The world’s leading trade fair of fire safety professionals is set to take place this month with over a thousand exhibitors from 50 countries and delegates from all over the world

Scheduled to take place on Hannover, Germany, seven years since it last brought the fire industry INTERSCHUTZ finally returns this month and is set to welcome fire safety professionals from across the globe. The show will feature solutions and products from industry leaders, provide answers to some of the industry’s biggest issues and offers a forum for discussion of key trends. Focussing on the future, the event is a showcase across industrial sectors and national borders.

Staged over six days, INTERSCHUTZ will provide a platform for market leaders to present their innovations and puts the focus on the lead theme: Teams, Tactics, Technology – Connected for Protection and Rescue. It is also set to be a place of action and excitement where the likes of height rescue specialists, smokejumpers and firefighters demonstrate their unique skills and all the latest kit at popular events on the open-air site.

Across the week-long event, the agenda is full of current issues and developments including: civil protection with a focus on vehicles and equipment, fire fighting and fire extinguishing technology, associations, communications and control centre solutions, security and organisational equipment, rescue services, first aid and medical equipment, personal protective equipment and fire prevention. 

For the first time, INTERSCHUTZ has  also dedicated a complete hall to the topic of digitalisation where companies and research institutions will be presenting solutions for the digital networking of systems and players.

The international trade fair will bring together stakeholders and thought leaders from trade associations, politics and industry as well as those with day-to-day operational experience. It is a show that will see business at its heart as it highlights the world’s providers of fire and rescue services, civil protection, and safety and security solutions as it shapes their business cycles.

There will be 1,000 companies from 50 countries as well as the participating associations and organisations will present the solutions for the challenges of our time. Anyone who wants to learn about the latest emergency management innovations and developments heads for Hannover when the gates open on INTERSCHUTZ.

What to expect at INTERSCHUTZ

The economic, ecological and political challenges of our times make the fair an important driver of change. The spread of global warming and the resulting natural disasters have already changed everyday life for many helpers and rescue forces – a challenge made more complex by the Coronavirus pandemic and the humanitarian emergencies caused by ongoing political conflicts.

The fire industry are among those on the front lines tackling these issues which all require new approaches and solutions. Digital technologies for the support and connectivity of key players are becoming increasingly important, which is why INTERSCHUTZ 2022 will specifically focus on digital transformation processes and so visitors can look forward to an extensive program both live on-site and online.

The lead theme of INTERSCHUTZ 2022 is: “Teams, Tactics, Technology – Connecting Protection and Rescue”. According to INTERSCHUTZ Project Manager Bernd Heinold, the trade fair is targeting two aspects that are crucial for the present and the future: the use of innovative digital solutions and cooperation between the various players and institutions.

“The keyword is connectivity at all levels,” Heinold explained during a press conference in Hannover, ahead of the fair. “Digitalisation has fundamentally changed all areas of life and continues to do so. The same is true for emergency response – from firefighters to rescue services right through to disaster responders, all over the world.”

For the first time, INTERSCHUTZ has dedicated a complete hall to the topic of digitalisation. In Hall 16, companies and research institutions will be presenting solutions for the digital networking of systems and players. New technologies are opening up myriad new preventative options and ways of coping with crises and hazards for the fire industry. Everything that happens generates data, which can be captured and cross-matched in vast quantities and used to develop key insights and analyse alternative courses of action for a whole range of requirements and situations.

As increased interconnectedness and integration goes hand in hand with increased dependence on technology infrastructures, INTERSCHUTZ will look at the best way to enable societies to deal with modern crisis situations.

Another new feature of the show is the ‘Smart Public Safety Hub’ at the center of Hall 16, where various companies will be networking under a single roof and demonstrating joint, interdisciplinary application scenarios – for example, including the use of drones to assess the situation or support rescue forces, communication between an airfield firefighting vehicle positioned in the outdoor area with the control center in the hall, or the digital description and analysis of deployment sites on a multi-dimensional scale.

At INTERSCHUTZ, it is not only the exhibitors’ solutions that are digital, but also the event formats. For the first time, visitors and exhibitors be able to experience different scenarios up close on the demonstration grounds in a combination of real and virtual displays. These may include everyday disasters as well as current or conceivable catastrophes and crises and with the help of modern media technology, the participants are integrated into the presentation.

Also new is the INTERSCHUTZ Digital Conference, which is scheduled to be broadcast from 21-23 June in the Media Factory, allowing interested parties who cannot make it to the event the opportunity to learn about the various aspects on show. Like the INTERSCHUTZ Central Forum in Hall 26, the program will cover all the major industry topics, including the electrification of emergency vehicles.

Bernd Heinold explains that, despite the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, the interest of exhibitors from Germany and abroad is extensive with more than 1,000 companies from 50 countries registered to present their products and solutions in eight halls and three pavilions, plus the outdoor area from 20 to 25 June.

However, he says the acquisition phase is far from over: “We are confident of achieving a similar result on the exhibitor side, the same as in 2015,” he said. After Germany, the top five exhibitor nations include Italy, the UK, the United States and the Netherlands. The broad international character of INTERSCHUTZ will also be demonstrated by three separate ‘Country Days’, dedicated to the neighbouring countries of France on Tuesday 21, Italy on Wednesday 22 June, and finally the US on Thursday 23 June.

What’s on the agenda

Staged over six days, INTERSCHUTZ features eye-catching exhibitions and engaging forums on the many aspects of fire fighting, rescue services, civil protection and safety and security.

Civil Protection: Disaster management mobilisations pose major logistical as well as technical challenges. Solutions for meeting those challenges – everything from tents for stay, accommodation or sanitation purposes, mobile power supply or flood protection – will be on show in the civil protection display area at INTERSCHUTZ 2022.

Fire Fighting: Fire brigades from around the globe are faced with an ever-changing set of catastrophic scenarios and major emergencies caused by natural disasters and climate change require closer interaction among the various players. INTERSCHUTZ will showcase vehicles and equipment, hardware and software as well as research and development up close and first-hand. Digital technologies and connected operations in the face of an emergency will be displayed at exhibition stands and discussed in related conferences.

Communications and Control Center Solutions: Increasing urban densification and continuously changing operational scenarios demand innovative digital solutions and seamless cooperation between all players involved. Within the new Digitisation and Transformation display sector, current and future requirements for networked solutions will be put forward and discussed.

Rescue Services: The rescue services are faced with a number of new challenges and developments, not least demographic change, telemedicine, a skills shortage, and large-scale catastrophic incidents. They are under constant pressure to scrutinize their strategic direction and to keep up to date with the latest technologies, which is why INTERSCHUTZ is so important as it will provide a comprehensive survey of the latest emergency-sector products.

Protective Equipment: The requirements for personal protective equipment are becoming more and more individual. From smart textiles to integrated communication solutions for fire protection, rescue services and civil protection, at INTERSCHUTZ there will be the entire range of PPE for all areas of application.

Fire Prevention: Modern building designs, bigger dimensions and densely built-up areas are leading to new requirements for preventive fire protection. INTERSCHUTZ covers all the relevant areas, from planning to implementation. Here you can swap ideas with specialists from around the world within the framework of this, the industry’s networking hub for preventive fire protection.

Parallel to INTERSCHUTZ, the German Fire Brigade Association (DFV) is organizing the 29th German Firefighters’ Day, which will attract many more firefighting fans to Hannover. The event is being organized under the motto ‘Safety.Life’ in cooperation with the state of Lower Saxony, the Lower Saxony Fire Brigade Association, the City of Hannover and the Hannover Fire Brigade. Immediately before INTERSCHUTZ, a blue light mile has once again been planned for downtown Hannover. There, the people of Hannover will already get in the mood on the Sunday before the fair.

Action and excitement during the trade fair will be provided by various competitions and live training courses, including, for example, the “S-Gard Safety Tour,” the “Holmatro Rescue Challenge,” and the “Firefit Championships Europe,” which will be held in Germany for the first time after the INTERSCHUTZ Community Days in the summer of 2021, will also be returning to the exhibition grounds.

All in all, visitors can look forward an extensive program of congresses, workshops, training sessions, live demonstrations and competitions in addition to the products on show in the exhibition.

Tickets for INTERSCHUTZ can already be purchased online at www.interschutz.de.

This article was originally published in the June edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.