Fire Protection Engineering · Boston & Greater Boston

Fire Protection Engineering for Boston Commercial Buildings

Sprinkler, standpipe, suppression and smoke control design for large commercial, high-rise and existing-building projects — drawn to the standards Inspectional Services and the Boston Fire Department actually review against, and coordinated with the structural and MEP from the same firm.

Send Us Your Boston Project (781) 540-0337

Sprinkler · standpipe · suppression · smoke control · fire alarm · life safety

What We Design

Four Systems, One Coordinated Set

Designed against the standards a reviewer will open, not summarised from them.

Suppression

Sprinkler systems to NFPA 13, standpipes to NFPA 14, fire pumps to NFPA 20 — with hydraulic calculations prepared, not assumed from a density chart.

Detection & alarm

Fire alarm design to NFPA 72, coordinated with the suppression design so the two sets agree before review rather than after a comment letter.

Smoke control

Atrium and high-rise smoke control to NFPA 92, with the special inspection and commissioning requirements written into the set rather than discovered later.

Life safety

Occupant load, egress capacity and travel distance under NFPA 101 and 780 CMR — written as an analysis a reviewer can follow line by line.

Why Boston Is Different

A Set That Passes in a Suburb Can Stall Here

Two departments review it, and the building stock is older and taller.

Two reviews, not one. Inspectional Services reviews the building permit; the Boston Fire Department reviews the fire protection work. A set drawn for one and not the other comes back.
High-rise provisions arrive sooner than expected. Height brings standpipes, a fire command center, smoke control and secondary water supply into scope — along with special inspection and commissioning.
Existing buildings are most of Boston. What triggers a full system upgrade and what does not is usually the single largest variable in the budget, and it is answerable before design rather than during review.
Phased occupancy on a fit-out means the system must be demonstrably protective at every stage, not only at completion.

Where This Gets Used

Projects We Are Called For

High-rise fit-out

Tenant work in an existing tower, tying into base-building systems designed decades ago to a different code.

Change of use

Warehouse to assembly, office to laboratory. The hazard classification changes, and the required sprinkler density with it.

Adaptive reuse

Mill and masonry conversions, where the existing structure constrains every routing and penetration decision.

Pre-purchase due diligence

What a building would need before you buy it, established in time to affect the offer rather than after it.

Who Designs It

An Engineer Who Studied This, Not a Sideline

Fire protection design is prepared by a licensed Professional Engineer holding a master’s degree in fire protection engineering — sprinkler, suppression and alarm — registered in Massachusetts among other states, with large commercial experience.

Structural and civil design by George Atallah, P.E., Massachusetts No. 53522, also registered in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Most fire protection drawings in Massachusetts are produced by mechanical engineers, or by the sprinkler contractor after the fact. An engineer who studied the discipline is a different proposition — and it is a fact you can weigh rather than a claim you have to take on trust.

Sprinkler mains and structural framing occupy the same ceiling. When those are drawn by two firms, the clash is found on site. Here they are drawn alongside each other and resolved before the set is issued.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked

Who reviews fire protection drawings in Boston?

Two departments. Inspectional Services reviews the building permit, and the Boston Fire Department reviews the fire protection work. A set prepared for one and not the other is a common reason for a resubmittal.

Do you design sprinkler systems, or only fire alarm?

Both. Sprinkler and standpipe design to NFPA 13 and NFPA 14 including hydraulic calculations, fire pumps to NFPA 20, fire alarm to NFPA 72, and smoke control to NFPA 92. For alarm-only work on a smaller project, our fire alarm page covers that service directly.

What changes when a building is a high-rise?

Height brings standpipes, a fire command center, smoke control and secondary water supply into scope, along with special inspection and commissioning requirements. Many projects reach that threshold without expecting to, which is why it is worth checking before design rather than at review.

We are fitting out space in an existing Boston building. Does the whole system need upgrading?

Not always. What triggers a full upgrade and what does not is governed by the extent of the work and the existing building provisions of 780 CMR. Establishing that early is usually the single largest variable in the budget.

Can you coordinate fire protection with the structural drawings?

Yes, and that is the reason to use one firm. Sprinkler mains and structural framing occupy the same ceiling space. When they are drawn by separate firms the clash is usually found on site; drawn together, it is resolved before the set is issued.