As a key contributor across both the fire protection and fire engineering disciplines, Alexei is responsible for undertaking fire engineering assessments and developing alternative solutions, as well as the design, documentation and review of fire protection services installations. This includes ensuring compliance with relevant safety standards whilst maintaining client satisfaction.
He is an exceptional technical project manager and works efficiently with all stakeholders to coordinate service delivery and ensure work is scheduled, completed and issued on time.
Here are some reflections from Alexei, including his favourite project to date, the magnificent Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
What inspired you to become an engineer?
Like many others in the field, I’ve always been interested in how things work and general problem solving. I was really hooked by how broad engineering was and the range of career pathways.
Why fire protection engineering?
I majored in mechanical engineering at university but found working in fire to be both challenging and rewarding, and it gave me the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the buildings and spaces I work on.
What’s your career highlight project?
I’ve had the opportunity to work on quite a few interesting projects. One highlight would be a roof wetting system design on the Australian War Memorial project. The need for the system arose from a bushfire risk assessment, and was intended as a means of protection against ember attack in the event of a bushfire to the areas surrounding the building.
Tell us about the fire protection engineering on this project.
As there are no commercially available systems of that kind and no applicable Australian Standards, the system design had to be developed as fully bespoke, using test data for the roof material and best-practice design principles. This was really unique and gave me the opportunity to go back to first principles.
What innovative new approaches are you seeing when it comes to fire protection engineering?
I’m interested in seeing how fire protection systems continue to become more integrated with other building services and the shift towards ‘smart’ or cloud based technologies.
If you’ve worked across regions, countries, and/or Tetra Tech operating units, can you tell us about the key similarities and differences you’ve encountered when it comes to fire protection engineering and your projects?
I’ve had the opportunity to work in both our Brisbane and Melbourne offices and would note the approaches to fire protection design are quite similar, with the exception of state-specific fire brigade requirements.
In Victoria for example, the Regulation 129 application process allows fire protection engineers to apply directly for chief officer consent for dispensations to select fire protection systems related to fire brigade operations, e.g. hydrants, booster assemblies. In Queensland, that process doesn’t exist, so any dispensations must follow the fire engineering performance solution pathway.
Where do you see the future of fire protection engineering heading?
The future of fire protection engineering involves adapting to new risks and challenges as our buildings and technologies change. For instance, the rise of electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries has created new fire hazards that challenge our current car park design philosophies e.g. water storage capacity, design densities. This means that current Australian Standards will need to evolve to keep pace and fire protection engineers will continue to play an important role in ensuring that buildings are designed and equipped with effective fire protection systems.
What is the difference between fire protection engineering and fire engineering, and how do they work together?
I’m fortunate to work across both disciplines and would note that whilst they’re related, they’re quite distinct fields and require different skillsets.
As fire protection engineers, we focus on the design and installation of fire protection systems and equipment – for example, automatic fire sprinkler systems, fire detection and alarm systems, gaseous suppression systems (and many more!). We need to apply a strong understanding of relevant Australian Standards, and work together with the project team to understand the building form and use, and ensure the systems we design will operate as intended in the event of a fire.
Fire engineering requires a broader outlook to the overall building design with consideration for life safety and fire spread, and applies principles of human behaviour and fire dynamics to assess these risks and develop appropriate strategies that meet the performance requirements of the BCA.
What legacy do you want to leave, when it comes to your career?
For me, a successful career means leaving a positive impact on the people I work with, and being recognised for bringing value to the projects I work on.
