Fire Consultant: Job Profile and Role

A fire consultant is especially needed in workplaces that handle flammable substances and machinery that can cause power circuits and worse. But technically, every workplace should be equipped for any smoke- and fire-related emergency which makes a fire consultant pretty much mandatory.

In the following blog, we explore this career in detail. If you have always wanted to work in this profession, you will now find out all you need to know. Be it your expected annual salaries, your employers, or the qualifications and skills required to work as a fire consultant – this and much more is what you will discover in the next sections.

Short Summary

• As a fire consultant, you take on an advisory role in companies and conduct fire safety audits and train the staff how to deal with and act in an emergency.
• As a fire consultant, you must have an in-depth knowledge of smoke behaviour and fire dynamics, including knowing how likely a fire will start and how it will spread.
• As a fire consultant, you are asked to oversee construction work and share your insights into the most important safety measures to prevent fires.

Job description

As a fire consultant in the UK, you are the go-to expert when it comes to the prevention of fires in either a workplace or a private space. It falls under your responsibility to do fire risk assessments, often when construction work is still under way. You also need to identify potential fire hazards and plan and implement safety measures for preventing fire-related scenarios. Therefore, it is also your job to come up with emergency plans and ensure that every employee or resident, respectively, is trained in dealing with said emergency. To ensure compliance with regulations, you also need to collaborate with the relevant authorities.

Responsibilities

• Advisory Role
• Fire Safety Audits
• Emergency Planning
• Fire Safety Strategies
• Fire Risk Assessments
• Regulatory Compliance
• Smoke Behaviour Principles
• Collaboration with Authorities
• Fire Dynamics Understanding
• Overseeing Construction Work

Different types of Fire Consultants

• Fire Risk Assessor
• Fire Protection Consultant
• Fire Investigation Consultant
• Fire Safety Training Provider
• Fire Safety Management Consultant

Salary

As a starting salary for full-time employed fire consultants in the UK, you can expect to be paid around ￡31,000 per year. If you want to advance to the considerably higher annual salary of ￡51,000, you need both work experience and further training and qualifications. Depending on your position, you can even earn up to ￡70,000 per annum. This does not only depend on your responsibilities, however, but also on your location and your employer, aka the company size.

Working Hours

Your working hours in fire consultancy can range from 35 to 42 hours a week. This mainly depends on your job description and the tasks you are responsible for. Naturally, your employer also has a say in the matter, just as much as your form of employment. Speaking of which: consultancy work is pretty much perfect for going self-employed. 

As a freelancing fire consultant, you can offer your expertise to a select group of clients which can mean fewer weekly working hours (while still earning an above-average salary). Keep in mind that your working hours can include evening and weekend work, whether you work in-house or as a self-employed fire consultant.

Employers

As a future fire consultant, you have various employment options. You can start job hunting with local authorities that run either corporate or private businesses. Note that in-house and full-time employment are more likely in bigger corporations, whereas smaller businesses and start-ups tend to draw on the expertise of self-employed fire consultants. 

That said, here are a few more possible employment options for you: property developers and managers, government agencies, insurance companies, research facilities (pharmaceutical, university chemistry/physics departments, IT), schools, architectural firms, and construction companies.

Qualifications

There are no specific qualifications required to become a fire consultant. However, you should have finished your secondary education since most employers value both GCSEs and A levels, respectively. Depending on your educational approach, you may need GCSE pass grades at either 9 to 3 (A* to D) for enrolling at college, or 9 to 4 (A* to C) to qualify for a university course/foundation degree, or an apprenticeship. University courses tend to accept the equivalent A levels (or make them a mandatory requirement). 

Besides, you should have basic knowledge of construction and engineering which you will broaden during both your education and your work. Software knowledge will also benefit you, here you should have experience with the following: FDSs (fire dynamics stimulators), AutoCAD, fire sprinkler design software, and software for evacuation modelling.

Skills

Before you rush to update your skill section because you think it is not smoking, please check all job posts for the competencies expected by your future employer(s). Since we do not want to leave you hanging, we still have three skills that will benefit you if you want to work as a fire consultant – and naturally, we will take a close look at them in the following section.

Physics Knowledge

As you have seen from our responsibilities section, a fire consultant must have in-depth knowledge and understanding of smoke and fire behaviour. How does smoke expand after a fire has started? How does a fire act, and how will it likely spread? And what does that mean for the emergency plans in place, the people inside a building, and the surrounding area? The answer to these and further questions can be found with your strong physics knowledge. It gives you the theoretical and empirical foundation to not only read smoke and fire but also find ways of preventing it.

Thinking/Reasoning Skills

Although it is an unwritten rule that some places run a higher fire risk than others, you still need to be able to come up with contingency and emergency plans for every possible scenario. After all, you do not want to be responsible for a fire that has escaped your net just because you thought the likelihood to be about zero. Thinking and reasoning skills are therefore another important competency for this job. They enable you to come up with every (un-)thinkable scenario which then helps you to design safety measures and emergency plans accordingly.

Engineering Science Knowledge

Your physics knowledge is a part of your engineering science knowledge and is accompanied by strong mathematical, chemistry, and mechanics skills, to name but a few. In combination, these skills ensure that you have the knowledge and understanding needed to understand fires and find the correct ways of dealing with them. Why is that so important? Whereas there is no smoke without fire, no one fire is like the other – meaning that not every fire can be extinguished in the same way (and may also pose different levels of threat).

Career Path

Working as a fire consultant can actually be the top of the career ladder. It can be preceded by other fascinating jobs, such as the job of a fire safety engineer or a fire safety technician. Yes, we have an inkling that previous work as a firefighter can also propel you into this profession. Whichever your prior experience and approach, you may need specific training and/or a specific academic background to qualify for working as a fire consultant in the UK.

Educational Background

This brings us to the required educational background. Higher education does not tend to be an entry requirement but can benefit you regardless. An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in building surveying or health and safety can be a viable option if your future lies in fire consultancy. The same applies to a degree in civil engineering.

Besides the academic approach, you can also look into vocational qualifications and apprenticeships. Here are some possible options:

• A fire safety engineer degree apprenticeship
• A Level 4 HNC in Engineering
• A Level 5 HND in Engineering

Training

Your educational approach/training should be either accompanied or followed by further training to qualify you as a fire consultant. Appropriate options are so-called vocational courses, some of which we have already listed in the previous section. They should be related to risk assessment and/or safety and you can apply for them with the IFE (Institution of Fire Engineers), for example. 

Some relevant training courses are also offered by NEBOSH (The National Examining Board in Occupational Safety) which tends to focus on overall health and safety in the workplace. How about earning your National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management? This not only gives you the needed knowledge but is also accredited and therefore valid throughout the UK.

Continuous Learning

Some of your professional development is already covered by the training you have undergone. Besides, there are more ways to ensure you stay ahead of the competition and on top of your game. We recommend that you research further qualifications and certifications like the following:

• Certifications like the CEng (Chartered Engineer)
• CPDs offered by the Fire Protection Association (FPA)
• Becoming a member of the MIFireE (Institution of Fire Engineers)

On top of that, you must be and stay updated on the current fire safety regulations which are issued by the BSI (British Standards Institution) and the UK government.

A Day in the Life of a Fire Consultant

Before we take a look at three typical fire consultant tasks, please keep in mind that you are neither Grise, The Little Dragon nor Game of Thrones’ Daenerys – meaning that you will neither put out fires nor start them to fight the Lannisters or the Night King! That said, we will get serious again and explore the promised daily tasks that shape the day of a fire consultant.

Fire Emergency Training

Although generally, the saying “We cross that bridge when we come to it” tends to make life a lot easier, the saying “Better safe, than sorry” should be one of your work mantras. Therefore, fire emergency training not only is but must be a regular task in your job. Be it in a residential area or property or a workplace handling flammable goods and heavy machinery: everyone involved must know how to act and react in case of a fire – this will save lives! To communicate your knowledge and experience, you should come up with engaging and exciting ways to teach your lessons. Practical exercises can also be a part of the training which you can conduct during a company’s office hours.

Fire Risk Assessments

Be it ongoing construction projects or finished buildings and properties: prior and/or regular fire risk assessments are an important part of your job. Here, you must identify potential fire risks and evaluate the hazard level. Lastly, you must plan appropriate fire safety measures which you then communicate – or recommend, to prevent stepping on anyone’s toes – to the people in charge.

Equipment Check-Ups

Having an emergency plan in case of a fire is all well and good. But even the best-laid plans will not come to fruition and work if the accompanying equipment is out of date. Therefore, regular equipment check-ups are another of your responsibilities. Make sure that fire extinguishers still function and that the appropriate fire extinguisher(s) are in place in every building you are surveying. The check-ups extend to all other fire safety measures, including fire blankets, hoses, and safety clothing.

Tips for Thriving as a Fire Consultant

To conclude this job profile, we have researched and assembled three valuable tips that help you thrive in your job as a fire consultant. Some of these tips refer to your ongoing professional development, whereas others take your personal development and well-being into consideration. Are you curious? Continue reading and find out how to thrive when working in fire consultancy in the UK:

• Specialise
• Build a strong network
• Comprehensive expertise/services

Specialise

As much as a fire is not a fire is not a fire, no building is like the other. Therefore, specialising can be an excellent way to progress and thrive. Some interesting specialisation options can be training to become a fire consultant for industrial facilities (combined with strong chemistry expertise), historic buildings and structures, and high-rise buildings. If the latter is your chosen option, you may want to look into internationally accredited training. Although the UK can boast some seriously high buildings, a lot more can be found stateside or even further afield.

Build a Strong Network

Working as a fire consultant does not mean that you are a one-man- or one-woman-show. You need to collaborate and liaise with authorities and everyone involved in the building and running of a commercial or private property. Networking with these experts is essential to both prevent fires and to act swiftly in case of an emergency. Also, this network of various experts helps you broaden your knowledge by getting valuable insights and tips in fire prevention et al.

Comprehensive Expertise/Services

As with any job that comes with expert knowledge, said knowledge tends to be all Greek to laypeople. Although this usually does not present a problem, it can get dangerous in case of a fire. Therefore, you must invest time into drafting fire safety plans that are comprehensive to people not versed in your field and ensure that your expertise and services “latch on” with your clients. After all, they may know they need you. But getting across why they need you and what the lack of a fire consultant can mean in the worst-case scenario is a different kettle of fish entirely. And it is a surefire way (no pun intended!) to perform an excellent job and to thrive in it.

Work on your Escape Route

Lest we forget: never forget to work on your escape route. By this, we do not mean that you should look for a way out of your job as a fire consultant. We mean that you should invest time and effort into developing evacuation plans. These need to be tailor-made for the buildings you are working on/with and must point out the following: escape routes and egress for all residents with or without a disability or impairment, assembly points, and communication strategies. They must also take liaising and coordinating with fire emergency services into consideration. 

Frequently Asked Questions