On November 23rd and 24th, in Hanoi, an international scientific conference on "Advanced Fire Education/ Research in Asia" took place by the Urban & Architectural Institute (UAI) - Hanoi University of Civil Engineering (HUCE) and University of Fire Prevention and Fighting (UFPF) jointly organized. This is an event held every 2 years in countries within the Asian fire safety training and research network. The 2023 conference held in Vietnam is the 9th conference.

Attending the Conference were domestic and foreign experts and scientists, as well as representatives of leaders at all levels. On the side of Tokyo University of Sci:ence (TUS), there are

Prof. Dr. Kazunori Kuwana - Head Department of Global Fire Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science; Prof. Dr. Ken Matsuyama, Director of Fire Prevention Research Center - Tokyo University of Science; Prof. Dr. Ichiro Hagiwara; Associate Professor, PhD. Masayuki Mizuno, with 12 PhD students, Master's students were studied at TUS.

On the Korean side, there was Professor Kyungok Kwon, President of Lamina Fire Defense Laboratory, Korea;

On the side of the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting, the Ministry of Public Security has Colonel. Dr. Pham Van Nam - Vice Rector of the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting, along with officers and lecturers of faculties and departments.

On the side of Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, there were Associate Prof. Dr. Hoang Tung - Rector of Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, Prof. Dr. Doan Minh Khoi, Director of the Urban & Architectural Institute;
On the side of invited guests outside the university were Mr. Tran Ngoc Chinh, Former Deputy Minister of Construction, Chairman of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, Associate Prof. Dr. Vu Ngoc Anh – Director general of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment of the Ministry of Construction; Mr. Nguyen Hoang Tung, Vice Chairman of Hoan Kiem District People's Committee; Architect Dang Kim Khoi, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Architects, Colonel Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Khuong, Deputy Director of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department; Colonel Hoang Van Binh, Head of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police - Department of Hai Phong City Police, Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Thuat, Chairman of the Council of Hanoi University of Architecture, Architect Le Truong, Chairman of the Vietnam Furniture Association...

along with many experts and scientists from the Department of Planning and Architecture Management, National Institute of Architecture, Construction Materials Research Institute, Ministry of Construction; University of Architecture, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering; consulting companies CUBIC, SUNJIN Vietnam, TTAs.; Media units attended and reported; and representatives of the Conference's sponsors:

- Silver sponsor: DH Vietnam material technology Company limited

- Bronze sponsor: Hitli Vietnam Company; Epower Construction Engineering Company Limited.

Associate Prof. Dr. Hoang Tung - Rector of Hanoi University of Civil Engineering

Prof. Dr. Kazunori Kuwana - Head Department of Global Fire Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science

Colonel. Dr. Pham Van Nam - Vice Rector of the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting

Prof. Dr. Ken Matsuyama, Director of Fire Prevention Research Center - Tokyo University of Science

Mr. Tran Ngoc Chinh, Former Deputy Minister of Construction, Chairman of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association

In recent years, with rapid urban development, fires have become an unsafe risk in Vietnamese urban areas, in high-density housing areas, high-rise apartment buildings, warehouses, public construction. In that context, fire safety science is increasingly developing at universities and research institutes around the world. In Asia, a scientific research network on fire safety has been established to share experiences, provide information, and disseminate basic knowledge in the stages of architectural design, structural calculation, construction and fire escape... The forum is a place to share fire safety experiences between advanced countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, New Zealand and other countries in the Asian region. Scientific conferences of the organization "Advanced Fire Education/ Research in Asia" take place regularly every year in different countries.
Prof. Dr. Doan Minh Khoi, Director of the Urban & Architectural Institute, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, affirmed: The 9th conference will be a forum for scientists to share experiences and exchange teaching and research methods, research and apply fire protection standards and regulations, advanced fire prevention and rescue measures and technologies. The conference will also be an opportunity for consultants and material manufacturing businesses to refer to and supplement useful scientific information to help their products aim for safety and quality. 

Prof. Dr. Doan Minh Khoi, Director of the Urban & Architectural Institute

At the Conference on November 23, 2023 at Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, experts presented presentations on different topics focusing on education, safety scientific research with creative solutions. for issues that fire safety science needs to solve in the future: Evacuation safety in high-rise buildings; Inadequacies in fire prevention, from regulations to actual application in public constructions and multi-functional mixed constructions; Fire engine yard for high-rise apartment buildings; Propose a number of standards for fire prevention of reinforced concrete structures; Experience in fire protection design in some specific projects such as kindergartens, preschools, factories with a height of more than 5.5m, non-standard structures... Research and apply, integrating VR (virtual reality) evacuation simulation and multi-agent evacuation simulation models;

In particular, the conference also had the participation of 5 groups of international PhD students and Master students (Japan, Korea, China, Bangladesh, Vietnam) from Tokyo University of Sience, Japan. The groups presented their research and were evaluated by participating members. As a result, there was 1 first prize and 2 second prizes from Vietnam and Korea.

PhD students, Master's udents were studied at TUS

Prizes for best presentation

According to the program, the conference continued the next day (November 24) at the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting. A discussion took place with the topic "Current situation, challenges and experiences in ensuring fire safety for houses and buildings in Vietnam".

Lieutenant General Associate Prof. Dr. Le Quang Bon, Rector of the University, opened the conference and highly appreciated the research and training activities in the field of fire prevention and fighting between the three universities. 

Lieutenant-General, Prof. Dr. Le Quan Bon, Rector of the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting

After exchanging experiences between foreign and Vietnamese experts, the leaders of the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting introduced a number of fire prevention and fighting equipments researched and manufactured by the university's lecturers, under scientific research topics at national-level scientific research topics, about to be accepted and put into use. These studies demonstrate the creativity and flexibility of a team of domestic experts to adapt to the socio-economic and field conditions in Vietnam, improving the quality and effectiveness of fire prevention quickly and safely. The exercise to test the equipment's features received many compliments from international and Vietnamese experts.

After two working days (November 23rd and 24th, 2023), the International Scientific Conference "Advanced Fire Education/ Research in Asia" took place successfully, promising a future of long-term and effective cooperation between Vietnam and other countries in the Forum's network.

News and Photos: Doan Thanh Binh (UAI)