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Fires in World Heritage Buildings

Abstract:

Heritage, cultural and historical buildings have been built all over the world and they represent part of the history and wealth of the people. Most of these buildings are hundreds of years old. Minimum criteria of prevention and protection against fires were not taken into account during their construction. This makes them vulnerable to catastrophes that cause incalculable losses. This paper investigates fires in heritage buildings around the world during the period 1990–2019. Results showed that the five main causes for these events to occur were: vandalism 26%, during restoration: 21%, electrical problems and short circuits: 17%, accidents: 16% and undetermined causes: 20%. Based on these results, safety recommendations are provided to prevent these events and to minimize both human and material damages if a fire were to occur.