Final Project

1. 2011
FIRE PREVENTION ENGINEER
FINAL PROJECT:
FIRE PREVENTION ENGINEER I
Miya Buckley - Henning
West Los Angeles College
12/18/2011

2.  Under close supervision.
 Performs professional fire protection engineering work involving review and approval of
moderately difficult construction plans.
 Inspects building sites for compliance with fire protection codes and regulations.
 Work under immediate administrative and technical supervision of a higher-level fire prevention
engineer.
 Engage in the performance of professional engineering assignments of limited reviews.
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3.  Approval of construction plans.
 Review of water supply systems.
 Inspects of hydrants accessibility.
 Checks fire access for the purpose of safeguarding life and property against loss from fire, panic,
explosions and related hazards.
 Conducts plan reviews of moderately difficult building plans, such as, small public assemblages,
business occupancies, single family and multi-family residences for fire flow, hydrant location,
access, and proper handling of fire hazardous materials.
 Uses strip maps to plot building plans on tract and parcel maps for the review of property lines to
determine hydrant availability and fire flow.
 Checks building plan; identifies discrepancies in plans with applicable codes; provides
recommendations for resolving discrepancies; conveys such information to project applicant.
 Checks building plan resubmittals and building sites for compliance with requirements and
provides approval for issuance of permits by Building and Safety.
 Performs calculations to determine construction requirements for fire flow; conducts field
inspections to verify hydrant locations; calculates hydrant flow; performs calculations for on-site
fire protection systems, such as automatic sprinkler systems for multi-family and single family
residences.
 Acts as liaison for the Fire Department with building and safety offices or water companies,
providing information pertaining to fire protection requirements.
 Provides interpretations of fire protection regulations to project applicants.
 Assists higher-level fire prevention engineers on more complex assignments including preliminary
review of plans, research of fire codes and on-site inspection of hydrant locations and structures.
 Provides information to project applicants pertaining to status of plans and informal review of
proposed plans for compliance with applicable regulations and codes.
 Prepares logs and files building plans and maps.
 Works in an assigned support capacity during major emergency incidents.
 Performs inspection with heavy equipment.
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4. WHAT ARE THE WORKING CONDITIONS?
 Fire protection engineers work in offices, and on building sites in all weather conditions. They
may work at heights or in confined spaces when inspecting a building.
 Fire protection engineers travel to building sites to inspect buildings, or to meet with architects or
builders. Fire protection engineers sometimes need to travel to building sites that have been fire
damaged, in order to carry out post-fire analysis.
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5. Los Angeles County Fire Department requires the Fire Prevention Engineer I (FPEA I) to have;
1. International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO)/International Code Council (ICC)
Certification as Plans Examiner, International Fire Code Institute (IFCI) Certification as Uniform
Fire Code Inspector.
2. A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of
transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.
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6. KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
1. Must have knowledge of basic engineering principles; fire codes and regulations; fire
hazardous materials.
2. Knowledge of mathematics sufficient to perform related engineering calculations.
3. The ability to read building plans, legal land maps, and parcels.
4. Knowledge of building codes, fire codes and NFPA standards.
5. Current or previous experience in fire alarm and fire sprinkler design in retail, commercial, mercantile or
related markets.
6. Knowledge of fire modeling and fire sprinkler hydraulic calculations.
7. Superior verbal and written communication skills.
8. Highly proficient in the use of eDAPTS.
9. Ability to meet fast-paced deadlines while maintaining quality design.
10. Self-starter with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
EDUCATION REQUIRED
1. An Associate's degree from an accredited college with completion of at least 15 semester units or 23
quarter units of fire protection related courses.
2. Completion of two years of a four year program in an accredited college or university with specialization in
civil engineering, fire protection engineering, fire protection administration fire technology related field.
3. Two years experience performing fire protection engineering work.
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7. It pays to be a fire protection engineer. Not only does becoming a fire protection engineer bring the personal
satisfaction of making the world safe from fire, but it provides competitive income;
Median income (including bonuses and overtime) for those working in fire protection
engineering in 2009 was $110,500, a 12.5% increase since the previous survey was conducted in
2007.
Median income (including bonuses and overtime) for engineers with 0-6 years of experience
with a bachelor’s degree was $68,700 per year. That figure jumps to $78,000 when a person with
that level of experience has a master’s degree.
Fire protection engineers with 15 years work experience earn the greatest salaries in the field. It
is common for senior-level fire protection engineers to make over $120,000 per year.
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8. RESOURCES
“FIRE PREVENTION ENGINEERING’’ MYMAJORPAGE
HTTP://WWW.MYMAJORS.COM/CAREERS-AND-JOBS/FIRE-PREVENTION-AND-PROTECTION-ENGINEERS
“Fire Prevention Engineering’’ Salary and Wages
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Fire-Prevention-Engineer-Salary-
Details.aspx?&hdcbxbonuse=on&isshowpiechart=false&isshowjobchart=false&isshowsalarydetailc
harts=true&isshownextsteps=true&isshowcompanyfct=true&isshowaboutyou=true
U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov
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