MEET OUR TEAM
Steven Craft, Ph.D., P.Eng. – Founder
Dr. Steven Craft has worked on wood structures and fire safety for the last 24 years. First as a researcher with Carleton University and FPInnovations in the fire resistance of wood structures, and for the last 13 years as a consultant helping architects and engineers find fire-safe solutions to build innovative structures, many of which require alternative solutions to satisfy the applicable building code.
Dr. Craft is an Adjunct Professor in the Fire Safety Engineering Program at Carleton University. He has an undergraduate degree in Forest Engineering from the University of New Brunswick and a PhD in Fire Safety Engineering from Carleton University. He is active in codes and standards development. Dr. Craft is Chair of the ULC S100a Fire Test Committee and is on the Technical Committee for the Canadian Wood Design Standard, CSA O86, where he Chairs the Task Group on Fire Resistance.
Dr. Craft has worked with the wood industry on critical issues such as the performance of adhesives in engineered wood products when exposed to fire; the introduction of fire resistance design into the Canadian Wood Design Standard, CSA O86; and the development of design criteria for the fire resistance of Cross-laminated Timber.
Lisa Miller-Way, C.E.T., LET, RHFAC
Lisa Miller-Way is a Director with CHM Fire Consultants Ltd. and has more than 20 years of experience in Building and Fire Code consulting, and fire protection engineering. Her expertise spans all building types, and she is regularly engaged by engineers, architects, interior designers and developers to provide practical, code-compliant solutions to complex project challenges. Lisa is a respected industry professional recognized for her technical expertise, collaborative approach, and problem-solving abilities.
Throughout her career, Lisa has built a reputation for successfully navigating complex challenges through the development of comprehensive Alternative Solutions that balance Code objectives with project needs. In addition to her daily responsibilities, she is frequently retained to provide independent second opinions on Code interpretation and application, as well as third-party reviews.
Lisa is an active contributor to the engineering and design community, regularly sharing her knowledge through industry presentations and public speaking engagements. Her ability to communicate complex technical concepts in a practical and accessible manner has made her a trusted resource for clients, colleagues and industry professionals.
David Barber, M.E, P.Eng.
David specializes in the fire safety of timber buildings and for more than 25 years has assisted and enabled the growth and development of timber construction, including fire testing, developing new timber technologies, authoring fire safety design guides, changing building codes and standards, working with timber product suppliers and completing fire safety solutions for low, mid-rise and high-rise timber buildings.
David works with architects, engineers, developers, researchers, suppliers and approval agencies to achieve fire–safe construction of sustainable timber structures. David's timber experience is international, having delivered projects in over ten countries. He is currently working with project teams on mass timber buildings located throughout the US and internationally.
Jim Mehaffey, Ph.D. – Founder (Retired)
Dr. Jim Mehaffey has been active in the fire protection community since 1980. From 1980 to 1987, he was a research scientist at the National Fire Laboratory of the National Research Council of Canada where he developed fire models to describe the growth and severity of building fires. He also conducted a series of full-scale room-fire experiments to validate the models. From 1988 until 2009, he was a research scientist at Canada’s national wood products laboratory, FPInnovations, where he modelled the fire performance of wood-frame assemblies and developed design tools to deliver performance-based fire-safety design.
From 1993 to 1997, Dr. Mehaffey was seconded to the University of British Columbia, where he was Director and Associate Professor in the Fire Protection Engineering Program. Since 2000, he has been an Adjunct Professor and Lecturer in the Fire Safety Engineering Program at Carleton University. Over the years, Dr. Mehaffey has been involved in a number of fire investigations involving large-loss fires. He has also been active in domestic and international codes and standards.
George Hadjisophocleus, Ph.D., P.Eng., FSFPE – Founder (Retired)
Dr. George Hadjisophocleus has been involved in fire safety research and engineering for over 25 years. He has spent 12 years as a Research Officer and Group Leader in the Fire Research Program of the National Research Council of Canada before moving to Carleton University in 2001 to become the holder of the prestigious NSERC/FPInnovations Industrial Research Chair in Fire Safety Engineering. At Carleton University, Dr. Hadjisophocleus started a graduate program in Fire Safety Engineering, developed world-class full-scale fire research facilities, and now leads a team of 15 graduate students, two technicians and a post-doctoral fellow. His research areas include: the development of a fire risk analysis model; full-scale testing and computer modelling to study the behaviour of timber connections and HSS steel connections in fire; atrium smoke management; design fires; fire suppression in tunnels; and the measurement of the heat release rate of train cars using full-scale testing.
Dr. Hadjisophocleus holds a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick and he is the author of over 150 publications in the above research areas. Dr. Hadjisophocleus is a Fellow of the International Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), the Coordinator of CIB Commission W14 on Fire, a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), and a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.
Richard Michels, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
Richard Michels is a fire safety engineer with over 10 years of experience in fire protection engineering and code consulting. Richard has extensive experience in various aspects of code consulting including technical analyses; code reviews, reports and audits for new and existing buildings; and the development of alternative solutions. He has been involved in projects for over 40 high-profile and high-rise buildings across Canada, including government and office buildings, assembly buildings, residential buildings and industrial buildings. Richard is also experienced in fire modelling, egress analyses, fire safety planning, fire hazard analyses, and engineering judgments. His experience also includes the application of codes and standards as they relate to barrier-free accessibility.
Richard has a Master of Applied Science degree in fire safety engineering and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Carleton University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario. He is currently a Director at Large of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers National Capital Region Chapter.
Mylissa Prisner, CSM®, CAPM®
Mylissa Prisner (they/she) is an experienced project and operations professional with more than 16 years of experience in administration, project coordination and organizational support. Prior to joining CHM, Mylissa built a strong foundation working within a multidisciplinary engineering environment, where they developed expertise in managing complex workflows, coordinating stakeholders, and supporting project delivery from initiation through completion.
