1. Introduction

This research has been a collaborative project carried out by the University of Tampere and the Finnish Rescue Association. The project has been funded by the Finnish Fire Protection Fund. The work is based on previous studies and projects in which SPEK has acted as a guiding and coordinating body in cooperation with other parties. In the analyses, the fire safety development possibilities have been examined from the perspectives of both new technologies and smart construction. This research investigates solutions for design and implementation of fire safety systems.

The research was launched in 2019 to meet the challenges and problem areas that arose in previous research projects and to find new solutions and develop fire safety in construction projects. These previous studies deal with the utilization of IoT technology in the development of fire safety in buildings (Pylkkänen 2018) and the approach that consider fire safety in modern smart constructions (Malaska, Aaltonen, Lehto 2018).

To illuminate this uncharted area, research is needed to deepen the knowledge of previously identified challenges in the implementation of fire safety systems and modern smart construction. The purpose of this work was to identify new technological opportunities in the market and to describe their added value from a fire safety perspective. In addition, the work comprehensively examined various administrative challenges as well as development opportunities related to fire safety.