Emergency planning for fire in historic buildings

The continued occurrence of fires in historic buildings suggest that, despite the best attempts to prevent fires occurring, the reality is that the very real possibility of a fire is something that needs to be accepted and that therefore emergency planning for fire is an essential process to undertake. Numerous experiences of actual fires have shown the value of such planning in reducing the impact of a fire on building fabric and particularly on the contents of the building, and could help to reduce the loss of important cultural heritage as a result of fire. Not all historic buildings have many resources to apply to emergency planning, but even limited resources used carefully can have a positive impact. Of particular importance is establishing a good working relationship with the local fire and rescue service, involving it in all aspects of the planning process. Lack of firefighting water, particularly in rural locations has been a significant factor in past fires and should be a priority for discussion. Assessing and cataloguing any valuable artefacts in the building and developing a plan for the removal of these in a fire is also of key importance.