The 21st International Conference “Man and Working Environment”
SAFETY ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, INDUSTRY, EDUCATION (SEMSIE 2025)   
PROCEEDINGS OF PAPERS 
25-26 September 2025, SOKOBANJA, SERBIA  

Vera Velinova , Zoran Dorevski 

PROFESSIONAL PAPER

INDUSTRIAL FIRES - A CRUCIAL FACTOR FOR MEGA INCIDENTS 

Abstract:

The risk of an uncontrolled fire can seriously threaten the corporate security and stability of every company in the industry. Two-thirds of the refineries and installations in the Republic of North Macedonia that faced a major fire (which affected 50% of the company's assets) ended up in bankruptcy. Therefore, timely identification, analysis and assessment of fire threats, along with the selection of the most appropriate control measures, should be considered as a challenge and a red line for every safety manager in the industry. This process can be viewed as a comprehensive conceptual framework that effectively integrates various areas of corporate operations, focusing on identifying all potential risks, dangers, and threats to the company. It guides the effective use of company resources in order to prevent losses, reduce failures and errors in operations and thus increase profits and improve the stability of the company. In this paper, we will present a worst-case fire scenario for the Skopje region in the Republic of North Macedonia, due to the presence of industrial facilities in the area. Furthermore, the paper outlines the stages undertaken to address the ongoing fire hazard at the OKTA company and presents a fire risk reduction strategy that has been successfully implemented in practice.

Keywords:

Fire risk, vulnerability control, treatment of fires

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

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REFERENCES:
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  • Klinoff, R. W. (2019). Introduction to fire protection (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. 
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