Bruno Gouveia
CEO · Outside Academy
Representing Outside Academy, Official Host of the ITRA Technical Rescue Congress 2026.
ITRA Technical Rescue Congress 2026
Opening Session Welcome. Connect. Share.
The first morning of the ITRA Technical Rescue Congress brings the international rescue community together at Outside Academy for the official opening, knowledge sharing, professional discussion and networking before the practical workshop programme begins.
08:00
Participant reception
09:30
Official opening
10:00
Guest speaker
11:30
Round table
Sunday Morning
Starting the Congress together.
Before the practical workshop rotations begin, participants, instructors, partners and invited organizations will come together at Outside Academy for the official opening of the inaugural ITRA Technical Rescue Congress.
The morning programme combines institutional welcome, professional knowledge sharing and an open discussion around one of the key challenges facing Technical Rescue organizations: developing and maintaining competent operational personnel.
Morning Programme
Sunday, 27 September.
08:00
Welcome
Participant Reception & Check-in
Arrival, registration, participant accreditation and welcome at Outside Academy.
09:15
Auditorium
Participants Take Their Seats
Participants are invited to move into the opening session area ahead of the official ceremony.
09:30
Official Opening
Opening Ceremony
Official welcome to the first in-person ITRA Technical Rescue Congress and introduction to the three-day programme.
10:00
Guest Speaker
Triage Under Pressure
Integrating Technical Rescue, Incident Command and Mass-Casualty Management
Júlio Braga
10:45
Networking
Coffee Break
An informal networking moment for participants, speakers, instructors, institutional partners and industry representatives.
11:30
Round Table
Challenges in Training and Developing Human Resources Across Technical Rescue Disciplines
A moderated discussion bringing together four training leaders from Fire & Rescue Services to explore current challenges in preparing, developing and maintaining competent rescue personnel.
12:30
Transition
Closing of the Morning Session
Final information and practical briefing ahead of the afternoon programme and workshop rotations.
Official Opening
Welcoming the international Technical Rescue community.
The official opening ceremony will bring together representatives of the Congress Host, institutional partners and the International Technical Rescue Association.
Commander
Regimento de Sapadores Bombeiros do Porto
Representing one of the principal institutional partners supporting the practical programme of the Congress.
ITRA Board Representative
International Technical Rescue Association
Official representation of the International Technical Rescue Association at the opening ceremony.
To Be ConfirmedGuest Speaker
Sunday · 27 September · 10:00 – 10:45
Júlio Braga
Civil Protection Engineer · Emergency Management Specialist
Presentation
Triage Under Pressure: Integrating Technical Rescue, Incident Command and Mass-Casualty Management
About the Speaker
Júlio Braga is a Portuguese Civil Protection Engineer, Director of the Civil Protection Department and Municipal Civil Protection Coordinator of Santo Tirso, Portugal. A professional firefighter since 2007, he has extensive experience in technical rescue, emergency management, operational coordination and complex incident response.
From 2017 to 2019, he served as Emergency Coordinator for Mine Rescue at Lundin Mining, Neves-Corvo, where he was responsible for mine rescue preparedness, emergency response planning, training and exercises, and the integration of emergency response teams with crisis management structures. This role, together with his professional experience in the United States and Chile, contributed to his international perspective on industrial emergencies and technical rescue operations.
He has also worked in Saudi Arabia in Medical Command and Control at MDLBEAST SoundStorm, coordinating medical resources and emergency response at large-scale events. He is an international instructor in mass-casualty incident management, including training activities in Brazil, and contributes to Disaster Medicine and mass-casualty training for the Portuguese Medical Association (Ordem dos Médicos).
Júlio is an International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) instructor and an international trauma assessor for rescue competitions, including the World Rescue Challenge. His professional interests include integrated emergency response, mass-casualty triage, incident command and decision-making in complex, multi-agency rescue operations.
Round Table · 11:30
Challenges in developing Technical Rescue capability.
Four training leaders from Fire & Rescue Services will discuss the challenges involved in preparing and maintaining personnel across different Technical Rescue disciplines.
Training Needs
Identifying operational needs and translating them into effective training programmes.
Maintaining Competence
Keeping technical skills current after initial training and certification.
Time & Resources
Balancing operational availability, training time, equipment and organizational resources.
Specialist vs Multidisciplinary
Exploring the balance between specialist rescue teams and broader multidisciplinary capability.
Practical Information
Starting Sunday at Outside Academy.
Participants are encouraged to arrive early to complete registration and allow sufficient time before the official opening ceremony.
Participant reception and check-in begins at 08:00.
The official ceremony begins at 09:30.
Outside Academy, Official Host of the ITRA Technical Rescue Congress 2026.
ITRA Technical Rescue Congress 2026
Three days. One international rescue community.
After the opening session, the Congress moves into its practical workshop programme across the Porto Metropolitan Area.