Ulster FireSERT occupied its new fire safety engineering laboratories which were funded by £6 million pound Infrastructure Award. The new facilities are state of the art fire safety engineering laboratories including a large scale burn hall and a 10-megawatt calorimeter. In
Australia,
Victoria University in
Melbourne offers postgraduate courses in Building Fire Safety and Risk Engineering as does the University of Western Sydney. The Centre for Environmental Safety and Risk Engineering (CESARE) is a research unit under
Victoria University and has facilities for research and testing of fire behaviour. The Charles Darwin University and the University of Queensland have active programs. Asian universities active in fire engineering include: Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Tokyo University of Science, Toyohashi University of Technology, and the University of Science and Technology of China. ==Professional registration==