Who We Are

Our Vision

To significantly reduce fire and disaster-related losses to the built environment, including our irreplaceable cultural heritage and associated collections, preserving them for their intended purposes and future generations.

Our Misssion

We provide risk-informed analysis methods and decision tools to protect our built environment, including one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable historic sites, structures, and their collections from fire and other disasters. We achieve this through:

  • Developing and implementing fire and disaster mitigation strategies
  • Creating awareness
  • Establishing training and capacity building programs
  • Assisting in connections with funding sources
  • Developing codes, guidelines, and reference documents to enhance protection

Our Approach

With over 35 years of proven fire and life safety engineering experience, we create tailored solutions in developing risk informed, sustainable, fully integrated, cost-effecting, results oriented solutions that include:

  • Tailored, Common Sense Solutions: We develop fire safety and life safety solutions based on sound engineering principles that meet the goals of the design team - from aesthetics to use, resilience, and cost.
  • Incorporating Local Knowledge: We engage local and indigenous people, incorporating their knowledge, experience, methods, and materials into our solutions.
  • Risk-Informed Performance-Based Alternatives: We develop strategies that address acceptable levels of risk for all stakeholders.
  • Comprehensive Protection: We address property/contents protection and business interruption challenges, going beyond typical code requirements.
  • Active in Code Development: We participate in developing codes, standards, and engineering guidance, keeping us at the forefront of industry advancements.
  • Holistic Design: We provide integrated solutions to address varying hazards, creating multi-disciplinary and holistic designs.
  • Effective Negotiation: We successfully work with local authorities to obtain approvals and negotiate practical, cost-effective solutions.

Our Beliefs

  • Success comes through understanding client objectives, identifying risks, developing cost-effective, sustainable solutions, and incorporating local, indigenous resources and knowledge.
  • Creating awareness of hazards/risks and educating people on the potential for developing cost-effective solutions is critical.
  • Access to accurate information about disasters and a structure’s performance advances responsible and effective disaster management strategies

  • Incorporating local, indigenous people, materials, and methods are critical to a successful and sustainable strategy.
  • Our effectiveness is enhanced by shared information and stakeholder understanding.
    Risk-informed alternatives lead to understanding hazards, vulnerabilities and making appropriate decisions.
  • Existing materials have inherent characteristics that need to be incorporated into sustainable strategies.
  • Integrated solutions need to be developed to effectively address multiple hazards.

Our Methods

We create tailored solutions through developing a comprehensive understanding of each client’s unique objectives, assessing credible risks, and establishing mitigation measures.  Through this process, we deliver innovative solutions that are risk-informed, sustainable, fully integrated, and cost-effective, results oriented.

  • We build partnerships that help us both fulfill our missions.
  • We deliver high quality and timely solutions that are understandable and implementable.
  • We preserve our credibility by remaining independent and objective.
  • We understand objectives of our client’s prior to jumping to solutions.
  • We build capacity, talent, and excellence during our involvement.
  • We embrace innovation and harness technology to maximize our effectiveness.
  • We develop innovative solutions to unique challenges through our international experience in past projects, case studies, forensics, and hazard/risk assessments.

Our Values

  • Problem Solving: We listen, understand specific challenges, and work collaboratively to develop technically sound solutions.
  • Objective-Focused: We address your specific goals, including protection of life, property, collections, heritage, and business continuity.
  • Quantitative Approach: We quantify hazards, building response, and occupant behavior to understand performance during an event.
  • Multi-Hazard Integration: We address and integrate mitigation measures for multiple hazards, including secondary and tertiary events.
  • Cost-Effective Alternatives: We provide options that consider cost-benefit analyses, value, and acceptable risk levels.
  • Inherent Characteristics: We recognize and incorporate the inherent strengths of structures rather than relying solely on new materials.
  • Aesthetic Consideration: We strive to reduce the aesthetic impact of fire/disaster mitigation measures.
  • Learning from History: We apply lessons from past incidents and forensic work to prevent recurring issues.
  • Collaborative Efforts: We work alongside project teams to understand challenges and develop effective solutions.