Ben Johnson
Proven Experience
Mr. Ben Johnson has thirty-five years of experience in fire protection and mechanical engineering supporting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (Hanford Site, Richland, Washington) and commercial nuclear power plant engineering and operations. He is intimately familiar with DOE’s Fire Protection Program requirements, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes and Standards, the International Building Code (IBC), and International Fire Code (IFC).
In his current role as a Fire Protection Engineer, Mr. Johnson supports the DOE by performing external independent reviews of prime and sub-contractor fire protection program implementation and related nuclear safety documentation to ensure compliance with applicable industry codes, standards, and other DOE requirements. Ben provides oversight of fire protection systems designated important to safety to ensure these systems are maintained properly and are able to perform their intended safety functions. Additionally, he assists federal personnel that are assigned duties in fire protection and reports identified issues and recommendations to DOE division directors, or their designees, for disposition.
Mr. Johnson holds an M.S. degree in Fire Protection Engineering, a B.S., in Mechanical Engineering, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in both Fire Protection and Mechanical Engineering in the state of Washington.
Sustainable Results
Mr. Johnson has served as Bechtel National, Inc.’s, (BNI’s) Senior Fire Protection Engineering Supervisor and contractor level Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for design and construction of fire protection systems at the River Protection Project – Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP) project. He has worked as a qualified Deputy Fire Marshal (DFM) on the Hanford Site, has held the position of Fire Protection Manager for CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC), and has been the System Engineer and Design Authority for fire protection systems at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP).
His work has included preparation of fire analysis in support of DOE nuclear safety documentation including the development and approval of Fire Hazard Analyses (FHAs) and Facility Fire Protection Assessments (FFPAs). Additionally, he has supervised design, installation, maintenance, and testing, of fire suppression systems, fire alarm and detection systems, and fire-rated assemblies.
Mr. Johnson is proficient in performance of hand calculations and computer fire modeling, including the use of CFAST and Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), and application to performance-based fire protection.