Fire Engineer

Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to bring people together to get the most out of life.

About the job

The role of Fire Engineer plays a critical role in safeguarding South Western Railway's people, infrastructure and operations by leading on fire safety engineering and compliance across a diverse and complex estate.  This includes providing expert guidance on fire risk, managing compliance with legislation, implementing robust fire strategies and ensuring that all stations, depots and facilities meet the highest fire standards.

The role provides technical assurance on new and existing infrastructure works, ensuring that fire safety is embedded in design, delivery and operational practice, promoting a strong fire safety culture.

The role will be pivotal in ensuring the safety of customers, colleagues and the public.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Lead on all fire safety matters across South Western Railway premises, assets and facilities excluding rolling stock.
• Ensure South Western Railway are complying with all statutory obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Railway Safety Regulations, Building Regulations, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other relevant legislation.
• Develop, implement and maintain prioritised fire safety strategies, policies and fire engineering solutions across all property types, including sub-let and heritage sites. Priorities to be identified against risk to both life and property.
• Undertake and/or manage fire risk assessments (FRAs), validate all recommendations/actions and ensure their timely completion.
• Conduct audits and inspections of fire related planned maintenance and works, analyse results and making recommendations to the Station Facilities and Asset Manager.
• Provide expert fire engineering advice on all projects, ensuring fire safety requirements are met at all stages.
• Work in alliance with colleagues in Network Rail to guide remits and specifications and ensure the correct standards are met.
• Liaise with internal teams such as Business Continuity, Engineering and Safety and external stakeholders (contractors, fire authorities, regulatory bodies, insurers etc.) on fire matters.
• Lead incident investigations involving fire safety breaches or near misses, identifying root causes and ensuring corrective action is taken.
• Ensure Fire Safety Training and briefings to staff at all levels, are reflective of current legislation, tailored to the rail environment (stations and depots) and promote a strong safety culture.
• Maintain comprehensive records, reports and registers relating to fire safety and engineering controls.
• Review Voice of the Customer, NRPS and other sources of customer feedback to ensure any issues relating to fire are actioned and completed, and engage with Customer Complaints and action any complaints issued
• Review our existing contract templates and agreements and any SWR guidance documents on the management of the contracts to ensure they meet the company's and legislative standards in relation to fire safety. Produce documents as required where gaps are identified.
• Comply with all Health & Safety policy and legislation in the performance of the duties of this post.
• Carry out contactor monitoring to ensure works are delivered in line with Fire Safety Standards.
• Comply with all aspects of the Data Protection Act and GDPR.
• The job may entail working or travelling outside normal working hours and will require attendance at any location where SWR has property or assets.

You'll need:

Essential

• Degree (or equivalent experience) in Fire Engineering, Fire Safety or Building Service Engineering with Fire Specialism
• Membership of a recognised professional body (e.g. Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE), IOSH or similar)
• Minimum 5 years' experience in a fire safety or engineering compliance, including project work and fire risk management.
• Demonstrable experience of leading fire safety or fire engineering services in a multi-site, complex environment
• Strong knowledge of:
  • Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
  • London Plan Policy (Fire Safety) Feb 2022
  • Building Regulations (Approved Document B)
  • Firecode / BS 9999 / BS7974
  • Risk assessment methodologies
  • Fire Safety Training and Communication
• Ability to manage and prioritise work across multiple sites, with strong analytical and reporting skills.
• Ability to review technical submissions, and advise on design and specification from a fire engineering standpoint
• Post is expected to consult with key stakeholders on decisions with operational and financial implications for the company.
• Post is expected to make decisions on behalf of the company that fall within the agreed contractual responsibilities of the company/supplier.
• Analytical approach to problem solving.
• Ability to comprehend the Company's wider business strategies.
• Consultative approach, possessing excellent negotiating skills.
• Methodical, reliable and accurate working skills, with a good command of English and excellent communicator

Desirable

• To have previous experience in infrastructure environment, transport or rail
• Knowledge or rail-specific fire safety standards and Network Rail/ORR interfaces.
• NEBOSH or similar qualification
• Understanding of fire modelling, compartmentation design, and passive/active system integration
• Have experience of working on NEC4 contracts or complex client-side compliance environments
• Experience of asset management systems
• Full driving licence

Working pattern

You will work an average of 37 hours per week across 5-days, typically, Monday - Friday, office hours.

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
• 75% discount on many other train operating companies
• Full training and support with development
• Excellent pension scheme

We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below.  We encourage you to share any additional needs you may require so we can provide a fair and equal process for all who apply.

https://exceptionalindividuals.com/neurodiversity/

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversity/