There is a high demand for fire protection engineers in New Zealand; therefore, people who train in this area usually have little trouble finding employment.

Demand for fire protection engineers can be attributed to several factors including legislation adopted in 1991, which specified that all new buildings must have a fire report that details fire safety features.

In addition, as Canterbury University is the only tertiary institute where the required training is available, and only accepts a small number of students each year, the number of graduate fire protection engineers is small.

Use of technology

Technology has had a minimal affect on the role of fire protection engineers. However, there have been developments in fire protection and suppression systems, such as fire alarms and sprinkler systems. Fire and egress (escape) modelling, using specialised computer software, is also carried out to monitor smoke, heat and to predict how people will behave in the event of a fire.

Employment opportunities not dependant on building construction industry

Recent growth in the building construction industry has contributed to an increased workload for fire protection engineers, but as a high percentage of their work is related to existing buildings, they are not as dependent on this industry as other engineering occupations.

The majority of fire protection engineers in New Zealand work for private consulting firms. However, there are also opportunities to get involved in research, work in property protection and insurance, the NZ Fire Service or product development in manufacturing companies.

Turnover low

Due to fire engineering being a reasonably new occupation in New Zealand, there is a lot of opportunity for advancement. Also, because of the high demand for fire protection engineers, employers tend to pay and look after their staff well. As a result, turnover among fire protection engineers is low and is often caused by people transferring to other fire engineering companies or graduates choosing to pursue career options overseas.

(Written 08/10/2003 - Updated 28/04/2005)