Engineering Consultant for FEMA-Funded WUI Project 

"Engineering Science for the Fire Service: Advanced Training Topics in WUI Fire Risk Assessment & Mitigation"

$50,000 USD available for "Engineering Consultant" role

Deadline: 11:59 pm ET on Monday, August 4, 2025

The SFPE Foundation currently holds a FEMA Fire Prevention & Safety Grant (FY2023) to develop an engineering science-based educational curriculum for U.S. Fire Service personnel that helps address unmet advanced training needs with respect to Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fire risk assessment and mitigation. With WUI fires on the rise, more fire departments are called to engage in WUI fire prevention and protection strategies, but most have significant unmet training needs in this area. While training on the basic principles of individual asset protection–such as structural hardening, defensible space, and vegetation management–has increased among fire service personnel in the last few years, access to training on advanced topics remains lacking. Fire protection engineers can offer educational tools and resources regarding advanced topics like WUI fire dynamics, WUI fire modeling, and human behavior in WUI fires (e.g., notification and evacuation strategies). This project assesses advanced training needs that can be addressed with engineering-based resources and guidance, documents best practices, develops three modular courses on these topics, and illustrates how these courses can reduce risk by addressing unmet training needs for departments across the U.S.

In late 2024, the SFPE Foundation contracted Halliwell-US to serve as the Curriculum Consultant for this project. They have developed three, four-hour classroom-based training courses (including course content, delivery methodology, group activities/case studies, and learning assessments) that introduce fire service personnel to advanced topics in WUI Fire Dynamics, WUI Fire Modeling, and Human Behavior in WUI Fires. Additionally, the Foundation will also contract with three subject-matter experts to deliver one-hour webinars (three total) that will be available on demand as supplementary learning material for the course. In the next phase of the project, the Curriculum Consulting team will pilot the training modules in person with a total of four fire departments across the US, in two virtual deliveries, and for feedback from fire engineers at the SFPE Annual Conference & Expo in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Pilots for the three on-demand webinars will also take place.

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Consultant to evaluate the risk reduction potential of the training and the webinars if implemented in communities across the country. The Engineering Consultant will attend all six pilot training demonstrations (in-person and online), evaluate the impact of the three on-demand webinars, and attend the pre-conference workshop at the SFPE Annual Conference. They will work closely with the Curriculum Consulting team, the Project Advisory Panel, and SFPE Foundation staff to develop a plan for evaluating the training and estimating the potential for WUI property fire risk reduction as a result of training implementation (including quantitative and qualitative approaches); recommendations for areas of improvement; and guidance on where (and with whom) we should prioritize offering the training to have the greatest impact.

We welcome proposals from groups or individuals. Up to $50,000 (USD) may be awarded.

Download the complete RFP and instructions for submittal here.

Complete proposals are due by 11:59 pm ET on Monday, August 4, 2025.