Fire Risk Assessment in Museums on the HERIe Web-based Decision-supporting Platform

Abstract

ABSTRACT Fire statistics indicate that fire, despite significant technical progress in the field of fire protection, is a significant risk to the long-term preservation of cultural property. Management of the risk requires tools which quantitatively relate the risk of fire to the characteristics of buildings and collections and the effectiveness of fire protection measures. Such tools must be accessible to, and useful for, conservation professionals and related decision-makers. To address the challenge, a module assessing fire risk for collections in museums has been developed on the HERIe online digital decision-supporting platform using the methodology proposed by Jean Tétreault transformed into a mathematical algorithm. It takes into account building characteristics and the proportion of the collection stored in showcases, as well as the vulnerability of the collection materials to heat, combustion, smoke, and water. This information is used to forecast loss to collection value over a selected time horizon. Fire likelihood is estimated from the fire statistics available in the user’s country, area, or organization. Risks to collections associated with correct and unwanted activation of automatic fire suppression systems are also considered.