Lorna Johnson is a Fire Enginer at Arup. She joined the fire engineering profession in 2022, bringing a background in structural engineering, architecture and research into the fire performance of mass timber.
She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a First Class Master’s degree in Structural Engineering with Architecture. Her thesis investigated the fire performance of protective coatings for mass timber, examining limitations associated with coating systems as timber becomes more widely adopted in construction.
Johnson subsequently presented this experimental research at the World Conference on Timber Engineering.
Fire engineering across complex building projects
Johnson has contributed to projects including one of Scotland’s first large scale mass timber developments. Her work involved developing a performance based approach intended to balance architectural objectives with fire safety requirements.
She also contributed to the fire strategy for the Listed King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, undertaking heritage sensitive risk assessments and supporting evaluations on site.
Her regulatory experience includes involvement in developing Arup’s first Building Safety Case submissions under the Building Safety Act 2022, requiring collaboration across different disciplines and consideration of emerging regulatory requirements.
Research and knowledge sharing in fire safety
Alongside project work, Johnson has presented at Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) conferences and published work examining lessons learned from Building Safety Cases. She is also involved in Arup’s internal advisory group monitoring legislative changes.
Her research interests have included fire risks associated with electric vehicles, with further work submitted to industry conferences.
Johnson also supports the SFPE Student Chapter in Edinburgh, where her activities include organising workshops, encouraging early career participation and promoting diversity and inclusion within engineering.
Her combination of project experience, research and industry engagement resulted in her receiving an Up and Coming Fire Engineer Award at the SFPE UK Chapter Awards.
