International Fire and Safety Journal (IFSJ) is pleased to announce the launch of the inaugural IFSJ Leaders in Fire & Safety Chicago Conference, with the new invitation-only event set to take place in Chicago on 14 July 2027.
The conference, which will be held at Embassy Suites By Hilton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile, is designed to bring together more than 150 senior fire and life safety decision-makers from across North America’s public and private sectors.
Unlike traditional large-scale exhibitions, IFSJ Leaders will deliberately focus on a more intimate format, with commercial participation limited to just 15 carefully selected partners.
The event aims to provide a dedicated environment for senior professionals, industry experts and commercial partners to exchange knowledge, discuss emerging risks and develop relationships.
The target audience will include senior representatives from fire and rescue services, major property owners and developers, construction and the built environment, healthcare, transport and critical infrastructure, data centres, energy and utilities, manufacturing and high-hazard industries.
Senior professionals from retail, hospitality and leisure, colleges and education, facilities and estates management and government and public estates will also be targeted.
The audience will be carefully curated rather than based on traditional exhibition footfall, with its audience-development team actively identifying and inviting senior professionals with responsibility for fire and life safety strategy, risk, compliance, specification, procurement and operations.
The conference programme will cover a range of issues affecting the sector, including building safety and regulation, fire risk management, competence and accountability, fire engineering and design, high-rise and complex buildings, lithium-ion battery and energy-storage risks and EV fire safety.
Other areas will include fire detection and suppression technologies, digitalisation and intelligent fire systems, critical infrastructure protection, industrial and high-hazard environments, firefighter safety, sustainability, emergency preparedness, organisational resilience and the future workforce.
The Chicago event builds on IFSJ’s existing Leaders conference portfolio, which includes its sister event in Dubai. The conference will follow the same principle of prioritising the quality and seniority of the audience rather than simply maximising attendance.
