Develop the analytical skills used to understand fire behaviour

This module is available as a standalone short course and forms part of the wider F.I.R.E. Education Professional Formation Programme. It develops the mathematical and analytical skills used to understand and evaluate fire engineering problems, with an emphasis on practical application through clear explanations, worked examples and structured engineering exercises.

Learners develop confidence in using fire-related equations, engineering units, graphs and structured calculations across simplified scenarios involving fire growth, heat release rate, heat transfer and fire behaviour. Emphasis is placed on checking units and assumptions, interpreting results and understanding what the calculations mean within the fire scenario.

Who is the course for?

The course is designed for people working in fire safety, fire engineering, building design and related technical roles who want to strengthen their analytical and calculation skills.

It is particularly suitable for:

• Early-career fire engineers
• Fire safety professionals
• Building inspectors
• Engineers involved in fire safety design or analysis
• Professionals from engineering, construction or safety backgrounds seeking to develop technical fire engineering skills

What you will learn

• Algebra and engineering equations used in fire calculations
• Graphs and interpretation of engineering relationships
• Geometry and trigonometry relevant to building layouts
• Introductory calculus and rates of change
• Analytical methods applied to simplified fire engineering scenarios

Skills you will develop

• Manipulating and solving engineering equations
• Carrying out structured analytical calculations
• Interpreting graphs and mathematical relationships
• Applying analytical reasoning to fire behaviour scenarios
• Explaining calculation results within an engineering context

Applying mathematics to fire engineering

The emphasis throughout the course is on using mathematical methods to understand engineering problems. Worked examples and guided exercises help learners connect calculations with fire behaviour and interpret what the results mean within a fire engineering context.