European Fire Detection Forum Announces Program
The Forum brings together experts from industry, the research community, standardization bodies, and regulatory authorities to explore the future of fire detection.
Under the theme ‘From reaction to prediction – the next paradigm in electronic fire safety’, the European Fire Detection Forum will take place in English on 2 December 2026 at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, as part of VdS-FireSafety Cologne.
Central to the program is the question of how fire detection can evolve from identifying the physical signs of an already developing fire towards earlier and more intelligent detection of emerging risks. The program reflects the breadth of that transition. Following the opening by Euralarm President Peter Mita, Chantal Chalouhi of Jensen Hughes will examine current challenges and trends in European fire safety. Robert Read of Apollo Fire Detectors will then explore the limits of today's smoke, heat and CO detection, while Sebastian Festag of Euralarm will address the continuing challenge of false alarm prevention.
Other sessions will examine remote services and self-testing, sustainability, computer vision and Edge AI, sensor fusion and predictive fire safety, and early gas detection of lithium-ion battery incidents. The Forum concludes by looking at an equally important question: whether regulation, standards and certification can keep pace with innovation in fire detection.
Peter Mita, President of Euralarm, said: “The future of fire detection will not be defined by one technology alone. It will depend on how we combine better sensing, artificial intelligence, new service models and reliable standards to detect developing risks earlier and respond more intelligently. Moving from reaction to prediction is therefore not simply a technology discussion – it is a challenge for the entire fire safety ecosystem. The European Fire Detection Forum brings together the different perspectives needed to address that challenge.”
The conference ticket also provides access to the two-day VdS-FireSafety Cologne 2026, enabling participants to combine the Forum with a visit to the international fire protection trade fair. The participation fee is €395 plus VAT, including conference documentation, refreshments and lunch. The complete program, including speakers, session descriptions and registration information, is available in the European Fire Detection Forum program flyer on the Euralarm website.
https://www.euralarm.org/european-fire-detection-forum-2026.html
