Why Demand for Fire Engineering Experts Is Increasing in the UK
Posted by Steve Thomas , Construction Recruitment Director, UK & Canada on Thursday, October 8, 2026
Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, fire safety has moved firmly to the centre of the UK's construction and property agenda. The introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022, the creation of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the introduction of the Building Safety Levy and the ongoing implementation of the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry have fundamentally changed the way fire safety is considered across the building lifecycle.
Now, with further reforms to the fire engineering profession being developed, demand for experienced and competent fire engineering professionals is set to increase further.
For employers, developers, consultants and expert witness practices, this raises an increasingly important question:
Where will the industry find enough suitably qualified fire engineering experts to meet this growing demand?
The Building Safety Act has changed the landscape
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced significant changes to the way building safety is managed in England.
One of its key principles is the introduction of clearer responsibilities for those involved in the design, construction and occupation of buildings. Duty holders, including Principal Designers and Principal Contractors, have defined responsibilities for managing building safety risks, while Accountable Persons have ongoing responsibilities for higher-risk buildings.
The Building Safety Regulator has also introduced a more rigorous regulatory framework for higher-risk buildings.
Currently, higher-risk buildings include buildings that are at least 18 metres or seven storeys high with at least two residential units, as well as hospitals and care homes meeting the relevant criteria.
This has increased the need for specialist professionals who can demonstrate that fire safety has been properly considered from design through to construction and occupation.
And fire engineers are central to that process.
Fire engineering is becoming a regulated profession
One of the most significant developments came in December 2025, when the Government published its plans for reforming the fire engineering profession.
Following the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Government has committed to legislating to regulate the title and function of "fire engineer". The proposed reforms are intended to establish consistent professional standards, competency requirements and greater professional accountability.
The proposed approach would mean that, once the legislation is implemented, only registered individuals would be permitted to use the title fire engineer or undertake certain restricted fire engineering functions.
This represents a major shift for the profession.
Rather than fire engineering being viewed simply as another specialist consultancy discipline, it is increasingly being treated as a profession with clearly defined competencies, responsibilities and accountability.
For employers, that means the ability to attract and retain competent fire engineers will become increasingly important.
A shortage of fire engineering professionals
The regulatory changes are happening against a backdrop of an existing skills shortage.
The Government itself has acknowledged shortages across building safety professions. In March 2026, it announced £70 million of funding to address shortages in building safety professionals, including investment in fire engineering education, research and academic capacity.
A further £13 million is currently available to UK higher education institutions to increase the capacity of the fire engineering profession, including expanding higher education provision and supporting Masters-level places and research.
This investment is important, but developing the next generation of fire engineers takes time. A university pipeline cannot immediately solve an experienced-professional shortage. That creates an increasingly competitive market for professionals who already have substantial experience across complex buildings, fire safety strategies, regulatory compliance and major construction projects.
The role goes far beyond high-rise residential
It would be easy to associate the growing demand for fire engineers solely with high-rise residential buildings.
In reality, the market is much broader.
Fire engineers can be involved across:
- Residential and high-rise developments
- Hospitals and healthcare
- Schools and education
- Commercial buildings
- Infrastructure
- Transport projects
- Industrial facilities
- Data centres
- Energy projects
- Hotels and leisure
- Existing building remediation
- Building control and regulatory work
- Fire safety strategies
- Fire risk assessments
- Expert witness and dispute work
The Government's recent work also recognises that fire engineering expertise can be relevant beyond the existing definition of a Higher-Risk Building. Its advisory panel has recommended considering whether the scope of buildings requiring a fire safety strategy should be expanded based on factors such as complexity, use and occupancy.
That could further expand the market for experienced fire engineering professionals.
Fire safety strategies are becoming increasingly important
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended that a fire safety strategy for a higher-risk building should be produced by a registered fire engineer and submitted at Gateway 2, before being reviewed and resubmitted at Gateway 3.
The Government has accepted this recommendation and is currently working through how it should be implemented alongside the existing higher-risk building regime.
This has significant implications for the profession.
Fire engineers will increasingly be expected to demonstrate not only technical knowledge, but also the ability to communicate their decisions clearly and work effectively with architects, structural engineers, contractors, building control bodies, regulators and other stakeholders.
The Government's Authoritative Statement on fire engineering specifically highlights the need for professionals to understand fire dynamics, human behaviour, structures, building systems, fire-fighting requirements and the wider regulatory environment, alongside strong analytical and communication skills.
Why this matters for the expert witness market
There is another area where demand for experienced fire engineers could become particularly interesting: construction disputes and expert witness work.
As the regulatory environment becomes more complex, disputes relating to fire safety, design responsibility, specification, remediation and compliance are likely to require increasingly specialist technical evidence.
Fire engineering experts can potentially become involved in disputes concerning:
- Fire safety strategies
- Building regulation compliance
- Cladding and external wall systems
- Fire stopping
- Compartmentation
- Fire protection systems
- Design responsibility
- Remediation works
- Defective construction
- Professional negligence
- Construction product performance
- Building safety compliance
- Causation and technical defects
- Remedial scope and associated costs
For expert witness practices, this creates an interesting recruitment challenge.
The ideal expert isn't simply someone with technical fire engineering knowledge. They also need to be able to analyse complex information, understand the context of a dispute, communicate their conclusions clearly and, where required, provide robust independent expert evidence.
That combination can be difficult to find.
The Building Safety Levy adds another layer of change
Another significant development for the construction and property industry is the introduction of the Building Safety Levy, which came into force in England on 1 October 2026.
The levy requires developers to pay a charge on certain new residential developments, with the money raised intended to support the remediation of building safety defects in existing residential buildings.
The Building Safety Levy is ultimately another indication of the direction in which the industry is moving.
Building safety is no longer simply a technical consideration for a specialist consultant. It increasingly intersects with development costs, project viability, design responsibility, compliance, remediation and potential disputes.
For expert witness practices, this could become particularly relevant.
As new legislation and regulatory requirements create additional obligations for developers and construction professionals, there is potential for disputes to arise around issues such as:
- Responsibility for building safety defects
- Compliance with regulatory requirements
- Design and specification
- Remediation scope and costs
- Fire safety strategies
- Defective construction
- Professional negligence
- Allocation of additional project costs
- Building safety-related delays
- The adequacy of remedial works
This could create further demand for specialists who are able to provide independent technical evidence where building safety issues become the subject of a dispute.
For fire engineers considering a move into expert witness work, this is potentially an interesting area of long-term opportunity.
What does this mean for employers?
The market is likely to become increasingly competitive for experienced fire engineers.
Organisations looking to build their fire engineering teams may find themselves competing for the same relatively small pool of experienced professionals.
And while salary will inevitably play a role, experienced fire engineers are likely to consider other factors too:
Professional development.
As the profession moves towards statutory regulation, opportunities to develop recognised expertise and qualifications will become increasingly valuable.
Interesting projects.
Professionals are likely to be attracted to technically challenging projects where they can develop specialist expertise.
Professional responsibility.
The increasing importance of fire engineering means many professionals will want roles where their expertise genuinely influences building safety.
Career progression.
As demand increases, there should be opportunities for experienced professionals to move into senior consultancy, technical leadership, regulatory and expert witness positions.
The recruitment challenge
From a recruitment perspective, this is where the market becomes particularly interesting.
The industry needs to increase the number of people entering fire engineering while simultaneously dealing with an immediate requirement for experienced professionals.
That creates a classic supply-and-demand challenge.
The Government is investing in education and training, but building a sustainable pipeline of fire engineering talent will take years.
In the meantime, employers will need to think carefully about how they attract experienced professionals, retain existing expertise and develop people from adjacent engineering disciplines.
For recruiters, this means the traditional approach of simply searching for candidates with a particular job title may not be enough.
Understanding transferable technical backgrounds, professional qualifications, project experience and specialist expertise will become increasingly important.
A profession entering a new era
Fire engineering is moving into a new phase.
Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, fire safety has moved firmly to the centre of the UK's construction and property agenda. The introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022, the creation of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the implementation of the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and, most recently, the introduction of the Building Safety Levy have fundamentally changed the way building safety is considered across the building lifecycle.
For construction and property professionals, fire engineering is becoming an increasingly critical part of the building lifecycle.
For employers, the challenge will be finding enough competent professionals to meet that demand. And for fire engineers, there has arguably never been a more important or potentially more rewarding — time to build a career in the profession.
Get in touch with Maxim Recruitment to find out how we can support your fire engineering recruitment needs or if you’re looking for a new role yourself in this industry!
Steve is responsible for Maxim Recruitment in the UK and Canada. He is based in the Maxim head office in Leicester, UK and the Toronto office in Canada. He regularly travels to meet employers and job seekers and attend construction industry networking events in the UK, Canada and worldwide. Steve has over 25 years of experience in construction and property recruitment and enjoys working with many repeat clients. He manages dedicated search and headhunting assignments for a range of premium UK, Canadian and international clients.