People Behind the Practice: Claire Williams, Associate Director in Manchester
Continuing our ‘People Behind the Practice’ series, this week we meet Claire Williams, Associate Director in our Manchester office.
As a recent new starter at OFR, here we find out a bit more about Claire – how she got into engineering, what drives her work, what attracted her to OFR and what she hopes to achieve in her first year at OFR.
Continue reading to find out more:
Q: Can you tell us a little about your career journey so far and what first drew you into fire engineering?
I’ve worked in fire engineering for more than 20 years, across consultancy, government and emergency services roles in the UK, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia and Singapore. I originally studied mechanical engineering and became drawn to the fire industry through my interest in fluid mechanics.
What really cemented my passion for fire engineering was the balance it offers between technical problem solving and human behaviour. It’s a discipline where engineering decisions have a direct impact on people’s safety, and that has always motivated me.
Q: What types of projects have you enjoyed working on the most, and why?
I enjoy projects where collaboration sits at the heart of the design process, large complex developments like airports, healthcare facilities and large commercial schemes. These challenge not only technical capability but also stakeholder engagement, negotiation and strategic thinking.
I also find great satisfaction in work that directly influences industry guidance or the performance of the built environment, such as my time with MBIE in New Zealand.
Q: Is there a standout project or moment in your career that you’re particularly proud of?
One standout moment was undertaking post incident analysis of a natural gas explosion in Onehunga with the New Zealand Fire Service. The work ultimately led to changes in industry practice to prevent similar fatalities in the future. It brought together collaboration, complex technical forensic analysis and advocacy to deliver meaningful change.
Leading national code updates for the New Zealand Government was another career highlight, having the opportunity to shape building performance at a national level is something I’m proud of.
Q: What attracted you to OFR, and what made you feel it was the right next step?
OFR’s strong technical reputation, and commitment to shaping the future of fire engineering really resonated with me. I have worked with many of the OFR leadership team in the past, I both respect their work and enjoy their company. The opportunity to contribute to the future of fire engineering while continuing to work part-time made OFR an ideal fit.
Q: What aspects of OFR’s approach, culture or project work appeal to you most?
I appreciate OFR’s collaborative, people centred culture. There’s a clear emphasis not only on technical excellence but also on developing people, building collaborative trusted client relationships, and challenging conventional thinking.
The diversity of OFR’s portfolio is also a big draw, particularly across commercial, mixed use and healthcare sectors.
Q: How do you see your experience adding value to the team here?
I bring broad international experience, a strong understanding of regulatory systems, and the ability to operate effectively at both strategic and technical levels. My background in team leadership, policy development and the delivery of major multidisciplinary projects means I can contribute to project direction as well as business development, mentoring and training.
Q: What are you most excited to get involved with in your new role?
I’m excited to support the growth of the team through mentoring and contributing to the development of business strategy. I’m also looking forward to having more time to engage in research and reconnect with industry working groups, areas I’ve always enjoyed and where I hope to add real value.
Q: Are there any particular sectors, project types or areas of innovation you’re keen to explore further at OFR?
I’ve recently developed an interest in creating tools that streamline and standardise fire engineering processes, helping to make workflows more efficient and consistent.
I’m also keen to return to mass timber design, having previously contributed to working groups on this topic in both hemispheres with organisations such as BRE and AFAC. It’s a progressive of fire engineering, and I’m excited to reengage with it.
Q: What do you hope to achieve in your first year with us?
I hope to establish myself as a trusted leader within the team, build strong relationships with both new and longstanding clients, support strategic efficiency initiatives, and step back into industry technical development activities.
Q: What’s something your new colleagues might be surprised to learn about you?
I’ve burned down a number of houses! A albeit fully permitted ones. During my time with the New Zealand Fire Service, I delivered hands-on live fire training and testing, which involved controlled burns of residential structures.
Q: Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing to unwind?
I design and sew custom figure-skating dresses, which is essentially engineering with fabric, rhinestones and late-night problem solving. It’s my creative outlet and a way of supporting my 10-year-old daughter Beth, who is a fairly successful competitive figure skater, ranked 7th in the UK in her ice dance category and who won a gold medal at last year’s World Inline Figure Skating Championships.
Q: If you weren’t in fire engineering, what would you like to do and why?
I’d expand my sewing hobby into a fulltime career, designing figure skating dresses and theatre costumes.
Q: What’s your favourite building, structure or piece of design – and why?
I’m especially drawn to buildings where engineering and architecture integrate seamlessly. The recent redevelopment of Portland International Airport appears, from an outsider’s perspective, to be an excellent example of this. It incorporates extensive mass-timber design and demonstrates how large-scale public infrastructure can embrace sustainable materials without compromising safety, performance or architectural ambition. From a fire engineering perspective, it appears to showcase the evolving understanding of mass timber behaviour and the importance of innovative, performance-based strategies. I find it inspiring to see such a complex, high occupancy environment successfully integrate cutting edge timber design principles at scale, and I hope to learn more about its design in the future.
Q: What kind of impact do you hope to make here, both within the team and across projects?
I hope to mentor upcoming engineers and bring clarity and confidence to complex project challenges. Ultimately, I want to help shape robust, future-focused design outcomes for clients while contributing to OFR’s ongoing growth.
Q: Are there any colleagues, teams or disciplines you’re especially looking forward to collaborating with?
I’m excited to work across the full range of OFR’s disciplines and particularly to work with colleagues focused on post fire incident analysis, training and innovation, as knowledge sharing is something I’m passionate about.