European Fire Safety Conferences and Research - What Is Happening in 2025 and 2026
Author
Paddy McDonnell
Date Published
The European fire safety landscape is experiencing a period of significant activity, with major conferences, new research outputs, and evolving standards reshaping how professionals approach fire safety across the continent. For IIESMS members working in fire safety, staying connected to these developments is essential for maintaining professional competence and understanding the direction of the discipline. This article summarises the most important European fire safety events and research initiatives scheduled for 2025 and 2026.
SFPE European Conference and Expo on Fire Safety Engineering - Edinburgh, April 2025
The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) held its European Conference and Expo on Fire Safety Engineering on 9-10 April 2025 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh, Scotland. The conference featured more than 40 presentations structured around topics including fire protection, fire safety regulatory frameworks, structural fire engineering, emerging trends, electric vehicles, parking structures, building envelopes, sustainability, digitisation, human behaviour, wildland fires, timber construction, fire testing, fire modelling, and smoke control.
The opening keynote, Michelin Stars and Golden Arches, was delivered by Professor Luke Bisby of the University of Edinburgh. The conference was co-chaired by Karl Wallasch, Past President of the SFPE UK Chapter, and Dr Rory Hadden. Pre-conference activities included professional development seminars, the SFPE Chapter Leaders Forum, and the SFPE Europe General Assembly Meeting.
The SFPE European Conference is significant for Irish fire safety professionals because it brings together practitioners and researchers from across Europe to discuss both the theoretical foundations and practical applications of fire safety engineering. The conference provides CPD opportunities and direct access to the latest research in areas directly relevant to Irish practice, including timber construction and building envelope fire performance - both areas where TGD B 2024 has introduced new requirements.
5th European Symposium on Fire Safety Science - Ljubljana, September 2025
The 5th European Symposium on Fire Safety Science (ESFSS 2025) took place from 3-5 September 2025 at the Grand Hotel Union in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Organised by FRISSBE (the Department for Fire-Safe Sustainable Built Environment) at the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG), the symposium gathered 150 participants from 25 countries and was endorsed by the International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS).
The three-day programme covered a broad range of topics including battery and solar cell fire safety, sustainable building materials, novel approaches to fire risk analysis, engineering methods for fire safety, human behaviour during fires, and the effectiveness of evacuation systems. The Best Presentation awards were given for research on The Assumptions Trap: Implications for Fire Safety Engineers and Estimating the Energy Terms in Timber-Lined Compartments. The Best Poster award went to research on thermal radiation from hydrogen jet flames.
The symposium's focus on sustainable building materials and timber construction is particularly relevant for Irish professionals, as Ireland's construction sector increasingly uses engineered timber products and must comply with the Euroclass fire rating requirements introduced under the Building Regulations Part B amendments.
BSI Fire Safety Conference 2026 - London, January 2026
The BSI Fire Safety Conference 2026 was held on Thursday 29 January 2026 at the IET London, Savoy Place, running from 09:30 to 16:30. Organised by the British Standards Institution, the conference convened the UK and Europe's most influential voices in fire safety, including regulators, standards leaders, and frontline practitioners.
Key topics addressed at the conference included building and residential safety, product compliance and testing, competency frameworks, and the digital golden thread of fire safety information. The concept of the golden thread - maintaining comprehensive fire safety information throughout a building's lifecycle - is directly relevant to Ireland's new B12 requirement under TGD B 2024, which obliges contractors and designers to supply fire safety system information to building owners at project completion.
Delegate places were priced at GBP 230, with CPD learning accredited. The conference attracted fire safety professionals including responsible persons, asset owners, designers, contractors, assessors, and suppliers.
Fire Sprinkler International 2026 - Paris, April 2026
Fire Sprinkler International 2026 is scheduled for 22-23 April 2026 at the Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel and Conference Centre. Organised with support from the European Fire Sprinkler Network (EFSN), this is the leading European event focusing on automatic fire extinguishing systems.
Building on the success of the Salzburg 2025 conference, which attracted over 400 delegates and 60 exhibitors, the Paris event features a comprehensive programme led by 50 speakers exploring the latest advances in fire prevention and the protection of people and property. The conference is particularly timely for Irish professionals given the new mandatory sprinkler requirements for multi-storey care facilities introduced under Ireland's Building Regulations Part B amendments.
The introduction of mandatory sprinklers in Irish care facilities creates both a compliance obligation and a significant professional opportunity. Fire safety professionals who understand the design, installation, and maintenance of sprinkler systems in healthcare settings will be in high demand as the sector adapts to the new requirements.
15th IAFSS International Symposium on Fire Safety Science - La Rochelle, June 2026
The 15th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science will be held from 7-12 June 2026 at Espace Encan, La Rochelle, France. Organised by the International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), this is the premier global fire safety science meeting, held triennially since 1985.
The five-day event will feature invited lectures from world-leading fire science researchers, parallel presentations of peer-reviewed papers, work-in-progress poster sessions, and an image session showcasing fire research. Workshops on important topics in fire safety science and fire protection engineering will be held during the two days preceding the symposium. Social activities are planned to provide networking opportunities for colleagues at different career stages.
The IAFSS Symposium attracts researchers, students, and practising fire protection engineers from across the globe. For IIESMS members pursuing or holding the Certified Fire Engineer (CFEng.IIESMS) grade, attendance at an event of this calibre represents high-value structured CPD and an opportunity to engage with the international research community.
CFPA Europe Publishes Electric Vehicle Fire Safety Guideline
The Confederation of Fire Protection Associations Europe (CFPA Europe) published Guideline No 44:2025 F - Fire Safety Recommendations for Electric Vehicles in June 2025. The guideline provides safety instructions for the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of charging structures for electric vehicles in both public and private spaces.
The document addresses fire risks associated with electric vehicle charging in enclosed spaces, post-collision scenarios, and emergency response procedures. It is aimed at charging station operators, car park managers, vehicle drivers, fire services, first and second responders, fire risk assessors, and safety consultants. The guideline sets out minimum fire safety requirements for countries without existing codes or as a supplement to national regulations already in force.
With electric vehicle adoption accelerating across Ireland, fire safety professionals are increasingly asked to assess risks associated with EV charging in residential, commercial, and public car parks. This CFPA Europe guideline provides a structured framework for those assessments and is freely available from the CFPA Europe website.
FRISSBE - EU-Funded Fire Safety Research Project
FRISSBE (Fire-safe Sustainable Built Environment) is an EU-funded Horizon 2020 research project led by Slovenia's National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG), scheduled to conclude in December 2026. The project has received EUR 2.5 million in EU funding to achieve excellence in fire-safe sustainable built environments.
Under the direction of ERA Chair holder Professor Grunde Jomaas, the project has established a new fire research laboratory in Logatec, Slovenia, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for reaction to fire and fire resistance research, including a unique facade research setup with measurements of combustion products and heat release rate. The project's research outputs are directly relevant to the European standards framework, particularly in areas of facade fire performance and sustainable building materials.
FRISSBE has also hosted the 5th European Symposium on Fire Safety Science and maintains active partnerships with fire safety research institutions across Europe. The project represents the kind of EU-funded research collaboration that IIESMS supports through its European Projects programme.
What This Means for IIESMS Members
The breadth of fire safety activity across Europe reflects a discipline that is rapidly evolving in response to new building materials, changing regulations, emerging risks from electric vehicles and renewable energy systems, and a growing emphasis on evidence-based practice. For IIESMS members, engagement with these European developments provides several benefits:
Conference attendance counts towards the 25-hour annual CPD requirement, with major international events providing substantial structured CPD hours
Exposure to European research ensures that Irish practitioners remain current with developments in fire science that will eventually influence Irish standards and regulations
Networking with European colleagues provides professional contacts and potential collaboration opportunities
Understanding European standards developments helps professionals anticipate changes to the Irish regulatory framework, which frequently adopts or references European standards
EU-funded research projects like FRISSBE produce outputs that directly inform the standards and guidelines used in Irish practice
The IIESMS Fire Safety Group monitors European developments and provides members with briefings on the most relevant conferences, publications, and standards updates. Members looking to attend any of the events listed above can contact the sector group committee for guidance on CPD recording and professional development planning.
If you are a fire safety professional seeking a professional body that connects you to the European and international fire safety community, explore IIESMS membership grades and find the grade that matches your qualifications and experience.
Sources and Further Reading
SFPE - Society of Fire Protection Engineers
IAFSS - International Association for Fire Safety Science