Julie Brown, PE

Principal, Fire Protection Engineering

Denver

Vertical silver beams used in a civic and government project for Coffman Engineers
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MEET JULIE

Julie Brown, PE is a principal and licensed fire protection engineer with extensive experience delivering fire and life safety solutions for complex projects.

Julie’s early work conducting hazard assessments for nuclear power plants established a foundation in high‑rigor, high‑consequence engineering. She has since applied that expertise across a wide range of sectors—including higher education, entertainment, high‑rise, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, K–12, light industrial, advanced manufacturing, residential, and aviation—and is currently heavily involved in supporting alternative energy projects. Her experience centers on close collaboration with architectural and engineering teams on new construction and renovation projects in both the public and private sectors.

Julie leads Coffman’s Denver fire protection engineering team, facilitating the delivery of high‑quality fire and life safety analysis, code‑compliant design solutions, and engineered fire suppression, fire alarm, mass notification, explosion control, and smoke control systems. She oversees a group with advanced modeling capabilities—including fire and smoke modeling, dispersion modeling, and explosion modeling. She also manages construction quality control services such as inspections, testing, and special inspections.

Through her leadership, Coffman’s fire protection practice has expanded its technical depth, project capacity, and industry impact. Julie is actively engaged in the profession through leadership roles, code development committees, industry publications, and technical presentations.

Outside of work, Julie enjoys spending time with her son and staying active through cycling, skiing, and outdoor adventures. An enthusiastic cyclist, on the road and the trails, Julie has embraced her role as the Denver office’s unofficial bike ambassador since joining Coffman. She organizes group rides for Bike To Work Day and leads a team each June to raise funds for the Colorado Bike MS event.

Julie holds an MS in Fire Protection Engineering and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, along with a Certificate in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Team Member Photo

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PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

  • Committee Member, 2022 Denver Building Code Change Committee
  • International Building Code Interpretation Committee Member
  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) – Member
  • Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) – Professional Grade Member
  • Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Rocky Mountain Chapter (RMC) – Past President

publications

  • Brown, J. & Taggart, A., “Exploring the Requirements for Fire Pump Retrofits,” Consulting-Specifying Engineer, Vol 55 (Iss 10), November 2018
  • Buffam Brown, J. & Taggart, A., “Designing Sprinkler Systems for Maintainability,” Consulting-Specifying Engineer, Vol 54 (Iss 3), April 2017

honors and awards

  • 2019 Winner of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers 5 under 35 Award for leadership in fire protection engineering
  • 2015 Airport Consultant’s Council Young Professionals Innovation Competition Winner