Developing fire safety engineering as a practice in Canada

Abstract

The goal of fire safety engineering (FSE) is to design a strategy that meets human safety and property protection goals with an optimized solution. In comparison to international practice, Canada could be considered highly underdeveloped in a technical perspective of performance versus prescription. In Canada, FSE is a subdivision within civil and mechanical engineering, rather than treated as a profession in and of itself. With a requirement for more complex infrastructure to meet Canadian societal needs, there is stimulus that is fostering a demand to create professionals educated with FSE skill sets. This literary study therefore aims to present a state-of-the-art review of the design practice of FSE in Canada and abroad with explicit focus on performance-based fire design for the Canadian practitioner who seeks to develop their expertise in this subject.