A + A 2025: Safety without borders
Isabelle Crow
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With “People Matter” as its guiding theme, A+A 2025 in Düsseldorf unites global safety professionals with exhibitions, technical sessions and live demonstrations
A+A is recognised as the world’s largest trade fair and congress dedicated to safety, security and health at work, and its scale has made it a central meeting point for professionals responsible for protecting workers in hazardous environments.
The 2025 edition takes place at Messe Düsseldorf from 4 to 7 November and will once again combine an international exhibition with a technical congress, live demonstrations and specialist forums.
The guiding theme for this year, “People Matter,” places attention firmly on the human side of occupational safety.
Organisers describe the event as a place to “experience innovations, share knowledge and shape the future,” but for fire and rescue leaders the value is clear: A+A offers a rare opportunity to see protective clothing, respiratory systems, gas detection, incident management tools and emergency response techniques in one setting while also joining structured discussions on prevention, risk management and regulatory change.
What the event offers
The format of A+A has remained consistent, but the way its elements combine is what gives the event weight.
The trade fair floor provides a chance to meet international suppliers and review new product ranges, the A+A Congress offers structured technical sessions that connect science and policy with practice and the live formats place prevention and response in real-world scenarios.
For fire and safety teams this means procurement conversations, training discussions and operational benchmarking can all take place within the same four-day schedule.
The visitor profile underlines the breadth of the event. Occupational safety managers and plant operators are joined by safety engineers, medical staff, industrial fire brigades and municipal departments.
The result is a mix of perspectives that would rarely come together outside of Düsseldorf.
For fire and rescue leaders, that range matters, because incident planning and emergency management often depend on cooperation with industries and agencies that work to different standards but face similar risks.
The scale of the event confirms its place in the occupational safety calendar. In 2023, A+A hosted more than 2,200 companies from 58 countries across 12 halls.
Over 62,000 visitors attended from 140 nations. Surveys from that edition showed strong satisfaction with the product range and the supporting programme, both from exhibitors and from delegates.
While the final numbers for 2025 will not be known until after the show closes, these figures give a reliable guide to the scale and diversity that fire and rescue professionals can expect.
Fire and rescue relevance
The organiser has set aside clear space for fire protection and emergency management, with Hall 6 acting as the hub for this content.
Here visitors will find a rolling programme of short talks and live demonstrations showing how companies can prepare for incidents, reduce the consequences of accidents and coordinate across industrial and municipal brigades.
For fire teams, the hall offers structured, scenario-based content that bridges prevention with tactical response.
The “Safe Rescues” special show in Hall 7a takes a different approach, focusing on guided rescues and extrications.
Demonstrations will highlight safe techniques for casualty handling and multi-agency coordination.
For crews used to training in their own systems, this format gives a chance to compare approaches with peers and see where standard operating procedures align or diverge.
Trend Forums and expert stages spread across the fair also carry relevance for incident response. Sessions are expected to cover prevention culture, hazardous substances and risk management, all of which carry direct consequences for those planning fire and rescue operations.
For leaders managing both pre-incident controls and operational readiness, the ability to move between evidence-based prevention content and live drills provides a balanced perspective on the challenges ahead.
Theme for 2025: People Matter
The theme “People Matter” reflects a wider shift in occupational safety toward human-centred design and practice.
For fire and rescue professionals, this translates into protective clothing designed with comfort and heat stress in mind, respiratory systems and helmets tested for usability under pressure, and exoskeletons that reduce physical strain in tasks where crews are most at risk of injury.
Attention on inclusivity is also evident, with suppliers presenting protective clothing in wider sizing ranges and exploring sustainable material choices that meet procurement and environmental goals.
Training and leadership programmes framed within Vision Zero place cultural change at the centre, encouraging teams to adopt prevention strategies that go beyond compliance and influence day-to-day practice.
Ergonomics is a major strand of this year’s programme. With musculoskeletal disorders still common in physically demanding work, exoskeletons and assistance systems are positioned as tools that can reduce injuries while sustaining operational capacity.
Congress and technical sessions
Running alongside the exhibition, the 39th International A+A Congress is programmed by the German Federal Association for Occupational Safety and Health (Basi) and will take place from 4 to 7 November in Hall 5.
The Congress is recognised as Germany’s central community event for occupational health and safety, and Basi describes it as a place where science, practice and politics meet.
“As the central community event for occupational health and safety in Germany, the A+A Congress builds a bridge between science, practice and politics.
It offers a platform for the exchange of expertise, best practices and innovative technologies,” said Dr Christian Felten, Managing Director of Basi, on 1 July 2025.
The 2025 programme highlights subjects of direct use to fire and rescue teams. Sessions on artificial intelligence will address digital inspections, sensor-based risk assessment and data-driven prevention.
The sustainability strand will look at safe working under heat stress, wildfire smoke and severe weather conditions.
Other areas cover mental health, ergonomics, hazardous substances management, updates on DGUV regulations and workplace security.
Congress content is closely tied to the exhibition. A dedicated Vision Zero area in Hall 9 will connect prevention culture discussions with supplier showcases.
The Safety & Health Meeting Point in Hall 5 provides a venue for regulators, insurers and professional bodies, allowing visitors to bring technical or standards questions directly to those setting the agenda.
WearRAcon Europe will also run inside the A+A programme on 5 and 6 November, focusing on exoskeletons and wearable robotics.
For fire brigades evaluating assistive technology, case studies on hose deployment, patient handling and prolonged kneeling tasks provide immediate relevance.
Relevance for fire and safety professionals
For fire and rescue professionals, A+A 2025 combines a large-scale exhibition with technical depth and live operational content.
The dedicated halls for fire protection and rescue provide structured demonstrations, the Congress delivers evidence-based updates on hazardous substances, climate and regulation, and the exhibitor floor offers a wide choice of protective clothing, respiratory systems and detection technologies.
The international reach of the event adds further value. With visitors from more than 100 countries, the show brings together decision-makers facing comparable challenges under different regulatory conditions, offering fire and rescue teams a chance to benchmark equipment and procedures against a global audience.
Networking spaces connect operational leaders with regulators and suppliers, while demonstrations provide immediate opportunities to see tactics in practice.
For teams responsible for both prevention and emergency response, the show offers an efficient way to align equipment, training and policy in a single visit.
All images are copyright: Constanze Tillmann, Mintarder Weg 34, 404702 Duesseldorf, Germany boot 2023