Firepronet v.z.w. – a.s.b.l. is the non-profit organisation of alumni and students Fire Safety Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
Goal
The goals of our organisation are to promote Fire Safety Engineering and to keep our network alive and our knowledge up-to-date.
Promoting “Fire Safety Engineering” or “Performance Based Design” in countries that are not yet used to these concepts requires amongst others that all concerned parties gain trust in this approach.
Introduction
Establishing Firepronet is an initiative of the first graduated Fire Safety Engineers at Ghent University, Belgium.
Together with the professors, students and partners of the program, we decided to secure and further expand the knowledge of graduates by creating a network of professionals in the field of Fire Safety Engineering.
Our members
Our members are alumni and students Fire Safety Engineering of Ghent University.
Ghent University organises 3 types of training for Fire Safety Engineers:
- Postgraduate studies in Fire Safety Engineering (2-year program for professionals);
- Master in Fire Safety Engineering;
- International Master of Science (Erasmus Mundus) in collaboration with the universities of Edinburgh (UK) and Lund (Sweden).
Vision
Members of Firepronet experience Fire Safety Engineering as an integral approach to fire safety. The approach is based on applying scientific knowledge of fire, the growth of a fire, the behaviour of people to fire and the response of structures during a fire.
This approach leads to optimal choices regarding fire safety.
Fire Safety Engineering today
The shift from prescriptive towards performance-based fire safety design, which is a worldwide trend, goes hand in hand with a strong need for high-level education in the broad multi-disciplinary field of Fire Safety Engineering.
The application of Fire Safety Engineering principles improves the global level of fire safety. On top of that it allows more freedom and creativity in architecture of complex buildings.
More widespread advanced knowledge will also stimulate further research in the field of Fire Safety Engineering.
A fire safety engineer can…
- critically evaluate and analyse the phenomenon of the fire and its consequences.
- critically evaluate and judge risks with respect to fire and explosions, compute and design different types of active and passive fire protection systems concerning detection and suppression, and smoke and heat control.
- judge the human behaviour in case of fire.
- communicate and collaborate with colleagues within the multidisciplinary domain of Fire Safety Engineering.