Please introduce yourself, tell us about your career journey to date and what inspired you to pursue a career in fire engineering?
My name is Hannah Waters, and I’m a Fire Engineer at Arup where I began my career almost 8 years ago. Prior to getting a graduate position within Arup, I studied Chemical Engineering at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. Being honest, while at university I did not know what fire engineering was and it wasn’t until I was looking for graduate jobs that I stumbled upon some fire engineering positions. I have always been creative, interested in design and went through several phases of wanting to be an architect, but ultimately decided to go down the engineering route at university. The opportunity to be able to apply the principles I had learnt at university in the building design industry really interested me when I first started researching the role.
I am now a Senior Fire Engineer and just last month I got chartered with the IFE! While working at Arup, I have worked alongside and learned from many wonderful fire engineers and others in the industry. I really enjoy working on healthcare and assembly/entertainment buildings and seeing projects come to life during construction.
What professional achievement are you most proud of, and why?
One of the projects I am most proud of is the Exeter Nightingale Hospital project, which I worked on at the very start of the covid pandemic. Arup, alongside the wider design and construction team, delivered a fully functioning hospital to treat covid patients from a disused warehouse building in just 57 days!
Given the time constraints and fundamental differences in the fire safety provisions typically provided in a warehouse compared to a hospital, it was not possible to simply follow the guidance in the Health Technical Memorandum’s. The fire strategy was instead largely based on first principles and analysis to develop alternative solutions to those I had applied on my previous hospital projects. As a result, I learnt a lot from working on this project and, while at times it involved long hours and some challenging moments, I now look back and feel proud to have been part of the team that delivered it. The Exeter facility was one of the few Nightingale hospitals to operate at full capacity during the pandemic and knowing that I contributed to making that possible is especially rewarding.
What do you find most rewarding about working in this field?
I am currently supporting McLaren in implementing the fire strategy during the construction of the Cardiff Arena which is a new 16,000 capacity venue in Cardiff Bay. I really enjoyed developing the fire strategy design for this project, as similar to the Nightingale Hospital it involved lots of first principles engineering and required close coordination with the wider design team.
One of the things I find most rewarding about being a fire engineer is seeing the designs we have developed come to life during construction. Being a fire engineer has lots of challenges especially at the moment when the industry is going through a lot of change and we don’t have all the answers yet. However, the part of the role I am currently enjoying the most is navigating through those challenges with others in the industry and constantly learning from one another along the way.
How has being part of the IFE supported your development or career progression?
Being a member of the IFE, I have benefited from access to a variety of different CPD events, notably the events organised by the South Wales branch, which have allowed me to expand my knowledge in different sectors within the industry. The IFE has also supported my progression towards chartership which was a significant milestone in my career.
Do you have any advice for women thinking of starting a career in fire?
My advice to women starting their careers as a fire engineer is to feel empowered to share your thoughts and ideas. Fire engineering is a collaborative discipline, and progress comes from discussion and seeing problems from different perspectives. It is equally important not to be afraid of asking questions and learning from others in the industry.
When you start out in a professional role there can be a temptation to feel you should already know the answers, but curiosity and openness are some of the best traits you can have as a fire engineer. Even now several years into the role, the best advice I have received recently is to not worry about being an expert in every aspect of the job. Fire engineering is far more varied than I first realised when I started my career. Often there are no obvious or ‘textbook’ answers – instead, the job is about judgement, collaboration and working towards the best outcome together.