Fire safety in Africa in focus as Luleå University of Technology researcher delivers keynote

Rapid urbanisation and population growth are reshaping fire risks in many African countries. At Nordic Fire & Safety Days in Copenhagen, Rhoda Afriyie Mensah, Associate Senior Lecturer in Fire Technology at Luleå University of Technology, highlighted the need for research and education grounded in local conditions.

Rhoda Afriyie Mensah was one of the keynote speakers at Nordic Fire & Safety Days 2026, an established meeting place for researchers, professionals and other stakeholders working in fire and safety. The conference was held on 18–19 August at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU, in Copenhagen.

Solutions must reflect local conditions

In her keynote address, Rethinking Fire Safety in the African Context, she drew attention to a recurring pattern in which similar fire events and previously identified failures continue to reappear. She argued that understanding these events requires looking beyond the immediate cause of a fire to the physical and institutional conditions that shape its consequences. She also stressed that solutions cannot simply be transferred from other parts of the world. Fire safety must be developed with local building practices, social structures, available resources and educational needs in mind.

“Important foundations already exist. The question is no longer whether such an ecosystem can exist, but how it can be strengthened and scaled,” says Rhoda Afriyie Mensah.

Such an ecosystem involves more than technical solutions. In her keynote, she emphasised the importance of research, education and international collaboration, as well as the need to build long-term expertise and stronger links between universities, public authorities, fire and rescue services, and local communities.

An international perspective on fire safety

Rhoda Afriyie Mensah’s research at Luleå University of Technology includes the behaviour of materials in fire and safety issues related to hydrogen. She is also involved in teaching and community-based initiatives that support children and young people through education. Her contribution to the conference brought an international perspective to the discussion about how research and knowledge exchange can strengthen fire safety in societies in the Global South.

Nordic Fire & Safety Days is held every two years and is organised by Nordic universities and research institutes. Luleå University of Technology is one of the organisations behind the conference.