On November 2, 3 and 4, the MAPFRE GLOBAL RISKS Engineering Area participated at the eleventh APICI international congress, organized by Fundación MAPFRE and the School of Industrial Engineers, of the Pontificia de Comillas University.
The Association of Fire Protection Engineering Professionals (APICI) celebrated its 25th anniversary at the 11th International Fire Engineering Congress. National and international fire protection engineering professionals shared their knowledge at the Fundación MAPFRE building, where the event took place.
The event was opened by the General Manager of the Fundación MAPFRE, Julio Domingo, followed by Carlos Novillo, Deputy Minister of the Interior and Directors of the Security and Emergency Agency of Madrid 112; the chairman of the Pontificia Comillas University, and finally the current president of APICI, Isolina Martínez Rodríguez, also spoke.
On this occasion, the congress program focused on topics of utmost interest to expert professionals, society in general and authorities. It was grouped into six blocks:
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- Forest fires and surrounding urban areas. Due to the absence of rain and high temperatures, coupled with inadequate maintenance of forest surfaces, it is predicted that by 2100 the incidence of fires will increase by 50%. Fire protection engineering has been developed for the protection of spaces adjacent to forest areas (the so-called Wildland Urban Interface), to predict fires and prevent damage to buildings and people.
- Sustainability and new fire safety challenges. Meacham Asociados CEO Brian Meacham discussed the application of sustainability criteria in green building construction, extensive use of alternative energy and storage. All of this may create new risks and therefore should be taken into consideration. This presentation was given by Brian Meacham, CEO of Meacham Asociados.
- Spanish regulations. The presentation from industrial engineers Jorge Del Castillo and Fernando Vigara explored the fact that mere compliance with safety codes and regulations does not follow the steps set out in the occupational risk prevention law.
- Vulnerable groups. The main focus was on the prevention of fire risks that may occur in buildings used for health, teaching or social welfare purposes. This topic is what the professionals are focusing on after the events that have been featured in the media recently.
- Wealth protection. The status of the Performance Based Design was delved into more deeply, a methodology promoted by APICI since its inception.
- Rail transport emergencies. Simulation tools were presented and a proactive perspective of action in case of emergency was conveyed, both in terms of functional design, as well as execution within the railway sector.
Our colleague Maite Queralt, an expert risk engineer at MAPFRE GLOBAL RISKS, gave a presentation entitled “The Insurance Company Risk Engineer: The dynamic role of fire protection”.
For his part, Joaquín Lorao, PCI Risk Engineer at MAPFRE GLOBAL RISKS, was the moderator at a roundtable discussion entitled “State of the Art of PCI Technologies”. BOSCH, AVIOTEC, IMPLASER, FIREPIPING and SODECA participated at this meeting and presented the latest technologies in the industry.”
We will cover both of these presentations more broadly in future publications. You can download the 2022 Congress program at this link.
Since its incorporation, the Association has had ITSEMAP engineers in its governing bodies and, since 2014, has also featured names from the MAPFRE GLOBAL RISKS Engineering Area. In September, Eduardo García Mozos, Pedro Soria García Ramos and Joaquín Lorao were appointed as members of the board of directors, with a mandate to 2026.
In the photo, from left to right: Andres Pedreira, secretary general of APICI; Julio Domingo Souto, General Manager of Fundación MAPFRE; Enrique Sanz Giménez-Rico, Chair of the Pontificia de Comillas University; Carlos Novillo Piris, Vice-Security Advisor and Director of the 112 Emergency Service of the Community of Madrid; Isolina Martínez Rodríguez, APICI Chair; and Aurelio Rojo Garrido, APICI Honorary Chairman.
Keep reading… MAPFRE Global Risks participates in the 10th APICI Conference
