My job: Fire fighting the smart way

Amanda Robbins' work has already made a difference to building safety and design. Photo / BRANZ

Name: Amanda Robbins
Age: 32
Role: Senior fire research engineer, BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand)
Working hours: 40 hour week with some overtime.
Average salary: $80,000-$120,000
Qualifications: PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical and Space), Bachelor of Science (Pure and Applied Mathematics) all through The University of Queensland.

Describe what you do as a fire research engineer?

I work for BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand) doing desk-based and laboratory-based research on fire-related issues involving the building industry, such as how smoke spreads through buildings during a fire and how effective different fire suppression techniques are.

In other words, I try and work out why fire behaves the way it does, and how to best protect people from it.

Fire is an interesting and difficult challenge - no one really understands it, even though it's historically one of the biggest hazards to people and property.

I work with the New Zealand Fire Service and international research institutions, such as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia and the National Institute of Science & Technology in the United States. I've been here since 2005.

Why did you choose fire research engineering?

In my undergraduate engineering degree I followed anything that looked exciting because I wasn't sure what to specialise in, so I wanted a solid grounding in all aspects of what interested me.

When I stumbled onto fire, I knew I was onto something. I was hooked; on a technical level fire is very interesting, yet is also beautiful, deadly and spectacular.

I continued to PhD level, then did a brief stint as guest researcher at the University of New South Wales and Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, and worked on other short-term research projects before coming to BRANZ.

It wasn't until I saw the research position advertised at BRANZ that I thought of crossing my knowledge on fire over to the building industry.

What training or experience is important in this role?

In terms of formal training, a fire research engineer needs a strong background in engineering or science, usually to at least Masters level.

Experience in both theoretical and experimental approaches to research is important; you have to be able to think something through and also test it out in the lab. On a more basic level, curiosity and passion are crucial to being a good researcher. You have to be interested in what you're doing and determined to puzzle out why things work the way they do.

What do you enjoy most?

Seeing research followed through to a practical application, especially when it benefits people in the community. I contribute to making our communities safer and I get to see the impact of my work. I'm paid to burn things down, from individual components to small buildings and solve interesting puzzles.

I travel both nationally and internationally and have the opportunity to present results of my work, while learning from people in the building industry and related areas: from builders, designers and regulatory authorisers to fire personnel, researchers and even ministers.

An example of a project?

Take the problem of plastic roof sheeting not performing as expected during a fire in warehouse-type buildings. Sometimes it is desirable for parts of a roof to fail during a fire, so smoke and hot gases can escape and make it easier for the fire service to enter to rescue trapped occupants or suppress the fire.

I developed a test method for assessing the performance of roof sheeting when exposed to hot combustion gases. The results from this project have already had an impact on building practices and design in New Zealand and are also being used in the review of relevant regulation.

Most challenging part?

Just like any other job, it's the typical auxiliary stuff around the work that I find mundane, rather than the work itself.

Advice to someone wanting to do the same thing?

Overall engineering boils down to applying what you know to solve a problem. Engineers do everything from fire safety to designing and building bridges to electronics, computer systems, chemicals, mining and more.

There is also different types of work within each field; a researcher has a different job from someone in commercial design. Go out and talk to a bunch of engineers and try to figure out what really pushes your buttons. When you do find something you want to do - and it may take a long time - have the guts to do all the boring and mundane parts to reach your goal.

What keeps you at it?

It is really important to me to see what I do makes an impact - that it doesn't just end up as some report that gets shelved. It's all very well to come up with a neat idea or a great bit of research, but for me work has to be about changing the world in a positive way, even if it's a small contribution.