r/firePE

Hi everyone,

Thanks in advance for your help.

My situation is a bit unusual: I graduated as a mechanical engineer 10 years ago and worked as a site engineer for 3 years managing fire, plumbing, and HVAC systems(no design work). However, I haven't worked in the field for the last 7 years.

I am now trying to return to the mechanical engineering industry. I am thinking about pursuing Fire Protection Engineering, but I'm not sure how feasible that is . Could you please advise me on where to start?

Also, if there are other career options that might be a better fit for my situation, I would love to hear them."

One of the main problems I've had working at A/E MEP firm is getting a G*d D@#n hydrant flow test that is accurate or current. I have to beg PM's to ask the client, there is never money in the budget for us to do it, owner's act like I asked them for the heart and blood of their first born.

Is this common or have a worked for a garbage firm?

My thought would be to base off of the calced fire flow, at 20 PSI and on the NFPA 921 10% off demand and work backward to a static/churn and design a "theoretical curve" that might work. I know this is kind of tail wagging the dog, but hopefully my next employer will get us information when we request it.

Hello, I’m a 3rd year ME student. I start my internship tomorrow doing FPE for a large consulting firm, and honestly, I’m terrified. I have little to no knowledge about Fire Protection and scared that will reflect poorly on me in my internship.

I’m very interested in the field, and am willing to do anything to succeed. I’m just a slow learner at times and don’t want to be a detriment to my department. I know it’s kinda late but does anyone have tips on what I can do to be successful.

Does anyone know about any hourly contract positions for a fire protection engineer? Not looking for full-time work, don't need benefits or anything, just looking to do a little bit on the side.

What would be a good place to look for contracts like these? I don't see too many listed on indeed or any other job website.

Who are the big government contractors doing fire protection design or review?

Hello everyone,

I am reviewing NFPA 13R and 24 and and noted that the standards basically say when installing UG for 13R less than 4inch it is acceptable to use the plumbing code over NFPA 24. In these instances, is it still required to have a thrust block or method of restraint + 200 PSI hydro? Based out of CA. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Total noob here. My father owns a self-employed business doing sprinkler design. I started working for him part time a few months ago trying to learn everything I can. I’ll be working at an FPE consulting company soon, but I still want to have this business on the side. For some context, I don’t know shit about fire alarm, literally zilch. The best knowledge I have is from studying for it a little bit when I took my engineering license exam a few weeks ago. Despite passing it, there is no accolade or degree that trumps years of experience. That being said, where do I start learning?

I know there’s this NTC brown book, so I was looking into purchasing that. I might also take a class next semester for my master’s to learn fire alarm design. Any thoughts/suggestions/other resources out there?

Currently working on a project where an Automated Storage Retrieval System is being installed in an S-1 storage building. The system is top loaded vented bins. Within the grid are tunnels with occupants loading products into the grid. The tunnels are 16 feet to top of deck and open on the sides to access the grid(not a rated corridor). There sprinklers within the tunnels.
Crux IBC 1017.2.2 condition 2 requires the bottom of deck above to be a minimum of 24 feet. The deck over the tunnels is comprised of resindek atop B deck. In order for smoke to permeate to the roof deck above (45 feet AFF) it was proposed to drill holes in the tunnel deck. Can the 70% openness be reduced because smoke is the only consideration since sprinklers are provided within the tunnel?

Hi! I am a fpe student currently and working on creating more assistance for FPEs. I am thinking about creating a repository on github for people to add all sorts of info for students and proffesionals to access and maybe help them in their endeavors. I will disclame that I also intend to make a second brain for claude using fpe materials and I figured this could help others do the same as well as crowd source some material for my own brain. Would anyone be intersted?

Has anyone here had experience getting a PE with a masters on top of a fire protection engineering tech degree? I am weighing my options of finishing my tech degree and getting my masters or transferring to a straight BS in engineering so that I can get my FPE. Transferring degrees or getting my masters wil take about the same time so I am not concerned there. The state I am looking to get my license in is Missouri but also the surrounding states and of course they all have pretty much the same rules. The statutes read that as long as the masters is gotten from an institution where the BS is accredited then I could be given a license but when I ask the question the people are kind of vague with their answers. My guess is they don’t want to be held liable for it being incorrect since it is up to the board to approve licensure. Has anyone taken this path or have advice? Do I finish and go for masters or switch to engineering to save the headache of hoping the masters and tech will work

Trying to get a realistic picture of the time commitment on the PE side for commercial BESS permitting. Roughly how many hours are you putting into a typical HMA and ERP combined, from when you first get the project brief to when you're ready to stamp? I've heard numbers all over the place and trying to figure out what's actually normal for a straightforward commercial scale project versus something more complex.

Multiple AHJs are now adding 3-year dry pipe testing as a distinct Brycer submission category — Lansing FD effective tomorrow, plus several others. For contractors doing this work: how are you currently handling the documentation for that specific test? Bundled into your annual inspection report, or separate workflow? The AHJ enforcement seems to be tightening. - thanks in advance for the response.