Fire + Life Safety Systems Design
Compliant, integrated fire and suppression systems design solutions that address fire and life safety matters within the built environment.
Fire Protection Design Services Integral to Safety + Property Protection
Fire and life safety are pivotal considerations in today’s building designs. The integration of fire alarm systems, fire protection, life safety, and other fire protection systems into the design of all building types is essential for safety, property protection and code compliance. As leaders among fire and life safety consultants, we're actively involved in the development process for many of the fire protection system codes and standards. This knowledge and experience allow us to prepare accurate, cost-effective, state-of-the-art fire protection design and property systems.
We help clients deliver projects and mitigate risk by providing comprehensive design services — all in one place. By harnessing cutting-edge technology and regulatory expertise, we safeguard what matters most, giving you complete peace of mind.
Fire Alarm System Design
In a fire or emergency, a well-designed fire alarm system is the cornerstone of your fire protection design strategy. Working with building owners, designers, and architects, we determine system performance requirements, produce detailed fire alarm design drawings and documents, perform manufacturer specific calculations, and evaluate the installation of your systems.
- Meet the requirements of local building and fire codes while maintaining cost-effectiveness and ease of installation.
- Engineer design solutions for fire alarm and detection system challenges while allowing for future expansion capabilities.
- Where needed, integrate fire alarm and mass notification systems and networked systems.
- Evaluate the cost benefits of reusing existing fire alarm system components.
Fire Protection System Design
Extinguishing or controlling a fire quickly can help prevent catastrophic fire damage. Our fire protection engineers can determine system performance requirements, evaluate water supply systems, perform hydraulic calculations, and assess code compliance.
- Custom solutions using water-based, foam, mist, clean agent and other cutting edge fire protection systems.
- Performance-based designs that implement site-specific considerations and challenges, coordinated with other disciplines.
- Meet the requirements of local building and fire codes while maintaining cost-effectiveness and ease of installation.
- Partner from the bid process through construction and commissioning.
Emergency Communication + Mass Notification Systems
Well-designed Mass Notification Systems (MNS) and Emergency Communications Systems (ECS) alert, communicate, and share information promptly, saving critical response time and potentially lives.
- Upfront risk analysis to assess unique and routine challenges, existing alarm systems, public address systems, and IT infrastructure to determine the correct basis of design and most cost-effective solutions.
- System design can include integrating various systems with information display, distributed recipient systems, and various building systems.
- As safety codes evolve, we remain current on existing codes and actively participate in developing new ones.
Special Hazards Systems
Our special hazard design capability and experience allows for fire protection systems to be designed specific to the hazards, the commodity being protected and mission critical environments. To ensure the most effective and appropriate fire protection system, our team of engineers specializes in designing Sprinklers, Water Mist Systems, Foam Systems, Automatic Gaseous Suppression Systems, and Oxygen Reduction Systems.
- Perform risk analysis to categorize and properly address the hazards.
- Evaluate the hazards, mission critical aspects, and client priorities to develop the most practical suppression solution.
- Consider environmental concerns and impacts to develop sustainable or logical suppression solutions.
- We bring the team that likely wrote the standard or tested the solutions.
Smoke Control
Smoke exposure is a primary concern in developing fire protection systems. We develop models to predict hot smoke and toxic gas movement in buildings or tunnels, offering streamlined designs for controlling dispersion and ventilation challenges. Using these models, system performance can be refined and optimized prior to the procurement and installation of equipment, often resulting in substantial cost savings.
- Employ sophisticated fire and egress modeling techniques to assist in the design of required smoke control systems as well as with performance-based design applications when a code-compliant solution is not feasible.
- Utilize top-tier software like CONTAM, Fire Dynamics Simulator, and egress modeling.
- Refine and optimize system performance before procuring and installing equipment, often resulting in substantial cost savings.
Security Risk Design
We incorporate physical and technical security factors into the site plan at the design and construction phase.
- Scalable, resilient, compliant security blueprints that advance the project’s design objectives and operational needs.
- Holistic approach to security systems design to ensure that all security elements work together for maximum effectiveness.
- Security operations center design and consulting.
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).
- Registered Communication Distribution Design (RCDD) Capable.
RELATED INSIGHTS + RESOURCES
Project Profiles
Denver International Airport
Over the last fifteen years, Jensen Hughes has provided fire and life safety services as well as modeling for egress, fire and smoke control for the Denver International Airport (DEN)
Blogs + Whitepapers
MEET OUR EXPERTS
Sean Lebel
Senior Vice President of Design Service
Sean Lebel
Senior Vice President of Design Service
BS, Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management, US Registered FPE, Virginia
Scott Golly
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader, Special Hazards
Scott Golly
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader, Special Hazards
BS, Fire Protection Engineering, PE: DE, MD, NY, VA, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
Will Fletcher
Global Service Line Leader, Smoke Control
Will Fletcher
Global Service Line Leader, Smoke Control
MS, Fire Protection Engineering, BS, Civil Engineering, PE: CA, MN, TN, Design-Build Professional®, Project Manager Professional (PMP)
Larry Rietz
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader Fire Detection + Alarm
Larry Rietz
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader Fire Detection + Alarm
AAS, Drafting for Industry, Management Development Certificate, National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, Certified Fire Protection Specialist
Matthew Harper
Senior Consultant Integrated Technologies
Matthew Harper
Senior Consultant Integrated Technologies
B.S., Business Management, Registered Communication Distribution Designer
Eric Babcock
Director/Senior Fire Protection Engineer
Eric Babcock
Director/Senior Fire Protection Engineer
B.S., Fire Protection Engineering, Licensed PE: NY, CA, NC, KY, VA, MD
Arthur Parker
Senior Fire Protection Engineer
Arthur Parker
Senior Fire Protection Engineer
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, M.S., Fire Protection Engineering, Licensed PE: DE, FL, KY, MD, MI, NV, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TX, VA, WV, Member
Matisen Anders Shaeffer
Senior Fire Protection Engineer
Matisen Anders Shaeffer
Senior Fire Protection Engineer
MS, Fire Protection Engineering, BS, Civil Engineering, PE: CA, FPE: CA, Project Management Professional
Carson Cook
Senior Fire Protection Engineer
Carson Cook
Senior Fire Protection Engineer
, BS, Mechanical Engineering, MS, Fire Protection Engineering, Registered PE: CT, MA, NH, NY, RI
Michael Davis
Senior Fire Investigator
Michael Davis
Senior Fire Investigator
AAS in Fire Science Technology, Certified Fire Investigator (CFI), Certified Fire + Explosion Investigator (CFEI), Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI), Registered PI: NM, MT, WA, MI, Member, International Association of Arson Investigators, Member, National Association of Fire Investigators, Member, International Association of Arson Investigators
Daniel Martin
Fire Protection Engineer
Daniel Martin
Fire Protection Engineer
MSc, Fire Safety Engineering (IMFSE) Ghent University, BS, Mechanical Engineering, Professional Engineer, MD, NJ, MN, Security Clearances: Secret, ,
Belynda Miranda
Director — Mid-Atlantic
Belynda Miranda
Director — Mid-Atlantic
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, A.S., Engineering Science, Licensed PE: VA, DC, MD, Member, NFPA, Member, SFPE
Mathieu Verpaele
Project Manager - Fire Safety Engineer / Testing + Commissioning Manager
Mathieu Verpaele
Project Manager - Fire Safety Engineer / Testing + Commissioning Manager
MS, Fire Safety Engineering, MS, Civil Engineer, Industrial
Alison Wakelin
Director - Virginia Beach Office
Alison Wakelin
Director - Virginia Beach Office
M.S., Fire Protection Engineering, BE(Hons), Civil Engineering, Member, SFPE, Member, NFPA
Aaron Vanney
Vice President
Aaron Vanney
Vice President
MS. Fire Protection Engineering, BS. Mechanical Engineering, Licensed PE: CA, NFPA 101 International Instructor, Member, Member
JP Laaksonen
Service Line Leader, VP Finland
JP Laaksonen
Service Line Leader, VP Finland
MSc., Civil Engineer, Fire Engineering and Risk Management, FISE Designer of Fire Safety (class PV), Chairman, Member
Mikko Salminen
Structural Fire Engineering Lead, Europe
Mikko Salminen
Structural Fire Engineering Lead, Europe
Ph.D. in Structural Fire Engineering, FISE Designer of Fire Safety (Class PV, Exceptionally demanding), Chairman of the Structural Fire Safety Specialist group in the Finnish Constructional Steelwork Association, Finnish Constructional Steelwork Association, Club member #45
Jens Conzen
Vice President, Business Development
Jens Conzen
Vice President, Business Development
MBA, Data Science, MS, Engineering Mechanics, Dipl. Ing., Produktiontechnik (Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering and Business), Professional European Engineer, EUR ING, Member, Principal Technical Committee Member NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, Member, Energy Storage Fire Prevention and Mitigation Advisory Committee, Member, Member, Member
Mark Suski
Senior Director, Business Development – Midwest Region
Mark Suski
Senior Director, Business Development – Midwest Region
BS, Fire Protection Engineering Technology,, AS, Fire Protection Engineering Technology, Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS), NICET, Fire Alarm Systems - Level IV, NICET, Special Hazards Suppression Systems - Level IV, Principal Technical Committee Member NFPA 75, Standard for the Protection of Information Technology Equipment, Principal Technical Committee Member NFPA 76, Standard for the Fire Protection of Telecommunications Facilities
Andrew Wolfe
Manager
MS, Fire Protection Engineering, BS, Fire Protection Engineering, PE: MD, Member, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Member, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Member, Salamander Fire Protection Engineering Honorary Society, Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Member, Alternate Committee Member, NFPA 850
Jerry Back
Senior Engineer
Jerry Back
Senior Engineer
BS, Mechanical Engineering, MS, Fire Protection Engineering, PE
Eric Forssell
Senior Engineer
Eric Forssell
Senior Engineer
M.S., Chemical Engineering, B.S., Chemical Engineering, Licensed PE: MD, KS, Member, NFPA, Member, SFPE, Member, AIChE
