Kevin McKeown
Divisional Director, Fire Safety
Glasgow
BA, BSc (Hons)
Kevin leads our national fire safety business. This is one of the largest specialist teams in the UK and at the forefront of advising clients on the 'golden thread of information' which is a key outcome from the Hackitt Review of building regulations and fire safety and is central to the Building Safety Act.
Kevin has significant experience in fire safety strategy development and fire engineering and has worked across multiple sectors including residential, commercial, public sector, MoD, nuclear, oil and gas, and the specialist area relating to tall towers.
The approach that Kevin and his team adopt is based on pragmatism, problem solving and commercial awareness to manage the risk of fire in the built environment. Kevin works actively with the overall design team to ensure the optimal fire safety solutions are embraced, taking into account architectural and functional objectives.
His career experience includes the fire-fighting shafts pressurisation design specification for the c1km tall observation tower within the Dubai Creek Harbour scheme; advising on the Electric Boulevard at Battersea Power Station; the fire safety strategy development for the 31-storey New City Court commercial development in London; the 29-storey Shard Place residential development in London; and Victoria Gate Arcade in Leeds.
At Hydrock, he leads a hugely respected team whose delivery includes fire risk management advice to leading social housing providers, the fire safety design on a new 500-bed specialist emergency care hospital in south London, and external wall surveys for major residential schemes across the UK.
His early-career experience serving as a fire-fighter with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service gives Kevin additional credibility and insight when proposing fire engineered solutions to statutory bodies such as Building Control and Approved Inspectors.
