Why CTIF chose this chair to restart its Fire Prevention Commission
The Comité Technique International de prevention et d’extinction de Feu (CTIF) Fire Prevention Commission has reconvened in Slovenia and elected ddr. Aleš Jug as its chair during a three-day meeting from 24–26 September 2025.
The gathering in Gornja Radgona and Radenci marked the reestablishment of the Commission after a long pause in its activities.
CTIF Vice President Martin Nekula and Slovenian representative Tadej Šinkovec opened the meeting in Gornja Radgona and welcomed participants to the renewed forum.
Representatives from Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland and Lithuania attended in person, while members from Estonia joined the discussions online.
The Commission agenda was built around current fire prevention challenges, national initiatives and future topics for joint work.
Presentations highlight national prevention systems and projects
Presentations on the first day focused on national services and prevention programmes across several member countries.
Martin Nekula introduced the Fire Rescue Brigade of the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic, covering its organisational structure, core activities and future projects.
These projects included a new fire station, a laboratory development and plans for a future firefighting museum.
Irish guest speaker Finian Joyce joined online to present the Smoke Alarm Days Project, outlining the 2025 campaign and inviting CTIF members to help promote smoke alarm awareness across Europe.
Petr Kučera provided an overview of Fire Safety Engineering in the Czech Republic, with particular attention to the role of fire modelling and expert assessments in building design and safety evaluations.
From Lithuania, Irma Meškauskaitė described the national fire prevention approach, including the overarching fire safety strategy and its reported effectiveness in improving outcomes.
Michal Valouch presented the Fire Prevention System in the Czech Republic, describing State Fire Supervision, Building Fire Prevention, Fire Inspections and Fire Investigations as core elements of the national framework.
Valouch also proposed future topics for Commission work, including the European Green Deal, photovoltaic systems, electromobility and high-rise and timber buildings.
A group discussion followed on how to make fire prevention data more comparable between countries, with members sharing national examples and agreeing that more harmonised data systems would support professional practice and international comparison.
SOBRA fair visit and Slovenian welcome
The meeting coincided with the 10th International Fair of Defence, Security, Protection and Rescue (SOBRA) in Gornja Radgona.
Participants visited SOBRA in the afternoon to see a live demonstration of the Fire Prevention Truck, which was presented by Tadej Šinkovec.
The session was also attended by Janko Cerkvenik, President of the Firefighters Association of Slovenia, who greeted the Commission and wished members a productive meeting.
This local engagement set the context for the following day’s programme in Radenci.
Members elect chair to lead renewed work
The second day of the meeting took place in Radenci and opened with presentations from the Hellenic Fire Service.
Vasiliki Georgountzou and Ioannis Tsapouras set out the Greek perspective on fire prevention and related activities.
They were followed by Finland’s Lauri Holappa, who introduced a self-assessment concept for fire safety in detached and small residential buildings.
After these technical sessions, CTIF Vice President Nekula led elections for the Chair of the Fire Prevention Commission.
Members unanimously chose ddr. Aleš Jug of Slovenia as chair for the next term, with the result to be submitted to the CTIF Executive Committee for formal approval.
CTIF noted that Jug has previously led the Fire Prevention Commission and welcomed his return to the role.
In his remarks, Jug set out his intention to strengthen cooperation within the Commission and to re-engage former members.
Following a short break, he presented recent fire testing results for photovoltaic systems from the Fire Laboratory of the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute.
Action plan agreed through to 2030
The meeting closed with discussion of an Action Plan for 2025–2030.
Members shared their priorities for the coming years and worked to define key focus areas for the Commission.
Participants placed particular emphasis on continued international cooperation as a way to enhance fire prevention and safety outcomes across Europe.
The agreed Action Plan is intended to guide the Commission’s work and joint projects through the rest of the decade.
Next meetings scheduled for 2026
CTIF confirmed that the next in-person meeting of the Fire Prevention Commission is planned for October 2026, with the venue still to be decided.
An online meeting will be held earlier in April 2026 to monitor progress against the new Action Plan and follow up on agreed tasks.
With these arrangements in place, the two-day meeting in Slovenia concluded with a clear timetable for future work and coordination.
Why the renewed CTIF chair role matters for practitioners
The reactivation of the CTIF Fire Prevention Commission is directly relevant to fire and rescue chiefs and senior officers who rely on international forums to compare prevention strategies and structures.
The focus on harmonised fire prevention data has practical implications for standards and certification bodies interested in aligning reporting methods across national systems.
For fire engineering consultants, architects and building services engineers, the presentations on fire modelling, expert assessments and high-rise and timber buildings reflect topics that intersect with design practice and code application.
The discussion of photovoltaic system fire testing at the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute is of interest to risk assessors, system installers and fire-protection contractors working with solar installations.
National campaigns such as Smoke Alarm Days highlight prevention approaches that may inform community safety work by fire safety officers and facility managers in residential and mixed-use settings.
The Commission’s 2025–2030 Action Plan and scheduled meetings provide a defined framework through which these professional groups can monitor evolving priorities in European fire prevention.