University of Central Lancashire
Faculty of Design and technology
Department of Built Environment
Corporation Street
Preston Lancs
PR1 2HE

Contact:
David Evans
Tel: 01772 893220
Email: daevans@uclan.ac.uk

Aims:
The courses described in this case study were designed to:

• provide an appropriate Fire Engineering programme leading to Chartered Engineer status;
• meet an identified need for higher education study for Fire Service personnel;
• provide flexible access at differing entry points

Resources:
To develop and deliver these specialised courses required:

• specialist lecturers drawn from the University’s Centre for Research in Fire and Explosion Studies;
• the provision of a specialist laboratory necessitating an investment of £500K and ongoing maintenance costs;
• the provision for manufacturing customised test rigs;
• access to full-size fire testing facilities.

Details:
The History of Fire Engineering at the UniversityThe commencement of Fire Engineering courses in 1991 was an initiative that attracted support from the Institution of Fire Engineers and industry. The University was invited to join the fire safety studies group which consisted of representatives from the Home Office, the Department of The Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Fire Service College, the Institution of Fire Engineers, the Institute of Building Control, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Royal Institute of British Architects. The group was sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry. The group had, as part of its mission, to update the national core-curriculum document ‘Fire Safety by Design’ and assist in the development of a network of courses for fire safety and engineering.

Fire testing with real flames and water

These initiatives resulted in the launch, in 1993, of the National Core Curriculum together with the Chair in Fire Engineering in the Department of the Built Environment, sponsored by the Institution of Fire Engineers, the Fire Service College and industry. This Chair was instrumental in establishing a Centre for Research in Fire and Explosion Studies. This growth in fire research was evidenced by the award of a number of research grants. In 1997 the UK fire community, supported by the Lord Mayor of London supported the sponsorship of a further Chair in Fire Law also located in the research centre. The establishment of these Chairs and the research centre was considered essential to the support and underpinning of courses in Fire Engineering and related areas that the department wished to establish.

The Research CentreThe centre has strong links with a large number of Universities and institutions in the UK and internationally. The centre organises conferences to which international speakers are attracted. A powerful computer network has been created with grants from the EPSRC. The continued development of the centre is demonstrated by the number of active research staff undertaking funded projects by means of permanent and fixed-term contracts. Activities are focussed in three main areas: (i) combustion and explosions (ii) fire engineering, fire safety by design, hazard analysis and quantification and (iii) law related to fire safety.

The first research area reflects the key role of combustion and explosion science which creates the required background and fundamentals for the overwhelming majority of applications in fire engineering. Such applications form the second research area which includes also studies in the recent, rapid world-wide development of higher fire education. The third area has developed from the activities in the field of legal issues and fire engineering. All these research activities under-pin and inform the development of the fire engineering courses within the department and staff from the research centre are active in delivering specialist modules on the taught courses.

The Fire Engineering CoursesThe development of the courses has been informed by the activities of the research centre and the needs of the fire industry and has resulted in awards in:

• BEng(Hons) Fire Engineering
• BSc(Hons) Fire Engineering Management
• BSc(Hons) Fire Safety

The BEng Fire Engineering course is accredited by the Engineering Council to meet SARTOR3 requirements for registration as a chartered engineer. As an engineering course it contains a significant element of analytical/mathematical studies within a multi-disciplinary field of study. Students study diverse core subjects such as building design and fires, materials and services chemistry, combustion, fire dynamics, smoke movement, fire protection, fire safety, computer aided engineering, fire risk modelling, environmental and safety law and risk assessment and management. Students on this course are predominantly from the Fire Service and study in a part-time mode.

The BSc Fire Engineering Management course is concerned with the study of fire development and prevention and the means by which its consequence may be reduced to a minimum in both human, environmental and financial terms. This course consists of a multi-disciplinary field of study sharing many areas with other disciplines such as financial and management accounting, management theory and practice together with chemistry, transfer processes (heat and mass transfer), buildings, materials, structures and services. Students on this course are predominantly from the Fire Service and study in a part-time mode and appeals to those students who are not attracted to the mathematical demands of the BEng course.

The BSc Fire Safety course pathway is for students who wish to follow a more general route to fire safety careers without the rigours of mandatory Engineering Council requirements. Students select from a wide range of modular topics. This allows students to obtain a broad base of understanding from which the graduate can later specialise in any one of a number of directions. Students on this course are predominantly school-leavers who study in a full-time mode.Graduates from these courses find employment in a wide variety of related fields such as; fire safety engineers, fire protection engineers, fire loss experts, fire safety and risk specialists, building control specialists, occupational health, safety advisors and computer application modelling.

Graduates who are employed within the Fire Service use their qualification within the service as a means of promotion, including promotion to Chief Fire Officer rank. Some graduates have continued to PhD level studies within the research centre in fire engineering and related areas of study.

Evaluation:
The programme is kept under continuing review. An advisory board, consisting of chief fire officers, industrial representatives and engineering consultants meet annually to review and advise on the programme. This is supplemented by focus groups which meet regularly and are attended by senior representatives from the University and the Fire Service.

Student views are sought annually through the University’s usual quality assurance mechanisms including course and module questionnaires.

Benefits:
The benefits of the programmes are:

To the student

• a unique qualification leading to unique career opportunities;
• opportunities for mature students to gain career enhancing qualifications ;
• being informed by state-of-the-art research;
• access to, and preparation for, higher level degree studies at PhD level.

To the staff

• the opportunity to provide direct links between research and teaching;
• access to the facilities of a world-leading research centre;
• opportunities to inter-act with industrial collaborators and governmental bodies.

To the Institution

• raised national profile through links with industry and government;
• a unique marketing opportunity.

Issues and lessons to be learnt:
In developing new course initiatives, as described in this case study, significant levels of staffing should be given to course planning and implementation. The Fire Engineering and related courses were only possible through commitment at the highest level within the University and the collaborating partners. This commitment included substantial investment in laboratory facilities and also the vision to sponsor a Chair in Fire Engineering leading to the establishment of a centre for research excellence.

Ongoing developments:
The courses discussed in the case study have now been franchised to, and accredited at, various overseas Universities and within the U.K. The department is also working with the Fire Service College to offer courses from HNC to Masters level related to the work of the Fire Service.

References, further reading and sources of further related information:
For further information see: www.uclan.ac.uk/research/fire.htm