The Journey of an Experimental Fire Researcher: Why fire experiments are important? - Kemal S. Arsava, PhD

Fire Protection Engineering Department

FPE SEMINAR SERIES

Wednesday April 1, 2026

10:30 - 11:30 am

FPE Classroom, Rm 1226

50 Prescott St, Worcester

Kemal Arsava, PhD

The Journey of an Experimental Fire Researcher: Why fire experiments are important?

ABSTRACT:

Fire is one of the strongest assets that nature has given to us, and it has shaped civilization since its earliest days. We often take fire for granted in our everyday lives, yet it is a core element of our existence. It enables us to cook our food, keep our homes warm, and produce the metal used in construction, transportation, and many modern industries. At the same time, the same phenomenon that made technological progress possible remains one of the most destructive forces affecting our society. 

As a disaster-driven science, fire safety has historically been challenged by catastrophic events that exposed weaknesses in our buildings, materials, and safety regulations. Tragic fires have repeatedly reshaped building practices, regulatory frameworks, and engineering approaches.

Today, fire safety is becoming even more important as society undergoes major technological and environmental transitions. New technologies and materials have been introduced to a wide range of fields, such as construction, transportation, energy, and consumer products. For example, engineered timber, polymer composites, bio-based insulation, and recycled materials are increasingly used to reduce environmental impacts and support sustainable construction. While these materials and new energy solutions offer significant environmental benefits, their fire behavior is often complex and not yet fully understood.

Although computational models and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly powerful, experimental data remain indispensable for understanding fire behavior and dynamics, and for validating those tools. In this presentation, I will talk about the importance of fire testing through examples from the research projects I have been involved in.  I will also share my journey, from conducting small-scale pool fire experiments to burning full-scale wildfires. 

BIOGRAPHY

Kemal Arsava obtained his Ph.D. in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with an emphasis on structural design, structural dynamics, control theory, and applications. He has worked as a research engineer in Fire Protection Engineering at WPI for three years, focusing on experimental investigation of oil spill response technologies, pool fires, and hazardous waste combustion. He has worked at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory as a research engineer for three years, solving interdisciplinary, strategically important problems for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Army, and the Department of Defense. 

Kemal worked as a senior research scientist at RISE Fire Research from 2021 to 2025, specializing in experimental fire research. He is currently an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where he teaches courses on fire safety and technology. His research portfolio includes topics such as suppression systems, façades, electric vehicles, batteries, tunnels, and forest fires. He is currently the chair of the Scientific Council for the International Water Mist Association (IWMA).