Laura Smith

"Laura is a Fire Engineer; she works with architects, engineers and designers to help create safe buildings with fire resistant fittings. A large part of Laura’s job is explaining difficult fire engineering concepts to people without a fire background, which matches well with the ‘Trainer’ type and the fact that she describes herself as reliable. She must also negotiate with Building Control and other approvals authorities to convince them that her designs are safe, which fits the ‘Campaigner’ type. Laura almost always works as part of a wider team, so communication and a good deal of understanding is vital for her, so it’s good that she is considerate and is the ‘Coach’ type."

"As a fire engineer, Laura is responsible for the fire safety elements of building design. This includes the physical aspects such as fire resistant walls and fire doors, as well as evacuation planning to ensure everyone can escape safely and the Fire Service can do their job in the event of a fire. She also carries out fire risk assessments on existing buildings to ensure they are safe and fit for how they are used. Fire engineering is relevant to all building types, from simple offices to football stadiums, residential tower blocks and hospitals – if there is a fire, people need to be able to get out safely and any fire contained. "

"Laura’s high school chemistry teacher was a huge inspiration. She was so enthusiastic and helped Laura learn to embrace her quirks andnerdiness and see them as strengths! After completing her A-Levels, Laura studied Fire and Explosion at university. During this time, she enjoyed training at the Fire Service College, seeing real fire demonstrations first-hand and understanding how designs work.Laura then worked for 2 years in risk assessing before moving into engineering consultancy, where her starting salary was £27,000. She gained experience with two multi-discipline companies before joining a fire engineering company for a more challenging and progressive work environment. She has worked in her current role since August 2018."

"In her spare time, Laura loves to be outdoors, either rock climbing, hiking, or visiting the nearest beach. She has several pets and loves visiting farms and wildlife parks. When she is not outside, she is generally working on home improvements. She also has an interest in circus skills and even knows how to fire-breathe – safely of course!In the future, Laura would like to be in a position where she can start a family and still be successful in her career. One benefit of her job is that there's a good deal of flexibility in terms of working hours and time off, so it's easy to get the right balance."

"In a typical day, Laura will find herself reviewing floor plans, writing fire strategies, evacuation planning and discussing issues with architects and approvals authorities. She enjoys problem solving to find a solution to suit everyone and she really loves seeing a building take shape during construction, knowing that she has played a part in its safe design. Laura works on such a wide range of buildings that there is always somewhere interesting to visit."

"After completing her A-Levels, Laura studied Fire and Explosion at university."