From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Type of fire
Fire backlights a renovation scaffold during the 2019
Notre-Dame de Paris fire .
Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg in 2006; a fire started in the scaffolding
Construction and
renovation are common circumstances for fires, which present particular difficulties to
firefighters .
Børsen fire, April 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark
During construction, buildings often do not have elements that would protect them from fire, such as walls and sprinkler systems.
[1] Poor water supplies and the accumulation of flammable materials also present risks.
[2] Works often require heat or even open flame, and these can set off fires that smoulder for hours before being noticed. For this reason, work sites may need 24-hour fire watches.
[3]
Builder's risk insurance may cover damage from such fires.
Table
Legend
Probable cause found
Cause unknown
Under investigation
Notable construction and renovation fires
Fire
Date
Probable cause
Refs
SS Normandie
1942
sparks from a
welding torch , during conversion to troopship
Saint Boniface Cathedral
1968
started in roof by worker's cigarette
[4]
Nantes Cathedral
1972
an
oxy-fuel torch used in the attic
[5]
Montreal Biosphere
1976
spark from a welding torch being used on steel girders; welder's extinguisher proved empty, so fire spread to the acrylic glazing
[6]
Hotel Margaret , Brooklyn
1980
possibly caused by
space heater used by workers[
failed verification ]
[7]
MS Bergensfjord
1980
fire broke out during reconstruction work[
how? ]
[8]
Notre Dame de Lourdes , Fall River, Massachusetts
1982
blowtorch set fire to roof timbers during restoration
[9]
Uppark , Sussex
1989
roof
re-leading
[10]
Windsor Castle
1992
incandescent spotlight, permanently installed too close to the
altar curtains behind which it was hidden, was accidentally turned on by restorers unfamiliar with the light switches; curtain decomposed over several days
[3]
[11]
[12]
Limoges-Bénédictins station
1998
thermal conduction to timbers from
hot working of copper roofing during restoration
[13]
Central Synagogue , Manhattan
1998
blowtorch used to install air conditioning on roof
[14]
University of Kentucky
Main Building
2001
thought to be welding torch used to repair
guttering
[15]
[16]
St. Catherine's Church, Gdańsk
2006
started in roof,
short circuit of a tinkered cable
[17]
Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg
2006
originated in exterior scaffolding[
vague ]
[18]
[19]
Cutty Sark
2007
industrial vacuum cleaner was left on overnight and overheated; 24-hour firewatchers were absent and keeping false inspection logs
[20]
[21]
Universal Studios Hollywood
2008
started when worker used blowtorch to heat
asphalt shingles
[22]
Heydar Aliyev Center
2012
negligent use of welding equipment
[23]
Hôtel Lambert , Paris
2013
under investigation, started in roof
[24]
[25]
Basilica of St. Donatian and St. Rogatian , Nantes
2015
oxy-fuel torch used to repair lead gutter.
[26]
[5]
Battersea Arts Centre , London
2015
under investigation, started in roof
[27]
[28]
Mackintosh Building, Glasgow School of Art (2018)
2018
2022 investigation report could not identify cause
[29]
Notre-Dame de Paris
2019
under investigation; as of 2020
[update] , thought to be either a cigarette or a short circuit in the temporary wiring for the reconstruction works
[3]
[30]
Børsen
2024
under investigation
[31]
See also
References
^ Robertson, Homer (1 Jan 2011).
"Fires in Buildings Under Construction" . Fire Rescue Magazine .
^ U.S. Fire Administration (19 March 2019).
"Fire prevention at buildings under renovation or construction" . Coffee Break Bulletin .
^
a
b
c Captain, Sean (15 April 2019).
"Notre-Dame fire: Why historic restorations keep going up in flames" . Fast Company .
^ Bernhardt, Darren (22 July 2018).
" 'Absolute horror': Witnesses cried as fire consumed St. Boniface Cathedral 50 years ago" . CBC News . Retrieved 16 April 2024 .
^
a
b Damgé, Mathilde; Dagorn, Gary; Durand, Anne-Aël (16 April 2019).
"Nantes, Lunéville, Windsor... les derniers grands incendies de bâtiments historiques" . Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 17 April 2019 .
^
"Fire Razes Dome Of U.S. At Expo Site" . The New York Times . May 21, 1976. Retrieved April 16, 2024 .
^ Tate, Francesca Norsen (7 February 2019).
"Fire destroyed Hotel Margaret 39 years ago this week" . Brooklyn Eagle . Retrieved 18 April 2019 .
^
"MS Bergensfjord (1956-1980)" . Oppositelock . June 10, 2022.
^
"When Fall River's Notre Dame was also consumed by flames" .
The Herald News . 2019-04-15. Archived from
the original on 2020-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-26 . See abbreviated version at: "
Fall River’s Notre Dame was also consumed by flames "
South Coast Today (same date), from
The Standard-Times .
^ Glancey, Jonathan (8 April 1993).
"High price of keeping up with 'heritage mania': The National Trust is" . The Independent . Retrieved 12 December 2016 .
^
"The fire at Windsor Castle" . www.rct.uk . Retrieved 17 April 2024 .
^
"Fire at Windsor Castle" (PDF) . Buckingham Palace. p. 11. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 2014-12-04. Retrieved 17 April 2024 .
^ Dosne, René (March 1999).
"Du martelage à chaud... le toit de la gare est ravagé" (PDF) . Journal des sapeurs-pompiers suisses (in French). Archived from
the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2023 .
^
"3 years after fire, NYC Central Synagogue to reopen" . The Jewish News . 14 September 2001.
^
"Administration Building Fire" . UK Libraries . Retrieved 18 April 2019 .
^
"UK Main Building History" . www.uky.edu . Archived from
the original on 18 March 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2022 .
^
"Św. Katarzyna spłonęła przez "niefabrycznie reperowany przewód"?" . trojmiasto.pl (in Polish). 28 November 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2019 .
^
(in Russian)
Interfax > Politics
Archived 2007-09-30 at the
Wayback Machine
^ (in Russian)
Интерфакс
Archived 2007-09-30 at the
Wayback Machine
^
London Fire Brigade ;
Metropolitan Police Service (29 September 2008).
"Report on the investigation into the fire on board the clipper ship Cutty Sark, King William Walk, Greenwich, London SE10 on Monday 21st May 2007" (PDF) . Archived from
the original (PDF) on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2010 .
^ Justin, Davenport (30 September 2008).
"Vacuum cleaner caused £10m Cutty Sark fire as guard slept" . Evening Standard .
^
"Universal Studios fire sparked by blow torch" . Reuters.com. June 2, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2018 .
^
"Fire at Heydar Aliyev Center extinguished" . 20 July 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2024 .
^
"Hôtel Lambert in Paris Is Damaged by Fire" "Fire at the hôtel Lambert in Paris destroys 17th-century frescoes" ,
The New York Times , 12 July 2013.
^
"Paris mansion Hotel Lambert seriously damaged by fire" . bbc.co.uk. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013 .
^ Agnès Clermont et Philippe Gambert, « À Nantes, la basilique flambe, sa voûte fragilisée », Ouest-France, no 21558, 16 juin 2015, p. 5.
^ Jubb, David (14 March 2015).
"Save Battersea Arts Centre" .
National Funding Scheme . Archived from
the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015 .
^ Walker, Peter; Quinn, Ben; Rawlinson, Kevin (13 March 2015).
"Fire severely damages Battersea Arts Centre in London" . The Guardian .
^
"Publication of investigation report into June 2018 fire at The Glasgow School of Art" . Scottish Fire and Rescue Service . [
dead link ]
^ Waldek, Stefanie (15 April 2020).
"Where Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral Stands One Year After the Fire – The Tragedy" .
Architectural Digest . Retrieved 23 June 2020 .
^
"Copenhagen's historic stock exchange in flames" . BBC . 16 April 2024.
External links