Expert fire engineering ensures life safety, asset protection and business continuity. Arup has some 200 specialist fire engineers working from 30 offices around the world.
The events of 9/11, together with major road and rail tunnel fires, have focused attention on the fire safety of community infrastructure and the response of buildings to fire.
Performance-based design
Arup's performance-based approach to fire safety rises to the challenge of modern architecture and the design of all types of structures.
The firm's specialists take a collaborative approach to building design, often working with the world's great architects to help to create stunning buildings. Their innovative, cost-effective solutions meet all regulatory requirements and safety standards.
Arup achieved significant cost savings in the design of The Pinnacle – set to become the tallest building in London – by identifying areas in which advanced techniques in fire performance could improve the highly complex structural design.
For the Shanghai World Financial Centre, Arup's fire engineers demonstrated the value of elevators for evacuation as part of a package of fire safety measures.
Fire science, human behaviour and an understanding of risk are also fundamental to the design of major infrastructure projects such as the new airport terminal buildings at Heathrow and Beijing, the Cross City road tunnel in Sydney and the 2nd Avenue Subway in New York. For these and other projects, combining fire engineering and computer modelling achieves both life safety and business continuity.
Added value
Arup's global team of fire engineers offers a diverse range of services appropriate to clients' needs, in line with country-specific codes and standards and consistent with the local authority approval process. Services include code consultancy, research, fire safety inspections, specialised fire safety design, fire risk assessment and litigation support.
Arup helped to investigate key aspects of the 9/11 incident, leading to the updating of design standards in many countries. In Australia, Arup fire engineers' inspection work helped to develop a risk-ranking tool for a major property trust. In Alaska, Arup is providing strategic and design advice on the retrofit of fire alarm and suppression systems for an international oil producer.
At Arup, fire engineering is a fundamental part of multidisciplinary design for buildings and infrastructure.