On 17^th and 18^th September, the International Hotel Tirana hosted the Tirana Fire Safety 2026: Conference and Expo, organised by SFPE Albania. The event brought together over 250 experts from across the fire safety sector, including manufacturers, legislators, researchers, consultancy firms, fire safety engineers, architects, and software developers. It was opened by the Albanian Minister of Defence, Ermal Nufi, and the President of SFPE Albania, Nikolin Risilia.

The conference was structured around seven sessions and round-table discussions, with over 20 speakers from various countries delivering presentations and engaging with the audience. The event was designed to promote the transition from prescriptive fire safety design towards the wider application of performance-based engineering methods, particularly for buildings whose dimensions and architectural solutions fall outside traditional construction frameworks. Tirana proved a fitting host city for such a discussion: with a rapidly growing population of around 600,000 and an increasing turn towards high-rise construction to optimise space in its dense urban centre, the Albanian capital faces precisely the kind of fire safety engineering challenges that performance-based design is intended to address.

Nik Rus, researcher at the Fire Research and Innovation Unit (FRISSBE) at ZAG, presented in the session dedicated to the design of fire safety systems for future infrastructure needs. His presentation, entitled "Designing fire protection systems for future infrastructure needs: the case of rooftop solar power plants", addressed the fire safety challenges specific to photovoltaic systems installed on flat roofs with combustible roofing membranes.

Nik opened by emphasising the importance of understanding the fundamental parameters that govern fire development in these specific installation conditions. The main part of the presentation drew on the latest experimental results from fire tests carried out on roof-mounted PV system samples at the ZAG Fire Laboratory in Logatec, illustrating how experimental approaches enable a more precise understanding of the risks involved and informing the development of potential solutions currently under investigation at ZAG.

The conference was accompanied by an extensive exhibition in which manufacturers, installers, and service providers presented their products and innovations, offering attendees a broad view of the current state of fire safety technology and practice across Albania and the wider region.