While the mitigation of any kind of fire has always been a challenge, with emergence of new technologies such as Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), the risk of uncontrolled fires has increased drastically!
Saleel Anthrathodiyil, our next pathbreaker, Fire Protection Engineer at Telgian Engineering & Consulting (Atlanta), helps shape safer buildings from idea to approval.
Saleel talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about his master’s thesis at University of Maryland where he worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Intelligent sensors and algorithms for early detection and recognition of a smoke event in an Aircraft using neural networks.
For students, there’s a strong and steady demand for qualified fire protection engineers. A few schools teach this specialty, so the supply is small while the need is big.
Saleel, can you share your background with our young readers?
I grew up in Palakkad district, Kerala. I did my early schooling in Palakkad and Malappuram. For my bachelor’s, I moved to Cochin. After graduating, I worked in Mumbai for four years. Then I moved to Maryland, USA, for grad school. I now live in Atlanta, USA, with my wife.
Growing up, I did well academically, but I wasn’t always the class topper. My dad (used to call him ‘Baba’) was a teacher, and my mom is a homemaker. My older siblings pursued engineering, which drew me closer to that path, but I never thought I would end up being a fire protection engineer, saving lives and protecting properties.
What did you do for graduation/post graduation?
I completed my BTech. in Safety and Fire Engineering from CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology), Kerala, in 2018. It’s a niche field in India as well, and only a few universities offer the program. The program covered process safety, occupational health and safety, and limited fire protection.
After graduating, I moved to Mumbai and worked at the BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) Mumbai Refinery as a fire protection engineer. After four years there, I decided to pursue a master’s degree to develop my skills further. A very few universities in the world offer graduate programs in fire protection engineering. One of the oldest and most respected is at the University of Maryland, USA. I was admitted to the Master of Science (MS) program. With my MS, I did research with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) on Intelligent sensors and algorithms for early detection and recognition of a smoke event using neural networks.
I was also very involved on the campus. During my bachelor’s, I served as general secretary of the student alumni association, tech team lead, and hostel secretary. During my master’s, I sat on several committees on campus, including student and social issues, mental health, etc, and was vice president (VP) of the Graduate Student Government (GSG).
What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and unique career in Fire Protection?
I didn’t want to follow the same path most students around me took in engineering. I chose not to do what everyone else was doing. I was ready to step away from the conventional route and take some risks to find better-fit opportunities. I want my work to protect people in real life. Fire protection lets me use math and science to keep buildings and people safer.
How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Tell us about your career path
My path is simple. When I am in doubt about a risk, I try to believe good things will follow. After college I joined BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) in Mumbai as a fire protection engineer (2018–2022). I ran drills and worked on risk reviews and emergency plans. The job came through campus placement at a PSU (Public Sector Undertaking). It was very secure by Indian standards. After four years, I wanted to learn more and go back to school. It was not easy to leave a secure job, but I trusted that good things would happen and stayed with my plan.
Then I moved to the University of Maryland in the US (United States) for my master’s in fire protection engineering (2022–2024). In graduate school you can try to get an “assistantship.”It is very competitive, though!! As a Graduate Research Assistant (RA) you do research; as a Teaching Assistant (TA) you help the professor with classes and grading. The main benefit is a tuition waiver—you do not pay tuition—and you get a stipend for your work. I was lucky to work as both an RA and a TA. I did research on fire and smoke detection and taught younger students.
Nowadays, a lot of focus is on predictive modelling. Think of the devastating wildfires in California last year. The Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) is a growing concern, with fires threatening homes and towns. A lot of research is underway on how to predict fire spread, when to start evacuation, and how to use drones to detect, monitor, and even suppress them effectively.
AI is also making its way into fire protection. The goal is faster detection, fewer false alarms, and better predictive fire modeling. At the University of Maryland (UMD), which is an R1 research university, there is strong activity in all these areas. An R1 university signifies that the institution has a high level of research spending and doctorate production. You can learn more about the program at the Department of Fire Protection Engineering website.
For my thesis, I worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on early fire detection. A normal smoke detector only tells you there is smoke, but not what is burning. My work looked into what if we could tell the difference? In critical places like a space station or an airplane, this is very important. I trained sensors using machine learning and neural networks to recognize smoke from different sources and test algorithms to tell them apart.
We even tested our work in mock airplane cabins at the FAA, they also have multiple real airplanes there for testing, including a Boeing 747. It’s a wonderful experience to walk and work in those in person.
If you like to read the thesis, it can be accessed here,
https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/cabin-air-quality-0 – look for the final report
After graduation, I joined Telgian Engineering & Consulting in Atlanta (2024–present) as a fire protection engineer. I review codes from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Building Code (IBC). I build smoke and egress models with several software tools for hospitals, hotels, retail facilities, energy-storage projects, and industrial sites. I hold a Professional Engineer (PE) license. I stay active with the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE). I work closely with architects, MEP teams (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing), and local authorities.
How did you get your first break?
My first break came through campus placement after my BE at CUSAT. I interviewed with BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) and got the job as a fire protection engineer at the Mumbai Refinery. I kept my answers simple, showed I knew the basics of safety and fire engineering and was confident in my answers!
Like I said, there is always a huge demand for fire protection engineers. Even with the need for visa sponsorship, finding a job in the current market was not very hard. After completing my master’s, I received almost five offers.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
Challenge 1: Choosing Safety and Fire Engineering for my bachelor’s, uncommon and seen as risky in India.
I wanted work that protects people, so I did my homework. I checked where graduates get jobs (oil and gas, public sector companies, consulting), talked to seniors and professors and read about the field. I also explained my plan to my family so they knew it was a calculated choice, not a random jump.
Challenge 2: Leaving a secure job to study in the US (United States)
I saved money, spoke with mentors, and applied for assistantships—Graduate Research Assistant (RA) and Teaching Assistant (TA)—so tuition would be waived and I’d get a stipend.
Challenge 3: Paying for an MS (Master of Science) in the US (United States) — high tuition
I saved money from my first job. I applied early for an assistantship. As an RA (Graduate Research Assistant) or TA (Teaching Assistant), you get a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. I emailed professors with a short note, my resume, and what I could do. I took campus work until I got RA/TA roles.
Where do you work now?
I work at Telgian Engineering & Consulting in Atlanta as a fire protection engineer. I help teams shape safer buildings from idea to approval. I move between offices, sites, and calls to keep projects on track.
There is a common misconception that fire protection is only about firefighting. In reality, fire protection engineers work before a fire ever happens, to prevent it in the first place. In the United States, we have what is called the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) like fire chief and fire marshals, which enforces the fire codes. Our role as fire protection engineers is to make sure designs meet those codes and requirements for life safety and fire protection, either by following prescriptive codes or by using performance-based approaches. Firefighting itself is carried out by full-time or volunteer firefighters, who are the real heroes keeping us safe when emergencies occur.
Telgian Engineering & Consulting (E&C) is a private consulting firm and a recognized leader in fire protection, life safety, and security. The company is based in the United States but works with clients around the world. Telgian partners with architects, developers, owners, and builders to guide projects from the earliest planning stages through design, permitting, construction, and occupancy.
The company provides a wide range of services: building code and fire code consulting, fire alarm and sprinkler design, smoke control and egress modelling, hazardous materials and battery storage analysis, risk assessments, commissioning, and due diligence for real estate. Telgian works across many sectors including healthcare, hospitality, retail, industrial plants, logistics warehouses, detention facilities, education, and high-rise buildings.
What problems do you solve?
I try to solve the “worst day” problem. If a fire starts, my job is to make sure people can get out fast and go home safe. I hunt for hidden risks before they turn into headlines, and turn messy plans into clear, do-this-now steps the whole team can follow. I balance safety with time and cost so projects move forward. On a good day, nothing happens, because we engineers designed it that way.
What skills are needed for your role? How did you acquire the skills?
I learned many core skills in my master’s program. You need strong people and communication skills to work with a team, listen well, ask clear questions, and share simple notes. You also need to know the local fire and building rules for the place you work; you can learn them with steady reading and practice. The tools and methods for risk assessment were developed through my master’s studies and personal research.
What’s a typical day like?
No two days look the same. Some days I’m at my desk, building and running CFD (computational fluid dynamics) models to see how smoke might move and how people can get out safely. Other days I’m on site, walking the building, checking exits and alarms, and may be doing a flow test on hydrants or a pump test with the contractors. Some weeks I travel across states or even to another country to visit site locations.
What is it you love about this job?
I love that the work protects real people. You can point to a building and say, “we made that safer.” I like the mix, some days I’m out on site, other days I’m solving problems at my desk.
The wins are clear when a plan gets approved and built. And on the “worst day,” if a fire occurs and nobody gets harmed, the systems you designed have protected people and their property, that quiet success is the best feeling.
How does your work benefit society?
This work also covers new risks like Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS, where robots pack and move items) and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). In ASRS, tall racks, tight aisles, and lots of plastic let fires spread fast and make them hard to reach. In BESS, the main risk is thermal runaway, if one battery overheats and can set off others. These jobs are big challenges that change every day, but they matter. My work makes everyday places like homes, schools, hospitals, factories safer. So if a fire starts, we ensure people get out fast, and property is protected. Firefighters face less risk, small problems don’t become disasters, and we reduce injuries, damage, and pollution.
Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!
At my work we do large-scale fire testing. That means full-size rooms or rack setups with real materials, real heat, and real smoke. We watch how fast sprinklers open, how they knock the flames down, and how much water actually reaches the fire. It’s an amazing watch. Also, another one project that stays with me is a high-rise hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, inside a big entertainment district development. My job was to build a clear smoke-control plan so guests can get out safely if a fire starts. It was a fancy project.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
Start small and try to finish what you start. Choose your own path, don’t follow the crowd. Along with planned risks, keep a plan A and a plan B and do the due diligence. Apply early for internships, assistantships, and scholarships and keep applying throughout your schooling. Join SFPE (Society of Fire Protection Engineers) to learn more about the career. Also the student membership is free and comes with resources, mentors, and scholarships.
There’s strong, steady demand for qualified fire protection engineers. A few schools teach this specialty, so the supply is small while the need is big.
Future Plans?
Keep learning. Keep up with new technologies and challenges and how to protect them. Also, grow as an engineer and a leader. Keep my licenses live. Teach what I learn. Maybe an MBA or PhD in the future.