Authored by: Rimkus Built Environment Solutions Marketing Team
Published 5/29/2026
In 2023, nonresidential building fires in the United States caused an estimated $3.16 billion in direct property damage, according to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). That figure excludes business interruption, tenant displacement, and other indirect costs, meaning the full financial exposure to commercial property owners may be considerably higher.
Nonresidential building fires cause roughly 20% of the total dollar loss from all fires in the United States, despite accounting for only about 8% of fires, according to the same USFA data. For property managers and facilities directors, that concentrated financial exposure raises a practical concern: whether a building’s fire protection systems still meet current codes, insurance expectations, and the way the space is used today. Fire protection engineering is the discipline that addresses that concern.
The sections below cover what the field includes, why it matters for property owners, and the signs that a property may warrant review.
Key takeaways: Fire protection engineering and commercial property risk
For property managers and facilities directors, fire protection engineering affects how a building is designed, who is responsible for maintenance, and when code or insurance reviews get triggered. Understanding those intersections helps anticipate costs and compliance obligations before problems surface.
What matters most
- Fire protection engineering covers both active systems (sprinklers, alarms) and passive elements (fire-rated walls, firestop systems)
- Property owners bear NFPA 25 responsibility, even when maintenance is contracted out
- Buildings constructed before the mid-1970s may have sprinkler heads that have crossed the 50-year testing threshold
How to approach fire protection
- Documented inspection, testing, and maintenance records may affect insurance evaluations and underwriting outcomes
- Occupancy changes, renovations, and new storage configurations may trigger fire protection upgrade requirements under current building codes
- Missing or expired maintenance documentation may be associated with increased liability exposure
Rimkus Built Environment Solutions evaluates fire protection across the building life cycle: contact us to discuss a specific property.
What is fire protection engineering?
Fire protection engineering applies scientific and engineering principles to protect people, property, and the environment from destructive fires. The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) defines the discipline as one that continuously evolves as new technologies create new fire hazards.
In practice, fire protection engineers evaluate how fires start, spread, and interact with building systems. They design suppression and detection systems, analyze evacuation pathways, and assess whether existing protection measures meet current code requirements. The field spans new construction design, existing building evaluation, and ongoing system maintenance planning.
Fire protection engineering is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) discipline in the United States.
Core focus areas of fire protection engineering
Fire protection engineering covers four primary areas that address how buildings prevent, detect, contain, and respond to fire events. These areas overlap in practice, but each reflects a distinct set of questions a fire protection engineer evaluates.
Systems design
Systems design identifies what fire protection equipment a building may need and how that equipment may be configured to perform during a fire. The two broad categories are active fire protection and passive fire protection.
Active fire protection requires activation, either automatic or manual, to function. Sprinkler systems, fire alarm and detection systems, smoke control systems, and standpipe systems all fall into this category. Active fire protection is commonly described as systems that use moving mechanical or electrical parts to achieve a fire protection goal.
Passive fire protection is built into the structure itself and operates continuously without activation. Fire-rated walls and floor-ceiling assemblies, fire doors, fire dampers, and firestop systems are common examples.
Life safety and egress
Life safety and egress design addresses how building occupants reach safety during a fire. Fire protection engineers evaluate whether exit paths, stairwells, signage, and emergency lighting meet NFPA 101 (the Life Safety Code) requirements given a building’s specific layout, occupancy, and travel distance limitations.
Fire dynamics and modeling
Fire dynamics analysis may examine how fires behave in specific spaces based on fuel loads, ventilation, and room geometry. For buildings with unique configurations, engineers may use computational fire modeling tools developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to simulate smoke and heat movement, particularly when local authorities require this analysis for designs that do not fit standard code provisions.
Hazard and risk analysis
Hazard and risk analysis identifies the specific fire threats a building may face based on its occupancy type, contents, storage methods, and surrounding environment. This analysis may inform decisions about suppression system sizing and detection placement.
Why fire protection engineering matters for property owners
Deferred fire protection maintenance and outdated system designs may lead to property losses that far exceed the cost of proactive evaluation. NFPA research on sprinkler effectiveness found that fires were confined to the room or object of origin in 94 percent of cases where sprinklers were present, compared with 70 percent of cases without an automatic extinguishing system.
The large-loss report from the NFPA may illustrate the consequences when protection is absent or compromised. In a recent large-loss reporting year, the three largest commercial and industrial losses ranged from $55 million to $85 million, and each involved suppression systems that were absent, not yet operational, or unmaintained.
NFPA data also may indicate that when sprinkler systems failed to control a fire, 79% of cases were associated with systems that were shut off, damaged, or lacking maintenance. Fire protection depends on both design decisions and ongoing operational maintenance.
Codes, standards, and credentials behind fire protection engineering
Multiple codes and standards apply to fire protection in commercial buildings. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, as states and municipalities adopt model codes on different schedules.
The following engineering standards are most relevant to commercial property stakeholders:
- NFPA 25 (2026 edition) provides requirements for inspection, testing, and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems, including sprinklers, fire pumps, and standpipes
- NFPA 72 (2025 edition) addresses fire detection, alarm, and emergency communications systems
- NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) addresses occupant protection strategies, including egress design and emergency lighting
A building may need to comply with several of these standards simultaneously, and fire code consulting often involves evaluating obligations across multiple overlapping frameworks.
The primary professional credential in this field is the PE license, administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).
Signs a property’s fire protection may warrant evaluation
Several conditions may indicate that a building’s fire protection systems warrant professional review. Buildings constructed before the mid-1970s whose sprinkler heads have been in service since original installation, with no documented testing or replacement history, have likely crossed NFPA 25’s 50-year sprinkler testing threshold.
Changes in building use may also warrant evaluation. The 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) expanded the definition of “change of occupancy” to include activity or purpose changes that increase the required degree of fire protection, even when the formal occupancy classification remains the same.
Converting office space to a restaurant, adding a fitness center, or introducing battery energy storage infrastructure may trigger sprinkler system upgrades, not only in the changed space but potentially in adjoining areas that are not separated from it by fire-rated construction.
Other common indicators include visible corrosion or physical damage on sprinkler heads, dropped ceilings installed below existing sprinklers, and written deficiency findings from insurance loss control surveys. Each of these conditions may be associated with code upgrade obligations and liability exposure.
How fire protection systems are inspected, tested, and maintained
NFPA 25 sets out a structured schedule of inspection, testing, and maintenance activities for water-based fire protection systems. Frequencies range from weekly visual checks to annual performance tests and multi-year internal inspections.
A key provision that property stakeholders frequently misunderstand: NFPA 25 Section 4.1.1 places legal responsibility for system maintenance on the property owner or designated representative. Hiring a fire protection contractor to perform the work does not transfer this obligation. Owners must also maintain inspection records in accordance with NFPA 25 record-retention requirements.
When inspections identify problems, NFPA 25 classifies them into noncritical deficiencies, critical deficiencies, and impairments. A building condition assessment that includes fire protection evaluation may help identify these conditions before they appear on an insurance report.
How proactive fire protection engineering supports asset value
Commercial property underwriters may evaluate fire protection as a core component of risk. The industry-standard COPE framework (Construction, Occupancy, Protection, and Exposure) treats fire protection as one of the core factors considered alongside building construction type and occupancy classification.
A property with current, documented maintenance records may be better positioned to answer underwriting questions about inspection, testing, and maintenance.
Well-maintained fire protection systems may also support due diligence during property transactions. Buyers and lenders commonly request documentation of fire protection system condition, and gaps in maintenance history may affect deal terms or financing.
Strengthening fire protection across the building life cycle
Fire protection engineering spans design, installation, ongoing maintenance, and periodic reevaluation as buildings age and uses change. Property managers and facilities directors may benefit from understanding how codes, insurance frameworks, and system maintenance requirements intersect, particularly for buildings approaching age-based testing thresholds or undergoing occupancy changes. Rimkus Built Environment Solutions provides mechanical and electrical engineering consulting that may include fire protection system evaluation across the building life cycle.
For property stakeholders evaluating fire protection conditions, experienced professionals compare existing systems, maintenance records, and planned occupancy changes against applicable compliance obligations.
Contact Us to discuss fire protection engineering needs for a specific property or portfolio.
Frequently asked questions about fire protection engineering
What inspection and testing schedule does NFPA 25 require for sprinkler systems, and what happens if intervals are missed?
NFPA 25 sets component-specific inspection and testing intervals for sprinkler systems, including weekly and monthly inspections, quarterly alarm and certain flow-related tests, annual system tests, and five-year internal pipe inspections. Missing intervals may result in system impairments, higher insurance costs, code violations, and liability exposure if fire damage occurs.
When does a building renovation or change of use trigger fire protection upgrades?
A renovation or change of use triggers fire protection upgrades when it increases the building’s required level of fire protection. Under the 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), a change of occupancy includes activity or purpose changes that raise fire protection requirements even when the formal occupancy classification stays the same. Converting office space to a restaurant, adding a fitness center, or introducing battery energy storage infrastructure can trigger sprinkler system upgrades, sometimes not only in the changed space but in adjoining areas that are not separated by fire-rated construction. Renovations that alter egress paths, occupancy loads, or fuel loads may also trigger upgrade obligations. Because requirements vary by jurisdiction and adopted code edition, a fire protection evaluation before a planned change can identify upgrade obligations early, when they are easier to budget for.
Who is legally responsible for fire sprinkler system maintenance?
The property owner. NFPA 25 Section 4.1.1 places legal responsibility for the inspection, testing, and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems on the building owner or a designated representative. Hiring a fire protection contractor to perform the work does not transfer that obligation, and lease arrangements that assign the task to a tenant do not change the owner’s underlying legal responsibility. Owners must also retain inspection and testing records in accordance with NFPA 25 record-retention requirements. Because the responsibility cannot be delegated away, keeping documentation current helps demonstrate compliance and supports insurance underwriting and transaction due diligence.
This article is intended to provide general information and insights into prevailing industry practices. It is not intended to constitute, and should not be relied upon as, legal, technical, or professional advice. The content does not replace consultation with a qualified expert or professional regarding the specific facts and circumstances of any particular matter.