Fire engineering consultancy OFR Consultants has been appointed to several high-profile projects throughout the UK, supporting clients in the custodial, aviation and healthcare sectors, including a body of work with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

OFR has been appointed to work on fire engineering strategies for new prisons in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire and Buckinghamshire.

The new prisons will be created as part of the Alliance 4 New Prisons (A4NP) programme, a project that will see the development of four new adult male prisons built by ISG, Kier, Laing O’Rourke and Wates – a group of Tier 1 contractors working together as part of the government’s Construction Playbook.

The A4NP will develop a standardised design that will then be applied across each of the four prison sites, building on the approach of the MoJ pathfinder common design prisons at HMP Five Wells and Glen Parva.

Speaking of the appointment OFR design director Richard Rankin said: “This is a unique sector, and we are proud to be a part of this ambitious new approach by the MoJ.

“The custodial sector requires unique thinking, and my colleagues and I are preparing fire strategies that will consider the complexities and layout of prisons, evolving an idea that will accommodate each individual site, while also accounting for the standardised design approach. It is an exciting opportunity, and we are delighted to be involved.”

Hospital refurbishment

OFR has also undertaken a new £330m project with the Royal Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust to refurbish an existing hospital and build a new facility, with the news coming just weeks after OFR announced the appointment of more new colleagues to its team; the consultancy now employs 115-colleagues across seven UK offices in Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Oxford, Bath and London. In Q4 2022, the company also welcomed new graduates, part of its commitment to investing in and nurturing future engineering talent.

Rich added: “Since 2016, we have grown to become one of the UK’s leading fire engineering consultancies, developing our business and growing our team by nurturing a strong culture and investing in great people. The result is a motivated team working with clients across the world to deliver fire engineering strategies that protect people, place and planet.

“I’m really proud of the new work we are delivering together and look forward to bringing these new projects to fruition.”