The Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE) successfully held the 2nd International Smart Firefighting Workshop (SureFire Workshop 2024) in Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on July 9, 2024. As an essential academic platform for smart urban resilience and firefighting, this workshop aims to address future urban fire threats and enhance smart firefighting capabilities. See event website on https://www.firelabxy.com/surefire2024
The workshop was co-chaired by Professor Asif Sohail Usmani and Dr. Huang Xinyan from the BEEE Research Centre for Smart Urban Resilience and Firefighting (SureFire) of PolyU. This workshop is part of the major project “SureFire: Smart Urban Resilience and Firefighting” funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council Theme-based Research Scheme (9th Round) (HK$ 33.33 million). The first SureFire workshop was held jointly by PolyU and Tsinghua University in Beijing in May 2023.
Over 70 research experts and scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and overseas countries attended this one-day workshop. The opening ceremony was hosted by Prof. Fu XIAO, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment. Prof. XIAO delivered a speech on behalf of the organizers, introducing the faculty background and the SureFire project. Prof. Asif USMANI expressed his heartfelt wishes for further communication among the participants. The workshop featured seven keynote presentations. The keynote speakers were Dr. Xinyan Huang from PolyU, Dr. Andy TAM from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Prof. Xinzheng LU from Tsinghua University, Dr. Ruggiero LOVREGLIO from Massey University, Ir. Dr. Young WONG and Celsius CHUNG from Arup Hong Kong, Prof. Qingsong WANG from University of Science and Technology of China, and Dr. Maryam GHODRAT from the University of New South Wales.
Speakers presented various emerging topics in fire safety, ranging from fire safety design, thermal safety management for battery systems, AI-driven smart, etc. By focusing on the latest research advancements and technological trends, fifteen oral speakers are invited to share their latest research progress in two parallel sessions, themed “Fire Safety and Resilience” and “Firefighting and Emergency Response”, together with 20+ poster presentations. At the end of the workshop, research-sharing and brainstorming activities further promote opportunities for future collaboration between different institutes. In addition, the laboratory tours to PolyU Fire Lab and campus were organized for visitors during the workshop.
The successful holding of the International SureFire Workshop 2024 not only reinforces the leading role of PolyU in the research field of smart city and smart firefighting but also provides a unique academic platform for scholars to share inspiring ideas and tackle hot research topics and challenges. Moreover, this workshop promoted interaction and networking among scholars from various industries, laying the solid foundation for interdisciplinary integration and in-depth collaboration between PolyU and the world.
