Issue 35 autumn 2022 - Flipbook - Page 77
Brigade urges London’s
historic landmarks to complete
fire emergency salvage plans
Thousands of historic items in London are at risk of being lost forever if venues do not have the
correct salvage plans in place, London Fire Brigade has warned
There are estimated to be over 20,000 listed buildings in
London, including many national landmarks, attractions
and historic properties, which are home to some very
important items of historical value. London Fire Brigade
attended 1285 fires at or near heritage sites in the last four
years* and 50 fires at cultural venues such as a museum
or art gallery. Nationally there’s an average of around one
hundred fires at heritage sites a month.**
This week the Brigade joined up with English Heritage
for a training exercise at their historic building Kenwood
House in Hampstead, which is home to a world class art
collection. The Brigade has a dedicated Heritage team,
who regularly work closely with cultural and historic
venues, and carry out drills to rehearse the response to an
incident such as fire or flood.
The exercise at Kenwood House saw a mock fire take
place and English Heritage staff used their expertise and
knowledge to inform fire crews where items were and how
they should be handled.
London Fire Brigade’s Heritage Team Leader William
Knatchbull said: “With so many heritage sites in the
capital part of our role is to preserve them for the next
generation.
Such rescues are only possible when venues have up to
date emergency response and salvage plans in place, and
London Fire Brigade is reminding other venues to check
their plans.
“We can’t preserve these beautiful and iconic landmarks
without the venues themselves working with us to have
emergency salvage plans in place. All building managers
need to be aware how important it is to have a plan should
the worst-case scenario ever occur. We welcome those
people getting in touch with our dedicated team so we
can ensure that the plans are appropriate both for the
location and our crews, should they ever get a 999 call to
attend an incident.”
A salvage plan identifies not only what actions should be
implemented by on-site representatives, but also clearly
identifies priority items that need to be removed from the
building, or protected in place, and allows fire crews to
put recovery strategies in place in advance. Plans help
firefighters decide what equipment is needed to safely
recover or protect items as swiftly as possible and minimise
damage. Salvage plans should include ‘Grab Sheets’
which contain vital information about the size of an item,
the number of people required to lift it and the location
of the item – having this in place can help firefighters save
time in a fire or flood.
Abi Marsh, Head of Historic Properties English Heritage
London, said: “Keeping our guests, staff, historic collection
and buildings safe is our number one priority, we not only
have incredibly stringent preventative fire protection
measures in place but also understand the importance of
our staff being prepared through training such as this
week’s exercise with the London Fire Brigade. We are very
grateful to all the team at the London Fire Brigade for
their continued work supporting us in caring for our
historic spaces.”
Every museum, gallery and historic building should have
a nominated person responsible for the salvage plan,
making sure that a plan exists and is kept up to date.
A member of the Brigade’s Heritage Team can provide
advice and guidance in relation to salvage planning for
organisations who need support.
Conservation & Heritage Journal
75