Issue 35 autumn 2022 - Flipbook - Page 78
“Working with us before an incident occurs can make a
big difference to the outcome. With the amount of water
that had entered the basement area, we would normally
use a High Volume pump to remove the water. Prior
knowledge of the site meant we knew we could not put
that kind of weight on the old wooden flooring and
needed to change our plan.
Following the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
two years ago, the Brigade wrote to just over 350 venue
owners across London, urging them to consider emergency response planning to protect their buildings and the
precious items they contain. The Brigade also launched
dedicated web pages to support heritage sites with specific
fire safety advice. The Brigade’s heritage webpage offers a
wealth of information and resources for building managers
seeking help and support on protecting their buildings to
keep them safe for future generations.
Chris says venues which have valuable objects need to
consider how they want fire crews to operate should they
receive a 999 call. He explains: “Salvage plans mean crews
know what they need to rescue or protect first. Building
managers need to think about salvage plans so that when
our firefighters enter a building – bearing in mind they
may never have visited before – they need to know
exactly what to do, in priority order and in a timely way.”
Case study
In May firefighters were called to flooding at the Lyceum
theatre in the West End. Fire crews attended in the
evening and worked to pump water away. Delicate flooring
meant the crews had to adapt the equipment they used to
get rid of water without damaging the beautiful building.
Jaime Brent, Ambassador Theatre Group theatre manager,
who was general manager at the Lyceum at the time of the
incident said: “The orchestra pit, in the basement of the
theatre, was flooded. Crews got to work quickly.
*London Fire Brigade data for calls to fires
within 15m of a heritage site
**source: Historic England figures for 2019
“My message to building managers is to have a salvage
plan, and the more you can anticipate, the better the
outcome. Never think it won’t happen to you. A detailed
salvage plan which the Brigade can use ‘out of hours’ is
invaluable. We’re so lucky considering the potential
devastation to our historic theatre.”
The Brigade’s Station Commander Chris Line attended
the scene, he said: “The Lyceum Theatre incident shows
that crews had little time to intervene to protect and
prevent further damage to valuable items and property.
Below and opposite, Heritage Kenwood House exercise image
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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