Click below for more information on:

List of Papers to be Presented

Technical Program

Social Program

Technical Program

Research of Interest

The International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) sponsors the world’s premier symposium for the dissemination and discussion of peer reviewed scientific research focused on the prevention and mitigation of fire losses. You are invited to submit a contribution that advances scientific understanding and presents or advances new ideas on any topic in the entire spectrum of fire safety science. See the list of topics below. Papers and poster abstracts will be accepted on the basis of their quality and originality in the science of fire safety and its applications. Routine applications of established knowledge and case studies with no generalizable results are would not be appropriate for the symposium.

Symposium Timetable

* Committee Meeting by invitation only
** Speakers Reception hosted by Mayor

Plenary Speakers include:

• Dr. Vytenis Babrauskas (Fire Science and Technology Inc., Issaquah WA, USA), "Research on Electrical Fires: The State of the Art"
• Professor Andy Buchanan (University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand),
  "The Challenges of Predicting Structural Performance in Fires"
• Professor Reinhard Grabski
  (Institute of Fire Department Saxony-Anhalt, Heyrothsberge, Germany),
  "Fire Safety Science in Germany - A Status Report about Research Activities and Technological Requirements"
• Dr. George Hadjisophocleous (Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada), "Development of Design Fires for Performance-Based Fire Safety Design"
• Dr. Haukur Ingason (SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Borås, Sweden), "State of the Art of Tunnel Fire Research"
• Professor Takeyoshi Tanaka (Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan), “Risk-Based Selection of Design Fires to ensure an Acceptable Level of Evacuation Safety"
  

Symposium Topics:

• Structural Fire Performance
• Compartment Fires
• Suppression
• Ignition
• Flame Spread
• Flames and Fire Dynamics
• Toxic Hazard
• Fire Chemistry
• Material Burning
• Measurement and Test Methods
• Detection
• Evacuation and Human Behavior Statistics, Probability, and Risk Analysis Smoke Control
• Special Applications (explosions, industrial fires, post-earthquake fires, standards, safety codes, fire safety management, fire investigation and reconstruction, fire service needs)

Sunday Workshops

For the first time ever, three workshops will be held in conjunction with the 9th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 21-26 September, 2008. The workshops will be held concurrently from 1:00 to 5:00 PM on Sunday, September 21, 2008. The workshop topics and organizers include:

• Flame spread modeling, organized by Prof. Nick Dembsey and Mr. Simo Hostikka (View Workshop Outline) Registration Code WS1
• Structural fire engineering, organized by Dr. Susan Lamont (View Workshop Outline) Registration Code WS2
• Egress modeling, organized by Dr. Steve Gwynne (View Workshop Outline) Registration Code WS3

The workshops will be held in meeting rooms within the Novotel hotel. A fee of 35 Euros will be charged to offset the cost of holding the workshops. Please make your plans now to participate in one of the workshops.

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Social Program

From 21st September to 26th September 2008 Karlsruhe will be at the peak of Fire Safety Science, with the 9th International Symposium of IAFSS held in the Audimax of Karlsruhe University. Upon your arrival – and most of you will land at Frankfurt International Airport and reach Karlsruhe by one of the fastest train services in the world, within approximately one hour – you will be impressed by the scenery that opens to your eyes. Just opposite to the Central station is the Karlsruhe Zoo, inviting you to relax amongst green areas and many animals on display.

Karlsruhe Central Station with the ICE fast train just arrived Fountain and flamingoes welcome you and invite you to relax in the Karlsruhe Zoo

You may proceed to the first place where the Symposium will start: Sunday workshops at the Novotel, a comfortable place to stay at the south rim of the inner city of Karlsruhe. (Seen on a sunny July morning in 2008) and during a break or early in the evening you may scroll along the marketplace and proceed to the Karlsruhe Palace which is already well known from the first Call-for-Papers document for this Symposium

Novotel, seen from the East View opens to the Marketplace with the City Hall (to the left) and the Town Church to the right; a place designed from the famous architect Weinbrenner 2 centuries back in time. The fountain in the center of the Marketplace, between City Hall and Town Church, with the tower of Karlsruhe Palace in the background.

Following welcome reception you may want to sleep in the hotel you have chosen for your stay in Karlsruhe. All hotels are located within walking distance to the main city center attractions. Or you may take a glass of German beer in one of the restaurants around in order to have a quiet and sound night. The next morning will find you walking to the audimax of the University, or you may also take the public tramway system for a few stations, which is included in your delegate’s fee by generous sponsorship of the Karlsruhe Local Transport System, and can be used for your whole stay during the Symposium, companions included (restricted to two cells of the Transport System).

Karlsruhe’s Local Transport System is one of the most elaborated and flexible ones in our country, with frequent connections and a narrow net of lines leading you through the city and outside the city limits to various places, amongst which is the famous town of Baden-Baden in Karlsruhe’s south, located at the hills of the Black Forest. – Of course, then you need a ticket with more than two cells … One specialty, not to forget about, is the cable car in the suburb of Durlach, leading you to the “Turmberg” and its platform, that give to you a wonderful overlook over the river Rhine valley, kilometers to the West, North and South. It is a wonderful site for a warm evening. Late September may still be a season with warm weather and we hope this will be true this year also.

But now, back to work …

The audimax building, with a spacious foyer (for the poster sessions and coffee breaks, welcome and friendly discussions) will be your premium location over the next days during Symposium hours. Starting around 8:30 from Monday to Friday, the papers and posters presented will let you forget about the long travel you may have left behind you to reach this destination. Of course, that is not what is going to happen on Monday night (see left), but the fire school night at the Fire School of the State of Baden-Württemberg, which you will reach by bus from the audimax, gives you the impression of both training and the way of living in our area. With regional specialties and (still secret) surprises in acting and buffet. Around 2200 hrs this first day will come to an end, when the buses take you back to your hotels or to the city center for those, who like to have a final beer for the night… The gas-fired training building of the fire school - at night

The next day (Tuesday) will see you again in the audimax. Opposite to this place is the cafeteria of the University, where your lunch is served (all day, included)

You can hardly see the cafeteria. Because the high rise library building to its right hand side is such an important part of the photo. However, the cafeteria which is a flat but stretched two storey building will comfortably serve your needs – it is just behind the metal sculpture in the middle of the photograph … In the evening of Tuesday delegates and companions interested in a performance on the State Theater’s stage may accompany us to enjoy the musical “Little Shop of Horrors”, which will give you the opportunity for a good deal of laughter in the evening. Before that, we will have a Mediterranean buffet in the upper foyer of the State Theater, exclusively prepared for you. (This event is optional, at an extra fee) Wednesday we will be back at the audimax, back at work, and the evening is free at your convenience. You may go out shopping or look for regional restaurants to spend the night there with your colleagues and friends. Of course, we will give some more information at the site, upon request. Just ask. For Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, the poster sessions are scheduled. These will take place in the audimax’s foyer

Thursday is the next to last day of the Symposium week. When back from the audimax, and the papers and poster sessions we will enjoy the spectacular Symposium Banquet in the evening, at the Center for Arts and Media Building:

The foyer inside will be the location for Thursday night. Dinner Banquet and performances in a former industrial and now museum building will be impressive and away from what you can find everywhere.

Friday after the Symposium we will join for a farewell in the cafeteria. The other sections of this web site include more information on Karlsruhe, its surroundings and the companions program.

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