Role at Cahill Design Services
Graduate Fire Engineer
Experience working in Fire Engineering:
1 Year
Top Tip for someone new to the industry:
Take any opportunities that arise. Even if it’s not directly related to the exact role you’re after – experience in the industry is so valuable. Take those opportunities because you don’t know what’s going to happen unless you do it.
I originally went to university to study business management, but I found it wasn’t really what I wanted to do, it was just a route I’d found myself on.
It was a friend’s dad that prompted me to look at fire safety. He was a firefighter and by chance I bumped into him, and we got chatting about careers and I had a bit of a lightbulb moment. The whole world of fire safety was something I’d never even considered before.
After that chat, I researched fire safety further and discovered there was a degree in it and I decided to do it. When I got to university, I realised there was so much more to it than just the operational side and that’s when I learned about fire engineering, and it all went on from there.
I knew that the degree alone would not be enough for the career I wanted to pursue and that experience would be really important, so I went to work for Network Rail as an electrical engineering technician whilst finishing my third year of uni as distance learning over two years.
I worked in the Distribution and Plant department, which essentially means I was the technician for anything high voltage. It was an interesting role, helping me gain skills and knowledge I could apply across the wider field of engineering. But I knew I had to start looking at roles within the industry I wanted to be in. I graduated university with a BSc (Hons) in Fire and Rescue and not long after, secured my role at Cahill Design Consultants.
The role at CDC was exactly what I was looking for and there was a whole host of things that drew me to the company in terms of the working environment too.
I’ve been exposed to such a wide range of projects since being here, wider than expected. I’ve been allowed to try things, get stuck in and get on with projects with a great support network around me.
My goal now is to keep on learning and progressing. Fire engineering has a lot of depth in what you need to know and what it involves and I’m enjoying soaking it all up.
It’s early on in my career but the projects that are always interesting and challenging are the ones that are a bit different.
One that stood out to me was a malt processing facility where we were helping with the installation of a lift. It was not a building I’d ever even considered existed, something going on elsewhere in the world. And then suddenly I was onsite in the middle of this industrial processing plant, eight stories up getting the information I needed to put together a strategy for it! It’s great seeing the different kinds of things that are out there.
I enjoy getting out on site and seeing things firsthand, not just looking at 2D drawings. You get stuck in and really understand a project.
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