History
Fire protection engineering's (FPE) roots date back to Ancient Rome, when the Emperor Nero ordered the city to be rebuilt utilizing passive fire protection methods, such as space separation and non-combustible building materials, after a catastrophic fire. The discipline of fire protection engineering emerged in the early 20th century as a distinct discipline, separate from civil, mechanical and chemical engineering, in response to new fire problems posed by the Industrial Revolution. Fire protection engineers of this era concerned themselves with devising methods to protect large factories, particularly spinning mills and other manufacturing properties. Another motivation to organize the discipline, define practices and conduct research to support innovations was in response to the catastrophic conflagrations and mass urban fires that swept many major cities during the latter half of the 19th century (see City or area fires). The insurance industry also helped promote advancements in the fire protection engineering profession and the development of fire protection systems and equipment.
In 1903 the first degree program in fire protection engineering was initiated as the Armour Institute of Technology (later becoming part of the Illinois Institute of Technology).
As the 20th century emerged, several catastrophic firesresulted in changes to buildings codes to better protect people and property from fire. It was only in the latter half of the 20th Century that fire protection engineering emerged as a unique engineering profession. The primary reason for this emergence was the development of the “body of knowledge,” specific to the profession that occurred after 1950. Other factors contributing to the growth of the profession include the start of the Institution of Fire Engineers in 1918 in the UK, and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers in 1950 in the USA, the emergence of independent fire protection consulting engineer, and the promulgation of engineering standards for fire protection.
Read more about this topic: Fire Protection Engineering
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