Fire Engineering

Project involvement for a fire engineer is essential from first concept right up to handover and even throughout occupation. Wintech can provide expert specialist fire engineering consultancy and advice at every stage of the project whether it is a new build, refurbishment, remediation or existing building. Because we are part of a multi-disciplinary organisation, we are able to marry diverse aspects in fire safety with Building Services, Structural and Façade Engineering.

Our ethos is to approach each project by following seven lifecycle stages:

1. Understand
We will take the time right at the start to get to know your project and what the important success factors are, whether it is purely regulatory compliance or higher client led requirements.

2. Design
Once we know what is to be achieved, we can get on with the business of design and production of a Fire Strategy. Design, of course, is not a single step and our Fire Engineering Design Service portfolio includes Fire Consultancy from Concept through Design Development. We will assist with statutory submissions including Planning and Building Regulations and help navigate the complex landscape of Gateway Applications.

3. Specify
It is important to make sure that what is agreed at the fire design stages is understood and correctly translated to system specification. Our Technical Design Reviews give you the confidence that critical fire safety features of the Fire Strategy will be fit for purpose .

4. Deliver
Construction periods can be lengthy, and inevitably changes to the design or systems will be necessary. It is important not to lose sight of the fire strategy and what it must achieve. Project Monitoring by our Fire Engineers and Surveyors will log compliance and identify modifications in a Golden Thread report, identifying where further review is needed to confirm suitability. As part of the detailed design stage, we can carry out specialist CFD modelling to assess smoke behaviour and engineered escape strategies.

5. Test
Once construction is completed, the components are tested to make sure they perform as intended. We can witness commissioning tests and carry out a final compliance check to make sure the final installation matches the design.

6.Use
Occupied buildings also have fire safety requirements. They must be managed correctly and key to this is the Fire Safety Management Strategy. Combined with the Fire Strategy, we can provide the Building Safety Case Report for a relevant building, in conjunction with our Structural Engineering colleagues. Existing buildings are also subject to regular checks and particularly for residential blocks where external walls and cladding require inspection. We can provide EWS1 certification, which must be renewed every 5 years, and FRAEW (Fire Risk Appraisal for External Walls) to PAS9980 including carrying out intrusive site surveys.

In some cases, the original fire safety paperwork is not available. Through investigation and site visits we can retrospectively provide a Fire Strategy for the existing building.

7. Change
Eventually there will come a time to change some aspect of the building. This might be an alteration to the fabric, such as an extension, the layout or the processes carried out within it. There could be a change in management, tenancy or different use altogether. Once the decision to change has been made the cycle starts again with understanding the effects of the change and then defining the purpose and success factors.

We are also in a position to provide Remediation Fire Engineering consultancy where defects have been identified and Expert Witness services to assist in litigation and legal procedures.