What Is Fire Protection?

Fire protection protects buildings and their occupants from the catastrophic consequences of a fire. It encompasses a broad range of products and services, including building construction materials that are capable of withstanding the destructive effects of a fire for extended periods of time; mechanical equipment designed to quickly extinguish a fire; safety protocols to follow during a fire or emergency; and fire-resistant alarm and suppression systems that detect and extinguish a fire. These technologies can provide peace of mind and give occupants the ability to quickly return to their normal lives after the fire has passed.

In the US alone, a typical business experiences a fire-related incident every 15 to 20 years, leading to costly downtime, lost productivity, and potential legal issues. Fire safety practices are essential in any workplace to create a safer environment for everyone and protect valuable assets from damage or destruction.

Structural fire protection, when taken into account in good time and professionally from the very beginning of the project, can reduce the risks of expensive, complex and often dangerous incidents. It is also important to understand the different stages of a fire in order to take proper precautions and evacuate safely.

The incipient stage – During this phase, the fire is still small and localized to the area of origin. This is a great opportunity to extinguish the fire or prevent it from spreading.

Growth stage – As the fire grows, it can spread rapidly and cause significant damage in a very short amount of time. It is crucial to control and extinguish the fire during this phase in order to avoid reaching the fully developed stage.

At this point, the fire will produce thick black smoke and suffocate the occupants of a building. During this phase, a fire can be extremely dangerous, as it can also compromise structural elements of the building and trigger a flashover (the sudden ignition of combustible gases or materials in the surrounding atmosphere).

Once a fire has reached the fully developed stage, it is no longer easily extinguished, and the evacuation of occupants must be prioritized. This is also the most common time for a fire to spread to other areas of the building, resulting in a domino effect and increasing the risk of fatalities.

Fire research is a highly complex field that covers everything from fundamentals, such as combustion science and material science to application-focused studies on wildland fires, comprehensive fire modeling, high-rise building firefighting, occupant safety, fire suppression systems, and more. As such, employment opportunities in the field of fire research range from fundamental-focused universities and national labs to applications-focused consulting firms, building materials R&D, fire/prevention system manufacturers, and regulation development organizations like NFPA.