After the successful November event in Penafiel, Portugal, the second edition of the FIRE-RES Innovation Days took place in Kazanlak, Bulgaria, on 24 and 25 April. The event brought together public institutions, Open Innovation Challenge participants who presented wildfire detection and response innovations, international experts, scientists, and key Bulgarian stakeholders. The two days brought together multiple perspectives, insights, and ideas for tackling wildfire risks, framed by inspiring cultural events.
Nos dias 24 e 25 de abril, marcámos presença em Kazanlak (Bulgária), no âmbito do 2nd Innovation Day Series, organizado pela University of Forestry, Sofia, o Município de Kazanlak e o projeto internacional @FIRERESProject.
— CoLAB ForestWISE (@colabforestwise) May 4, 2025
Mais info 👇https://t.co/7dSPAAQpnB pic.twitter.com/NVPt1ucUyT
🇧🇬Today, our director, @ToniTrasobares presents @FIRERESProject in Kazanlak (Bulgaria) and talks about the project and #resilient #lansdscapes with @DanielMitov, Minister of Interior
— CTFC (@ctforestal) April 24, 2025
🔥They also visit areas affected by the 2024 forest fire and some experimental area recovering pic.twitter.com/GrbLg3ogMO
Field trip and presentation of the Open Innovation Challenge ideas
The meeting kicked off at the Rose Museum Building in Kazanlak. The Mayor Galina Stoyanova opened the ceremony. Numerous institutional and academic representatives joined the event, as well as international experts and scientists, including the Rector of the University of Forestry, Professor Hristo Mihailov, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Engineer Stoyan Toshev, the Minister of Interior, Mr Daniel Mitov, the FIRE-RES project coordinator and CTFC Director Antoni Trasobares, and the Director of Fire Safety and Public Protection General Directorate in Bulgaria, Commander Alexandar Djartov. The engagement of younger generations, described by Deputy Minister Toshev as “the future forest managers“, emerged as a leitmotif during the event.
Participants engaged in interactive workshops, which facilitated the exchange of ideas and experiences between professionals and students, and ultimately contributed to a symbolic seedlings planting. Educational activities related to forestry pedagogy were also proposed.
Two technical excursions took place during the first day of the conference. The first one, hosted at the Stara Zagora forestry enterprise, aimed to analyse the causes and history of wildfires in the area during 2024. Here, 200 oak seedlings were planted as a symbol of post-wildfire landscape restoration. The activity was accompanied by a presentation of the effects of undergrowth clearing, with a reflection on the costs and benefits conducted by Professor Nevena Shuleva.
Later, participants moved on to the Mazalat Forest Reserve, to learn about innovative approaches for the early detection and management of forest fires. The solutions developed within the Open Innovation Challenge (OIC) took the centre stage here. OIC participants EmberEye and MEJOR Technologies showcased their technologies with live demonstrations, including early detection sensors, and drone monitoring and real-time data processing of fire spread. An innovative method of undergrowth clearing, combining grazing and manual labour, was also presented, led by Associate Professor Georgi Kostov (LTU), who leads the local Living Lab, and farmer Angel Angelov.
“We were happy to participate in the Bulgarian Innovation Day. We had the unique opportunity to engage with other local innovators and stakeholders. We are proud to have presented our early detection solution and are excited to strengthen our relationships in Bulgaria to maximise our impact”.
Wildfire innovation pitching session and invitation to the FIRE-RES Innovation Days in Spain
The second day began with the official art exhibition award ceremony of the local art school. The event aimed to foster young artists’ reflection on forest fire prevention. The Head of Firefighting Department Stoyan Kolev contributed, among others, Prof. Georgi Kostov, Antoni Trasobares to reinforce the connection with future generations and the local community.
Later, Vassil Vassilev from the GIS company Geopolymorphic demonstrated how multicriteria analysis and GIS modelling can serve as powerful tools for wildfire prevention, with a specific case study focused on minimizing large forest fire risks in Stara Zagora Forest Enterprise.
At the heart of the morning’s programme was the Innovation pitching session, which brought together innovators, researchers, and practitioners to share experiences and explore forward-thinking solutions in wildfire prevention. The session featured presentations from OIC participants Wildflyer, Trigan, EmberEye, and MEJOR Technologies. Additionally, FIRE-RES partner Conceição Colaço (ISA), who leads the design of a Fire Education Platform, highlighted forest pedagogy projects for wildfire prevention with Carla Vilarasau from Pau Costa Foundation.
The two-day event concluded with a warm invitation to all participants to join the upcoming FIRE-RES Innovation Days, scheduled for 1 July in Barcelona, Spain.
