By the time smoke is visible, the outcome has usually already been decided — in blueprints drawn months, sometimes years, earlier. Whether people get out safely, whether firefighters can reach the source quickly, and whether a fire stays contained to one section of a building all trace back to engineering decisions made at the design stage.

This course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy is built for anyone with a strong sense of the importance of prevention and a genuine interest in avoiding disasters before they start. It looks closely at how the engineering design of industrial facilities and commercial buildings can be shaped, from the outset, to protect the people inside them.

• Recognise the structural elements that establish fire safety within a facility.
• Understand how buildings are structurally classified in terms of fire prevention.
• Define the structural design choices that give firefighters quick access and support rapid evacuation.
• Distinguish the building materials that help stop fire from spreading into other parts of a facility.

Target Audience

• Those in charge of engineering projects.
• Owners of companies and industrial facilities, for scientific knowledge and securing their operations.
• Civil and construction engineers.
• Staff working in emergency departments and civil defence.

Module 1: Planning the Site Before the First Brick

• Site-organisation requirements aimed at preventing fires from starting or spreading.
• Core design requirements that shape a fire-resilient facility.

Module 2: Building It Right

• Requirements for preventing structural failure during a fire.
• Construction-quality standards that support fire resistance.

Module 3: Knowing What You're Protecting

• Classifying facilities and buildings according to the seriousness of what they contain.