Fires can be destructive and life-threatening, whether they break out in occupied residences, other buildings, or in wildland areas. WPI experts in fire come from our renowned Fire Protection Engineering Department. Established in 1979, the department is home to the first master’s program in fire protection engineering in the U.S. It remains one of only three fire protection engineering graduate programs in the nation. The program has led advancements in the field through research, innovation, and education. Our faculty perform cutting-edge research aimed at understanding fire behavior, society’s response to it, explosion dynamics, and how to make the world safer from fire threats.

 Our distinguished faculty, including experts in wildfire behavior, fire dynamics, and structural fire safety, have appeared in major media to share their knowledge on wildfires and structure fires, contributing to New York Times investigative reports of the factors that led to the destructive Notre Dame cathedral fire in Paris and a deadly Bronx, New York apartment building fire in 2022. WPI's experts in fire have also spoken with media about major wildfires, including the 2023 Maui fire, and the increased wildfire threat in the northeast in 2024.