HKIE Professional Assessment - Fire Discipline study plan

Derive the adiabatic flame temperature and stoichiometric air requirement for a methane and a polyurethane foam fire, and explain why measured compartment temperatures fall short of the adiabatic value.

Distinguish the four stages of a compartment fire (incipient, growth, fully developed, decay) and identify the controlling heat-transfer mechanism at each stage.

Calculate the time to flashover using a correlation linking heat release rate, ventilation factor and compartment surface area, and state the assumptions behind it.

Map the means-of-escape provisions of the relevant Hong Kong Code of Practice against the equivalent life-safety intent, listing travel distance, exit width and protected route requirements for a high-rise office floor.

Classify structural elements by fire resistance period and justify the ratings for columns, beams, slabs and separating walls in a mixed-use building.

Design three design fire scenarios (a shop, a car park and a storage warehouse) specifying growth rate, peak heat release rate, fire load density and ventilation condition for each.

Apply the equivalent fire severity concept to convert a real fire exposure into a standard furnace rating, and state where the method breaks down.

Evaluate passive protection measures - intumescent coatings, board protection, spray vermiculite - against a stated fire resistance requirement and select one with justification.

Compare sprinkler, water-mist and gaseous suppression systems on extinguishing mechanism, application limits, occupant safety and post-discharge recovery, and match each to a suitable occupancy.

Explain the operating logic of a wet riser, a dry riser and a down-feed system, and identify the pump, tank and valve arrangements each requires.

Trace a signal from detector actuation through the fire alarm control panel to cause-and-effect outputs such as door release, lift homing, smoke damper closure and suppression release.

Select detector types for a plant room, an atrium and a computer room, justifying each choice against the fire signature expected and the false-alarm risk.

Set up a zone-model or CFD calculation for a single compartment and interpret the resulting temperature, visibility and toxic-species curves against tenability criteria.

Calculate a required smoke exhaust rate for a given plume and clear layer height, and check the make-up air path is adequate.

Size a fire service water tank and pump set for a specified building height and occupancy, accounting for the required flow, pressure and duration.

Perform an egress calculation using specific flow and effective width to determine whether an exit configuration clears the occupant load within the available safe egress time.

Outline the statutory approval and consent route for building works and fire service installations in Hong Kong, naming the Ordinance, Regulation and Code instrument behind each step.

Distinguish the duties and scope of the Buildings Ordinance from those of the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance, and identify which premises fall under each.

List the licensing regimes that impose additional fire safety requirements on restaurants, guesthouses, schools and places of public entertainment, and state the fire safety deliverables each licence demands.

Check a set of fire service installation drawings against code requirements for hydrant/hose reel coverage, landing valves, tank capacity and emergency lighting duration, and record non-compliances.

Apply fire pattern analysis - V-patterns, char depth, spalling and melting points - to establish area of origin and evaluate competing origin hypotheses.

Interpret laboratory results such as GC-MS of fire debris and metallurgical examination of an electrical conductor, and state the limits of what each can prove.

Identify the ethical and reporting obligations of the engineer when findings may affect insurance, prosecution or professional liability, including record keeping and independence.

Draft a project delivery plan for a fire engineering submission showing design responsibility interfaces, verification and peer review, and the safety management arrangements on site.

Consolidate weak areas by reworking every calculation type from weeks 1 to 6 under timed conditions without notes.

Explain aloud, in under three minutes each, the physical basis of flashover, the purpose of compartmentation, the logic of a cause-and-effect matrix and the statutory approval sequence.

Resolve a set of short scenario questions that combine two domains, such as a sprinkler omission justified by a performance-based analysis, and defend the position in writing.

Complete two full mock papers under exam timing and self-mark against the mark allocation to identify where marks are being lost.

Rehearse written answers that present a design position, the supporting calculation, the code or guidance basis, and the residual risk acceptance in a clear professional structure.

Prepare concise, defensible answers on professional conduct, competence boundaries and sign-off responsibility, and state when to refer a matter to a specialist or decline the commission.