Can we learn from the heritage lost in a fire? · of fire protection but we did learn that there are many ways to prevent a fire and to protect build-ings against fire. The important

Can w

e learn from th

e heritage lost in a fi re?

Can we learn from the her it age

lost in a fi re?

Can w

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Experiences and practises on the fi re protection of historic build ings

in Finland, Norway and Sweden


lost in a fi re?Experiences and practises on the fi re protection

of historic build ings in Finland, Norway and Sweden

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

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Can we learnfrom the heritage

lost in a fire?Experiences and practises on the fire protection

of historic buildingsin Finland, Norway and Sweden

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Editor: Anu Laurila

Working group:Museovirasto (Finland): Martti Jokinen, Anu Laurila, Seija Linnanmäki

Riksantikvaren (Norway): Einar Karlsen, Oddbjørn SørmoenRiksantikvarieämbetet (Sweden): Kerstin Alexandersson, Thomas Erenmalm, Sune Lindkvist

Graphic design and layout Maikki Rantala, Praxis Oy

Printed by: Offset-Koppinen Oy, Helsinki, 2004

ISBN 951-616-115-4 (vol.)ISBN 951-616-117-0 (pdf )

ISSN 1236-6439

© Museovirasto

National Board of Antiquities, Department of Monuments and Sites, publication no 26(Museoviraston rakennushistorian osaston julkaisuja 26)

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Contents

1. Foreword 4

2. Introduction 7

The project 7General features on fire protection of historic buildings in Nordic countries 8Participants and the organisation of governmental agencies for cultural heritage 8Special projects on fire safety in each country 9Fire protection of historic buildings 10Legislation on fire protection in each country and how it deals with historic buildings 10Cooperation with other authorities dealing with fire protection matters 11

3. Fire protection in wooden towns 12

Old Rauma fire protection project, Finland 12Lillehammer fire protection project, Norway 13Røros fire protection project, Norway 14Eksjö fire protection project, Sweden 16Aspects on improving the fire protection in historic wooden towns 18

4. Case studies 20

Finland: 1. Åminneborg manor 2. Kotaselkä logging site hut 3. Tyrvää Church 20Norway: 4. City block in Trondheim 5. Innset Church 6. Eidsvoll Church 7. Ringnes farm 24Sweden: 8. Södra Råda Church 9. City block in Jönköping 10. Katarina Church 30

5. Fire prevention and protection 37

Introduction 37Some examples 37How to choose fire prevention and protection methods 40Low cost fire prevention 40How to prevent arson 41Rescue plan 42Fire fighting 43Using a fire protection strategy to choose the right technical solutionsfor the fire protection of cultural heritage 44

6. After a fire 52

Documentation before a fire, examples 52Actions after a fire, examples 53Analysis before the decision to “rebuild or not” 56Insurance and reconstruction 57Proposal for “First Aid actions” (protection, investigation, documentation) 57An essay: “Conservation, rebuilding or what?” 60

Summaries (English, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish) 67

Appendices 77

• Contents of the rescue plan in Finland 77• List of literature and links 78

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his publication is the result of the “Canwe learn from the heritage lost in a fire?”project in which Finland, Norway and

Sweden consulted about their experiences andknowledge of fires and the fire protection in his-toric buildings.

We hope the information and knowledgegathered during the project will help other peopleworking with fire safety or historic buildings tofind new ways of approaching the question. Here,we attempt to present our discussions and exam-ples so that they are easy to read but at the sametime, we give all necessary information. Our aimis to show that there are an infinite variety ofmeasures and combinations for the fire protectionof historic buildings. When planning fire safety,all aspects have to be considered carefully to findthe most suitable one for each case.

This publication consists of three main themes:case studies, fire protection and actions after a fire.

In addition, we present general information andsome aspects of preventing a fire in historic wood-en towns. Finally, we present an essay concerningthe problem of rebuilding after a fire.

The Appendices include a checklist on thecontents of a rescue plan and summaries (in Finn-ish, Norwegian and Swedish).

We have added a list of publications from ourcountries concerning the fire protection of histor-ic buildings to the end of this publication. Wehave also listed some useful Internet addressesconcerning these matters.

We warmly thank the Nordic Museums Com-mittee who kindly financed our seminars and metsome of the costs for this publication. We wouldalso like to thank the Finnish Fire ProtectionFund, which subsidised this publication.

Locations of case studies and wooden towns discussed in this publication.

T1. Foreword

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2. Introduction

2.1 The project

he risk of fire is a serious concern espe-cially in the Nordic countries, where themajority of historic buildings are made

of wood. The laws and practices for fire protec-tion are well developed but the legislation doesnot usually specify the practices concerning his-toric buildings, so there is need for cooperation topromote this point of view.

As we have unfortunately had some seriousfires in historic buildings in the Nordic countries,we thought that it might be possible to learnsomething from them, such as how the fire start-ed and how could it have been avoided. Anotherquestion was whether fire fighting caused any ad-ditional damage to the buildings and if it couldhave been avoided.

There are some instructions on how to pro-tect the ruins of a building after a fire and thereare international manuals for risk preparednessthat deal with highly theoretical approaches tothe measures to be taken after the fire. However,there is still a need for philosophical evaluationand discussion on “what to do after the fire”. Inaddition, there is a need for practical instructionson what to do after a fire has taken place.

The outcome of fires may vary a lot, frompartial damage to total devastation. Partial de-struction raises difficult practical and ideologicalquestions concerning documentation, restorationand financing. Even in the more serious cases ofdestruction, there may be methods of documen-tation that can secure at least some knowledge.

The above formed the background for theproject, which consisted of three seminars during2003. The first seminar took place in Finland inMay, the second in Norway in September, andthe last one was held in Sweden in November.

The participants in the seminars had the op-portunity to discuss the practices of fire protec-tion and the actions following fires in all the par-ticipating countries and they were able to learnfrom each other’s experiences. We did not havesufficient time to go very deeply into the detailsof fire protection but we did learn that there aremany ways to prevent a fire and to protect build-ings against fire. The important aspects are thateach historic building is unique and has to betreated accordingly and that fire protection is acontinuous activity that should be considered partof the normal maintenance of buildings. Another

T

A stave church is a medieval type of building that is mainly preserved in Norway (28 churches).One stave church is also preserved in Sweden.

Wooden towns are typical in all three countries (Rauma, Finland).

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conclusion we reached during the discussions isthat low cost preventative measures, such as goodorganisation, are mostly efficient.

We also discussed the actions to take after afire and the main thing that came up was that asurprising amount of information could be gainedfrom the remains of a seriously destroyed build-ing. The question of rebuilding after a fire is verydifficult; we did discuss some examples of thisduring our project and these are introduced inthis publication.

2.2 General featuresof the fire protectionof historic buildingsin the Nordic countries

A large proportion of historic buildings in theNordic countries are made of wood. We also havedensely packed historic wooden towns and theirstructure makes it difficult for fire brigades to acteffectively. Fire can spread rapidly in dense townstructure made of wood. In the past, town firespartially or completely destroyed many woodentowns.

Some of the historic buildings in the Nordiccountries are located in remote places where thereis no electricity, proper supply of water, fire bri-gade or people living nearby.

The climate in all our countries is cold in win-ter and warm in summer, so there is a danger offire during long dry seasons: fire fighting can bedifficult and there can be extra damage to remainswhen the temperature is below zero. Moreover,some technical equipment has limitations duringcold temperatures. These facts create problems forthe fire protection of historic buildings.

2.3 Participants andthe organisation ofgovernment agenciesfor cultural heritage

Finland,National Board of Antiquities (Museovirasto):Martti Jokinen, architect;Anu Laurila, architect;Seija Linnanmäki, conservation officer

Norway,Directorate for Cultural Heritage(Riksantikvaren):Einar Karlsen, architect;Oddbjørn Sørmoen, art historian

Sweden,National Heritage Board(Riksantikvarieämbetet):Kerstin Alexandersson, architect;Thomas Erenmalm, M.Sc.;Sune Lindkvist, architect

The authorities in Finland and Sweden act morelike advisors, sharing information and makingstatements. Due to special projects, their role inNorway also includes planning and choosing thetechnical equipment.

FinlandThe Museovirasto (the National Board of Antiq-uities) in Finland has six units. Two units havestaff working on the fire protection of historicbuildings. The Department of Administrationemploys one person who works on the fire pro-tection of the buildings owned by the Museovi-rasto. The Restoration Section, part of the De-partment of Monuments and Sites, gives adviceand information and makes statements concern-ing the fire protection of historic buildings.

NorwayThere are five departments in the Riksantikvaren(The Directorate for Cultural Heritage). TheDepartment for Conservation works on mattersconcerning fire protection. The department haseven planned fire protection systems for such plac-es as stave churches. The Department for Build-ings, Monuments and Sites assists in this work.

Large wooden farmhouses are foundin all three countries (Ringnes, Norway).

The fire protection of Norwegian stave churcheswas carried out mainly in the 1980s and 1990s.

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The directorate gives advice to regional and localconservation authorities, owners and others in-volved in fire protection.

SwedenThere are five departments in the Riksantikvarie-ämbetet (The National Heritage Board), two ofwhich work on matters related to fire protection.The Heritage Department gives information, su-pervises and grants permission for restoration inaccordance with legislation and the ConservationDepartment gives technical advice and informa-tion on fire protection.

2.4 Special projects on firesafety in each country

FinlandThe Museovirasto started to prepare instructionsfor the fire protection of churches after the fire atthe Tyrvää medieval church in 1997. The instruc-tions will be published in 2004.

The city Rauma carried out a fire protectionproject after a fire threatened the wooden town ofOld Rauma (which is also a World Heritage Site)in 1997. The project report was published in Finn-ish in 1998.

NorwayThe Riksantikvaren in Norway has been systemat-ically working with fire protection since the 1980swhen sprinklers and fire detection systems wereinstalled in some stave churches. The work inten-sified at the beginning of the 1990s because of thethreat of arson. Extensive measures were carriedout in the 28 surviving stave churches during a pe-riod of less than five years. In addition to the stavechurches, there has been a program to protect anumber of the other 400 most valuable churchesbuilt before 1800.

There was some work done during the early1990s on the fire protection of the historic wood-en towns in Norway. A pilot project in the forti-fied town of Fredrikstad was carried out to testexternal fire detection systems. The world herit-age town Røros installed technical fire protectionin one block in 2003. The project for the fire pro-tection of Røros will continue in 2004.

Fire protection projects have also been car-ried out in industrial buildings, large farms andmanor houses, and houses belonging to famousartists etc. These projects have been possible dueto the financial support granted by an insurancecompany (Stiftelsen UNI).

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SwedenThe Riksantikvarieämbetet has, in cooperationwith the Statens Räddningsverk (the SwedishRescue Agency), published the handbook “Brand-skydd i kulturbyggnader” on fire protection in her-itage buildings. The Riksantikvarieämbetet hasalso published a leaflet called “Att skydda kyrkanmot stöld och brand” that deals with fire protectionin churches.

There was a project in Sweden on fire protec-tion in the historic wooden town of Eksjö andthe results of that project were published in 1999as a book titled “Brandskydd i trästäder – Strategiför skydd av centrala Eksjö”; a state-of-the-art-report will be published in 2004.

In 2003, the Riksantikvarieämbetet made aspecial study of churches destroyed by fire, “Kyr-kan brinner – vad händer sedan?” The study fo-cused on the discussions after the fire (these dis-cussions dealt with the arguments and the resultsof the fire).

Licence for hot worksOne instrument that has decreased the numberof fires at sites (also at restoration sites) has been“the licence for hot works”. The system was created

by insurance companies but it has almost becomethe standard in all our countries. The number offires at sites has declined by 50% over the pastten years (Finnish figures). The training takesone day and besides the theory, there is a practi-cal exercise on different ways to extinguish a fire.The licence is valid for five years.

2.5 Fire protection ofhistoric buildings

Let us define what the fire protection of historicbuildings means.

The main aim of ordinary fire protection is tosafeguard human life; the fire protection of historicbuildings also aims to safeguard the building andits cultural heritage. This must be born in mindwhen choosing the most suitable fire protectionmeasures for historic buildings because certainequipment can sometimes destroy fabric or falsereleases in sprinklers can damage sensitive materi-als. Consequently, the aim of fire protection in his-toric buildings is to gain “maximum safety withminimum damage” in every phase of a project.

2.6 Legislation onfire protectionin each country andthe way it deals withhistoric buildings

Acts concerning fire protectionIn Sweden, a new Act (Lag 2003:778 om skyddmot olyckor; Civil Protection Act) came in Janu-ary 2004. The new Act and its regulations, includ-ing ordinances and general advice, gives some rulesto be applied in the fire protection of heritagebuildings.

In Finland the Act (Pelastuslaki 468/2003;Rescue Act), as well as the organisation of rescueservices, also changed at the beginning of 2004.The new Act makes no mention of heritage build-ings.

There is a rather new Act (Lov om brann- ogeksplosjonsvern av 14. Juni 2002, nr. 20; Fire andExplosion Prevention Act) in Norway.

According to the Acts in each country, theowner of a (heritage property) building bears re-

Sometimes the intention is good but something is missing.

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sponsibility for fire protection and the local au-thorities bear the responsibility for the rescueservice.

The primary interest in all these Acts is alwaysto safeguard human life and secondly to safeguardproperty. There is no mention of historic buildingsin the Finnish Act but in Sweden, according to thenew Act, the owner of a protected heritage build-ing has to report how the fire protection for thebuilding has been arranged to the local fire author-ities. If necessary, the fire authorities can carry outan inspection. In Norway, the Act states that thelocal fire authorities are to inspect all registeredcultural heritage properties every four years. Un-fortunately, the registers on cultural heritage prop-erties are very often unavailable to the fire authori-ties. Another problem is that if an inspection iscarried out, the officers very often only give priori-ty to the measures to safeguard human life andthey do not take into consideration the culturalvalue of a building. In order to change this prac-tice, the Direktoratet for brann- og eksplosjons-vern, now Direktoratet for samfunnssikkerhet ogberedskap (Directorate for Civil Defence andEmergency Planning), in cooperation with theRiksantikvaren, issued a booklet in 1997 that in-cluded a checklist for fire inspectors.

Laws on cultural heritageThis law in Finland and Norway states that thecultural heritage authorities should always becontacted if a protected building is destroyed byfire. The authorities will then decide on the nec-essary measures.

The cultural heritage laws of each countrycontain nothing else concerning fire protection.The only point that can be applied is to the in-stallation of fire protection technology; all altera-tions and installations should be carried out insuch a way that they do not affect the value of theheritage building. The legislation in all the coun-tries stipulates that the permission of the heritageauthorities is needed for all alterations and tech-nical installations.

Other regulationsIn Finland, the Maankäyttö- ja rakennuslaki (theLand Use and Building Act) defines the essentialtechnical requirements for all buildings, including

fire safety. Implementation of this Act is definedin the National Building Code of Finland, part Eof which deals with fire safety. The regulations inthe Building Code are binding, but they concernthe construction of a new building. They are ap-plied case by case for existing buildings if largerrepairs or alterations are carried out or if there areserious shortcomings in fire safety. In all othercases, old buildings are treated in accordance withthe safety regulations as applied at the time oftheir construction.

The Plan- och bygglagen in Sweden and thePlan- og bygningsloven in Norway (the Planningand Building Act) also include regulations con-cerning cultural heritage buildings, but there areno special instructions for the fire protection ofthese buildings.

2.7 Cooperation with otherauthorities dealing withfire protection mattersThe heritage authorities in Sweden and Norwayare in close contact with the rescue services. TheStatens Räddningsverk (the Swedish RescueAgency) and the Riksantikvarieämbetet in Swe-den have jointly published a handbook titled“Brandskydd i kulturbyggnader”. The book is di-rected at local officials, heritage inspectors at themunicipal level, property owners and managers,architects and other relevant bodies. The bookhas received a good reception and the heritageauthorities are even asked to give lectures on thesubject to the rescue service authorities aroundSweden.

In Norway, the Direktoratet for samfunns-sikkerhet og beredskap (Directorate for Civil De-fence and Emergency Planning) has established anational goal that no irreplaceable cultural valuesshould be lost in fire. The Directorate, in coopera-tion with the Riksantikvaren, is planning to carryout a survey on the fire protection in Norwegiancultural heritage properties in the near future.

The contact between the heritage and fireprotection authorities in Finland is not so close.There is a special need for instructions directed atthe local fire and building inspectors who bearthe main responsibility for supervising applica-tion of the Building Code.

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3.1 Old Rauma, Finland,fire protection project

Old Rauma covers an area of 28 hectares andthere are 600 buildings, most of which are pri-vately owned. It has a population of 800. OldRauma was added to the UNESCO World Her-itage list in 1991. Some buildings have preservedtheir characteristics from the 1700s, but the ma-jority of the buildings received their current neo-Renaissance exteriors during the active period ofrenovation in the 1890s.

There was a threatening fire in Old Rauma inthe summer 1997. A girl was sunbathing andsmoking on the roof of an outbuilding. The ciga-rette ash set some old dry leaves on fire in be-tween two outbuildings and the fire spread rapid-ly, totally destroying one outbuilding and damag-ing two others.

It was after this incident that the fire protec-tion project for Old Rauma was launched. Statis-

3. Fire protection in wooden towns

Aerial view of Old Rauma.

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tics were collected and analysed. These statisticsindicated that the most common cause of fire wasa drunken person smoking. The number of firescaused by electricity was reduced because duringrepairs, all the electrical installations in the oldbuildings were changed. Even if fireplaces are inuse in most of the buildings, they cause few fires.In addition, the number of fires during the re-pairs was low.

The Problem in Old Rauma is that some ofthe commercial buildings are only used duringthe day, so there is no one guarding them duringthe night. Furthermore, the courtyards of com-mercial premises are often used to store manycombustible materials.

The buildings were inventoried in order tocollect the basic information needed for theproject. The condition of the buildings was as-sessed, the risks in every building were writtendown and information concerning their occu-pants was recorded. In this way, the fire authori-ties became familiar with which properties weremore susceptible to fire. They also learnt that oldpeople were living on some properties and that inthe case of a fire they might be unable to escapewithout help.

The actions needed to improve the fire protec-tion of the area were discussed after all the above-mentioned information. The aim was to find aneasy, cheap and effective means to improve fire

safety. The best result so far has been regular fireinspections every three years. All buildings arechecked during these inspections, and instructionsare given if some properties need cleaning in orderto get rid of combustible material. In addition,these inspections serve as a means to update theinformation concerning the buildings collectedduring the first inventory.

The most important buildings, such as themuseum, are now fitted with automatic fire alarmsand there have been proposals to install some kindof simple version of this alarm system in the com-mercial blocks. There is a proposal to install sprin-klers between tightly packed buildings but so far,no property owner has wanted to install (and payfor) this system.

An essential part of the fire protection is to af-fect the common opinions and attitudes of inhab-itants. In Rauma, they have issued a leaflet tellingabout the normal maintenance of the buildingsand giving instructions on simple measures for fireprevention. Some training has also been organisedto teach people how to use fire extinguishers andwhat to do in the event of a fire.

The project has raised the awareness of theinhabitants and the Rauma fire authorities are ofthe opinion that if there is a fire simultaneouslyin Old Rauma and in the local paper mill, theywill go to Old Rauma because that is irreplacea-ble and the mill only has “money that burns”.

3.2 Lillehammer, Norway,fire protection project

A project involving the fire protection of a streetlined with old wooden buildings (Storgata) hasbeen carried out in Lillehammer. A project groupwas established with representatives from localfire authorities, the district cultural heritage au-thorities and property owners.

At first an inventory and a fire protection planwas ordered from a fire-engineering consultant.The result was a plan and recommendation for thefire protection for each building. The basic ideawas to install the automatic fire alarm system inmost of the buildings and to make fireproof wallsbetween the attics of adjoining buildings.

After the plan was ready, the project groupencouraged the owners to implement it. They

Many buildings in Old Rauma have the neo-Renaissance look.

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even requested tenders for the installation of thefire alarm systems and construction of the fire-proof walls to make it easier for the owners toimplement the plans.

The final decision and the costs for improv-ing fire protection were left to the owners. Themajority accepted to install the alarm systems andto improve the fire resistance of attic walls. Thelocal fire authority is in charge of supervising theimprovement. It has also made an action plan forthe area.

3.3 Røros, Norway,fire protection project

Røros was founded in the 17th Century as a cop-per mining town and it has preserved its 17thcentury layout. Most of the buildings are fromthe early 19th Century. Both the wood-built cen-

tre and a larger area around the town, with tracesof 300 years of mining history, are on The WorldHeritage List.

Some work with fire protection was carriedout in the 1980s. There was a plan for the fireprotection of one block and a new fire engine waspartly financed by the Riksantikvaren. Fire detec-tion equipment was installed in some of thebuildings belonging to a museum in the 1990s.Fire detection had not been introduced into thewhole town because of problems with falsealarms from the then existing systems.

The Riksantikvaren gained experience withsystems for fire protection that overcome theseproblems when working with fire protection forthe stave churches. The systems for exterior fire-detection were tested during a project in the oldfortified town of Fredrikstad where also sprinklers

Storgata in Lillehammer is a busy shopping street.

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were installed in lofts with difficult access for thefire brigade. It was no longer impossible to findrelevant technical solutions for the fire protectionof Røros.

In 2001, the Riksantikvaren paid for a prelimi-nary plan for the fire protection of Røros. The planwas carried out by Interconsult in Trondheim. InApril 2002, there was a conference in Røros to fo-cus on the fire protection of wooden towns. In2002, Stiftelsen UNI made 1.5 million NOKavailable for the fire protection of Røros. In 2003,The Department of the Environment granted afurther 1.5 million NOK. The available fundingwas used for the following fire protection meas-ures that were carried out for one block in 2003:

• a high pressure water mist systemin all lofts and outbuildings (dry, manual sys-tem supplied with water by the fire brigade),

• high pressure water mist equipment

View of Røros.

fitted onto an existing fire engine• fire hoses for the use during

the initial stages of a fire (standard fire hosesin heated, isolated cabinets),

• fire detection on the outside of buildingsand inside outbuildings (metal thread meltingat a certain temperature),

• a truck with a lift for use by the fire brigade.

The national fire authorities granted 1 millionNOK for a research project headed by the SINTEFfire laboratory and Interconsult. The projectserved the main project in that it made sure theknow-how obtained is made available for otherwooden towns.

The project for the fire protection of Røroswill continue in 2004 after the installations car-ried out in 2003 have been evaluated. It is possi-ble that the number of installations will be re-duced in the next stage of the project.

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3.4 Eksjö, Sweden,fire protection project

A fire protection project is still underway in theold part of Eksjö, which is a wooden town fromthe 17th century. Lennart Grandelius, the formercity architect, is the man behind this project.

The main idea and goal of the project is toprevent a town fire, not single fires in particular.The project started by studying the buildings andtheir building techniques, materials and fire risksbased on information found in the archives. Thisinformation was checked in situ. The risks for firespreading were mapped and all other risks notfound in the archived information were writtendown during the visits to the buildings.

A fire protection strategy was made in ac-cordance with the inventory and analysis of firerisks. It consists of two aspects: how to prevent afire and how to limit a fire.

There were some special risks in Eksjö:• there is a small river, Eksjöån,

in the middle of the town but ifthe summer is dry there is insufficient water,

• it is difficult to approach many placesbecause of the way the town is built(narrow streets etc),

• there is a serious risk of fire spreadingbecause there are very narrow andhigh spaces between buildings,

• there is a risk of fire spreadingthrough timber walls that are in bad shape,

• there are ventilation holes etc.in the walls between properties,

• there are windows in the walls towardsand above the neighbours’ roofs and walls,

• there are wooden ventilation channels,• there are buildings of different heights

in the same block,• sometimes, old wooden roofing is found

under the existing roof,• apartments are small

so many people live in a small area,• the first strength for rescue service is too low.

The present old Eksjö is the northern part of the town that survived the fire of 1568.

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What has been done?The strategy for Eksjö was made in 1999. In2003, the Riksantikvarieämbetet asked LennartGrandelius to make a report on what actionshave been implemented in Eksjö.

The municipality of Eksjö has taken an activerole in implementing the strategy. First, it wasthought that the municipality would only pay formeasures that dealt with joint fire safety and thebuilding owners would pay for the measures con-cerning their properties. There are some excep-tions as some sprinklers have been installed onfacades and some automatic fire alarms will beinstalled in certain places at the expense of mu-nicipality.

There was discussion about combining therescue services from Eksjö and a few other mu-nicipalities but in the end, it was decided thatEksjö would have to have its own fire brigade forthe old town. If there is a fire alarm, the culturalheritage authority will also be at the site.

Here is a list of some of the measuresthat have already been implemented:

• After the buildings were checked whenmaking the strategy, those building ownerswho had something to do on their buildings(such as closing or tightening openings,installing fireproof glass etc.) received a lettertelling what they should do. Many of thesemeasures have been implemented.

• After the fire in Jönköping, the safety ofelectrical installations was checked in fourselected properties. Some notes were givenconcerning “everyday” (portable units)installations, but fixed installations weremostly safe. It was recommended that allelectrical installations be checked.

• Households received a fire safety checklistand regular checks are made to ensure thatthese easy, low cost measures (such as thestorage of waste, removing combustiblematerial, tidiness, etc.) are implemented,and they mostly are.

• Manual sprinkler systems have beeninstalled in one narrow space betweentwo buildings and on two facades oppositeeach other in one alley in order to providea “wet fire wall” in the event of a fire.

• Eksjö was granted a subsidy in 2003 tocarry out the TUB (Tidig Upptäckt avBrand) project that deals with the earlydetection of fire. The project will study theearly detection of fire by using existingtechnology. The results will hopefully be costefficiency, reliability, the suitability ofsolutions for different circumstances, etc.One city quarter has been chosen as a testplace because there are all kinds of problemsthere (it is very tightly packed, lots of tenants,difficult for the rescue service to reach, wasteis stored in gateways, birch bark and boardsunder present roofing, etc.)

Plan of the old part of Eksjö.

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3.5 Aspects on improvingfire protectionin historic wooden towns

When preparing the fire protection project in ahistoric wooden town, it is first necessary to makethe aims of the project clear. Is the main aim toprevent single fires in single houses or is the goalto prevent a town fire? This helps to find the cor-rect measures to be taken and prevents the projectfrom become too overwhelming.

Usually the initiative for fire protection projectsthat concern towns or large areas with woodenbuildings comes from the municipality. It is rec-ommended that the municipality at first makesan inventory of the fire protection aspects in thearea (using either their own staff or a hired con-sultant). Information concerning fire risks (bothin single buildings and in the town structure) andexisting fire protection measures is collected dur-

ing the inventory. A proposal is then made onhow to improve fire protection in order to achievethe set goal.

The actions can be divided into two categories:administrative measures that municipality and au-thorities must implement and the technical meas-ures that can be carried out by the municipality orproperty owners. It often seems that the responsi-bility for implementing these actions in the housesand town structure is left to the owners and prop-erty users. The authorities only carry out adminis-trative measures such as action plans for the firebrigade, frequent fire drills and fire inspections.The municipality of Eksjö had also installed somesprinklers between buildings in order to make awet firewall in the event of fire. The goal of the

They have understood the meaning of tidiness in courtyards in Eksjö.

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project was to prevent a town fire, so this was re-garded as an effective measure. It is always impor-tant to assess which actions should be left to own-ers and which the authorities should carry out toreach the project goal.

A common feature for all the projects that westudied was that the training of property ownersand users was one of the most fruitful ways towork. It is important that the owners and usersbegin to understand that it is not only their prob-lem if a fire breaks out in a single building locat-ed in a tightly packed wooden town structure.

This training can be carried out in many ways.Articles in the local newspapers, informative meet-ings, information leaflets and letters addressed tothe owners can all be used. Practical training onhow to use fire extinguishers or fire hoses is a veryeasy way to improve fire safety and to add to theknowledge among owners and users.

After looking at the examples, we propose thatfollowing matters should be considered whenstarting a fire protection project in a historicwooden town:

1. What is the goal of the project(prevention of single fires orprevention of a town fire)?

2. What kinds of risks are there onsingle properties and in the town structureand how they can be minimized?

3. What are the risks of a fire spreadingfrom one estate to a neighbouring oneand how can these be minimized?How can the fire be limitedto a restricted area?

4. What can be done to detect fireas early as possible?

5. What kinds of problems doesthe fire brigade face when actingin a town structure or on single buildings?

6. Is there enough water to extinguish the fire?7. How joint training in fire protection can be

arranged for owners and inhabitants(it is important to make them aware of thefact that a fire in a neighbour’s house is athreat to their own house too)?

8. What measures does the municipality(or other authority) take and whichare left to house owners?

There is still too much combustible materialin some of the courtyards in Rauma.

Small administrative measures can be taken as in thisexample from Lillehammer. (“Remember to checkthe toilets before you close the café. Check that thereare no paper towels near the heaters.”)

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1. Åminneborg,Maalahti, Finland

This is a wooden mansion with a cellar, two liv-ing floors and an unheated attic totalling 500square meters. It was built in 1792. The construc-tion is made of logs. Most of the original interi-ors were destroyed between 1936 and 1964. Theoldest wallpapers still existing are probably fromthe 1820s (but are covered with later layers).

Fire alarms were only installed on the livingfloors and not in the attic, which was used as stor-age.

The fireThe roof and the attic were destroyed by fire inJanuary 2003. (The temperature was –22°C).

The fire broke out in the floor between thesecond living floor and the attic. The cause of thefire was a short circuit in an old electric wire,which resulted from condensation in the metalcoating around the electric wires. It is interestingto note that the second living floor had beenheated for only a few years.

The fire was detected by the owner at 7.40am. He noticed that there was no electricity in

the building and smoke was coming from the at-tic, which was already on fire. The fire spreadrapidly.

The first fire brigade was on the site in aboutten minutes. They did not have a fire engine witha ladder so they had to call for one and it arrivedabout twenty minutes later. The fire fighters alsohad some problems with the water supply. Forthe short time, they had no water at all.

During the extinction of the smoulderingstructures after the main fire had been put out,the fire fighters used so much water that some ofit spilt into the cellar.

After the fireThe result of the fire was that all the roof struc-tures and the attic were badly charred and the at-tic floor support beams were badly damaged. Theceiling, walls and the floor of the second livingfloor were badly damaged because of the amountof water used by fire fighters and there was alsodamage to the first floor.

The first actions after the fire were to cover

4. Case studies

Åminneborg after the fire.

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the attic with tarpaulin and to remove all wastefrom the attic and the second living floor. Dryingthe west structures then got underway.

There was no real documentation of the re-maining structures of the roof. The only docu-mentation was a series of photos showing the sit-uation after the fire.

The building was not insured properly but theowner wants to build the roof anew. He has askedthe Museovirasto for help and hired an engineerto make the plans for rebuilding. The idea is tokeep the old shape of the roof using a new struc-ture. The new attic will also be heated and not acold attic as it used to be. Another addition willbe two new attic windows.

What can be learnt?It is important to check old electrical installationsregularly and to consider the effects of heatingpreviously unheated spaces. In addition, it is im-portant to have fire detectors in all spaces, partic-ularly in the attic. Fire brigades should have in-formation concerning historic buildings in orderto act correctly. Remaining structures should bedocumented as this might have revealed some-thing interesting about the wood joints or otherdetails in the roof construction. A fire can providea researcher with an opportunity to find some-thing that is normally invisible and unobtainable.

2. Kotaselkä,Savukoski, Finland

This was the site of a simple logging hut about30 km from the centre of Savukoski in Lapland.It was made of logs and had a shingle roof. Thebuilding had a floor area of about 250 square me-ters. It was built in the 1950s and fully renovatedat the very beginning of 1990s. The first buildingon the site was from the 1930s and it was burntduring the war in the 1940s. The building from1950s was not an exact copy of the old one but an“improved” version.

The building was not regularly heated butthere were stoves and fireplaces for heating. Therewas no kind of fire alarm system in the buildingand no electricity. The building was protected bythe act concerning buildings owned by the State.

The fireThe building was totally destroyed by fire in June2001. The weather was very warm at that time ofthe year. Two fishermen were staying in the hutand they had had a fire in a stove. They did notput out the fire properly before they went fishing.The fire probably started from a sparkle that setthe dry shingle roof on fire.

There was no fire fighting. When the localfire brigade arrived, the building was already lost.

The hut is next to a small river so there wouldhave been an ample and easy water supply. Onlysome charred floor beams and the lowest logs re-mained and there were some remains of the fire-places and stoves.

After the fireThere was no documentation of the remains afterthe fire. A few people from the Museovirasto vis-ited the site soon afterwards and they took somephotos. It would have been possible to documentthe location of floor beams and the system for thefoundation as well as the types of ovens usingdrawings and to document the dimensions andtype of the wood material used in the lowest logs.

After the fire, it was checked if there was anymaterial (drawings, photos etc) on the building inthe archives of the Museovirasto. Only one draw-ing (a plan), a few photos and some written doc-uments of the renovations in 1990s were foundand it was decided that rebuilding the hut wasout of the question. A year later, the archiveswere searched again and some twenty good quali-ty photos were found. There were pictures of theinterior and facades. Also found were drawings to

Kotaselkä before the fire, just after its restoration in 1990s.

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a scale 1:50 showing the plan, facade and onesection of the hut.

There was lot of discussion between the own-er (the Museovirasto) and the user (the Savukoskimunicipality) about whether should the buildingbe rebuilt. The insurance would have covered thecost of rebuilding, but the idea of reconstructinga lost building is unpopular in the Museovirasto.Finally, it was decided that the logging site hutwould not be rebuilt but the money from the in-surance would be used to restore other historicbuildings owned by the State in the municipalityof Savukoski.

What can be learnt?The fire might have been avoided if there hadbeen a dense net in the chimney to preventsparks from flying onto the roof. A very loud firealarm might have made the fishermen notice thatthe hut was on fire and they might have beenable to fight the fire.

Good documentation after the fire shouldhave been made to document the remains. In ad-dition, a thorough examination of the archivedmaterial should have been carried out immediatelyafter the fire in order to give proper bases for thedecision of whether to rebuild the property.

3. Tyrvää Church,Vammala, Finland

The church in Tyrvää was built in 1490–1530. Itburned in the 17th century but it was rebuilt againin a slightly different form. Its interior was re-newed in the 18th century. The old church was dis-carded 1855 when a new bigger church was com-pleted – it was even used as a hay barn until its val-ue was rediscovered by one of the Art-Historic Ex-peditions made by the Finnish Archaeological So-ciety at the end of 19th century. The church hasstonewalls made of natural stone and bricks andthe roof and the interior are made of wood.

The maintenance of the wooden shingle roofwas neglected because there was no use for thechurch, which is why more than half the roof hadto be renewed in 1995–1997. The old shingle roofwas made in 1748 by Antti Piimänen, a famousmaster builder. Thirteen thousand shingles wereneeded, which was an immense task for the vol-unteers who did the job. The congregation cele-brated the finished roof at the beginning of Sep-tember 1997.

The fireThree weeks later on the 21 September, the churchwas set on fire by an arsonist, who was finally

Interior of Tyrvää Church with its characteristic paintings before the fire.

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caught in 2003. A local middle-aged man burgledthe church, but he could not find anything valua-ble to steal. After leaving the church he realisedthat he may have left his fingerprints there so hewent back to set the church on fire in order to cov-er his crime. The fire was detected by neighboursearly in the morning by which time the churchwas in full flame and nothing could be done.

All wooden parts (roof, ceiling, doors, interi-or) burned down almost totally. Only one doorremained, but it was badly charred. Some of thefloor planks remained badly charred. The floorjoists were still in good condition. Some otherwooden parts survived. The walls, which weremade of natural stones and bricks, remained butthey had suffered from the heat. The plaster con-tained so much clay that it was fired and felldown during the next winter.

After the fireBecause it was autumn and there was a danger ofrain, work started by temporarily protecting theruins with tarpaulin. Soon the congregation de-cided to build temporary scaffolding to protectthe remaining walls. The scaffolding was made ofcorrugated steel plates. The door and windowopenings were sealed with boarding.

A survey of the walls was carried out very soonafter the fire. The work was done by the Museo-virasto with the help of one crafts school. The re-mains were examined when the ruins were cleanedup and all useful material was collected. All wood-en parts with profiles or marks or some traces werestored. All wrought iron nails were also collected.All damage to the stonewalls was marked on exist-ing drawings and the details and traces found inthe remains were documented at least by makingsketches and taking photos.

The decision to rebuild the burned church wasmade very soon after the fire. The Museovirastopromised to help the congregation by providing itsexpertise.

Two open discussions were arranged to get asmany views as possible concerning the difficultquestion of rebuilding. The main question duringthe first discussion was how to approach the wholeissue: should the walls be left as a ruin, should theroof be rebuilt and how and what should be donewith the interior and windows, doors etc? Therewas a consensus that the roof must be rebuilt be-cause it was well documented and it forms a domi-nant feature in the cultural landscape.

Despite difficulties, the roof was subsequentlyrebuilt as a training exercise and in accordance withthe old model. The documentation was rather goodbut some details and dimensions were missing. Theshingles were made by volunteers.

Then second open discussion was arranged todiscuss the interior. An interior working groupwas set up with members from the congregation,the Museovirasto, and one famous modern archi-tect. The group proposed that the interior shouldbe rebuilt so that the walls (remaining) were from1500s, the floor (partly remained) from the 1600s,the roof, ceiling, doors and windows from the1700s and the benches and the interior paintingshould be modern.

During the discussion, it was pointed out thatwhatever is done it is a construction of this day. Theold one is lost and we cannot get it back.

It was decided that the exterior was to be re-built as it had been. Invisible structures were madepartly using contemporary technology and somereinforcement was added as demanded by thestructural engineers. The doors and windows werereconstructed to represent the 1700s.

Interior of Tyrvää after rebuilding, without any paintings.

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Work on the interior started by appointing anarchitect who first made the layout design. Thebenches were sized to fit to modern people andsome fire safety issues were taken into considera-tion in the layout. The ceiling was made to imi-tate the old one and the walls are treated withlime wash as also in the original building. Thefloor was made of planks in the same way as theold one as it was well documented.

When making the plans for the interior, thearchitect decided to follow the original design butto simplify the detailing and show that the interi-or was not from 1700s. The final surfaces of thewooden fittings were planed by hand.

The question of painting the interior is stillopen. A few modern artists have now been invit-ed to make proposals and then the final decisionwill be made.

What can be learntfrom the actions after the fire?The cooperation between the rescue and heritageauthorities should be closer. There should be in-structions on how and what to look for from theremaining but charred material. The heritage au-thorities should carry out a thorough investiga-tion of the remaining material as soon as possibleafter the fire, and all findings should be docu-mented carefully. There is plenty of informationto be found even in charred pieces of wood.

After this kind of almost total destruction,the value of good, advance, documentation can-not be stressed enough. It also means that detailsand structures as well as materials should be doc-umented alongside the “normal” drawings.

What can be learntfrom the rebuilding process?Before any decision is made, the situation and theexisting documents and knowledge on the burnedbuilding should be thoroughly analysed. A check-list for analysing the situation is needed.

If the building is to be totally or even partlyreconstructed, decisions should be made concern-ing whether any research or tests are needed beforeputting construction, materials or work methodsinto practice.

Rebuilding provides an opportunity to learnabout old techniques and materials, but this kind

of work needs more time than normal. In theTyrvää case, some things such as roof construc-tion or the clay plaster inside would have requireddetailed research.

4. City block in Trondheim,Norway

Trondheim is a medieval city. It was re-planned in1681 with a Renaissance town plan with broadstreets to prevent the spread of fire. The blockdamaged in 2001 had buildings dating from the1840s. The block includes some stone cellars fromthe Middle Ages. The buildings were primarilyused as restaurants, bars and shops. Most of thebuildings had walls of wooden log construction,wooden cladding, wooden floors and roof con-structions on basements of brick. The area was nota conservation area but the buildings had been de-fined as worth preserving by the municipality.

The fire on 7 December 2001The fire started in a pan with hot cooking oil in arestaurant kitchen. Cooking oil is a frequent causeof fires. A couple of days before the fire, there weresome indications of problems with the electricalinstallations in the restaurant. Fluctuations in thepower supply might have caused a failure in thepan thermostat. The fire was reported to the firebrigade at 10.45. The cook had been trying to ex-tinguish the fire without success. All availablepersonnel from the fire brigade were on site be-fore 11 o’clock. The Trondheim fire brigade alsogot assistance from fire brigades in the neighbour-ing municipalities and from the military.

There was an automatic fire detection systemin the restaurant. According to the fire instruc-tions, this was only in operation between 04.00and 08.00 when there was nobody in the restau-rant. There was also an automatic sprinkler sys-tem in the restaurant kitchen. The fire brigadeturned off the sprinklers as they thought the firewas extinguished. The fire, however, had spreadto the ventilation room in the floor above the res-taurant. The fire spread from the ventilationroom along the facades and through the lofts.There was a shared ventilation system with venti-lation ducts in several of the buildings. Many ofthese buildings lacked firewalls between the lofts.

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It took the fire brigade hours to stop the firespreading to the remaining part of the block. Awall of solid wood construction in one of thebuildings stopped the spread of the fire. A largeconcrete building was also seriously damaged butthe fire brigade managed to stop the fire there.

After the fireAs Trondheim is a medieval city, archaeologicalexcavations have to be carried out before rebuild-ing can start. The extent of archaeological exca-vations was limited and areas in the interior ofthe block were left untouched. The authoritieshave not required the block to be reconstructedwith copies of the damaged buildings.

What can be learnt?What went wrong?• The fire brigade lacked knowledge

of the properties.• The available fire fighting personnel

was not used effectively.• The fire brigade lacked modern

fire fighting equipment.• The fire brigade lacked safe access to

back yards.

• There was insufficient fire insulation,particularly in the lofts.

• A sprinkler valve in one of the buildingswas turned off.

• The building authorities lacked an overviewof the fire safety of the properties.

• The building authorities had not used theirauthority to make sure the reported lack offire protection was improved.

How will fire protectionbe improved after the fire?• The local authorities will carry out a risk

analysis for fire protection.• The fire brigade will be strengthened,

particularly the department workingwith prevention.

• There will be improved routines for fire pro-tection during the building planning process.

• There will be improved cooperation betweenfire-fighting personnel and fire officers.

• There will be improved routinesfor fire inspections.

• There will be a project for the fire protectionof the historic centre of Trondheim,including a survey of all the properties.

The fire in Trondheim.

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5. Innset Church, NorwayThe parish church of Innset in the county of Sør-Trøndelag was built in 1642. It was the oldest ex-isting timber church in Norway originally built ina cruciform plan. It was a valued sight on a hillsidein a small community of 400–500 people. Thechurch could hold 300 people. The church burntdown on the night of 3 November 1995.

The church was a log construction paintedwith tar. It did not have any sort of fire protec-tion, but this was being planned. At the time ofthe fire, water was scarce and had to be takenfrom a stream nearby.

The fireThere are farms in the neighbourhood, as close as200 meters from the building, but nobody woke upearly enough to prevent the fire from spreading tothe whole church, nor were they in any way able totake control of the situation. When a timber con-struction of this size burns, the first minutes arecrucial. It is typical for a fire in a wooden churchto spread rapidly to the loft and tower, where itgets out of control. Nobody knows exactly when

the fire started. A neighbour living 200 metersfrom the church was woken up by a telephone call3.30 am from a person who had seen the fire fromthe valley. It took 20 minutes for the fire brigadeto arrive at the site. Then there was really nothingthat could be done except prevent the fire fromspreading. The church burnt down completely, ex-cept for one corner of the sacristy.

The actual cause of the fire is still unknown,but the church burnt down when Satanist arsonistswere active and fresh footprints near the churchcould indicate that this church was set on fire.There was a case of attempted arson on 25 April1995. The investigation after the fire concludedthat the electrical installations were sound and nopossible reason for the disaster was found. Whenthe fire occurred, the church was about to installan automatic fire detection system with a grantfrom the Riksantikvaren.

After the fireTwo days after the fire, the remains were searchedfor possible items of historic value and measured

Interior of the Innset Church before the fire.

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by NIKU (the Norwegian Institute for CulturalHeritage Research). But there was really not muchinformation to find in the remains.

The first reactions of the local communitywere the desire to rebuild the church. In this ruralarea, the church was the oldest and most visiblepublic symbol. Therefore, the loss of the churchand its tower up on the hillside evoked strongfeelings.

The present church is not an exact copy ofthe lost one but at first sight, the exterior bears astrong resemblance to it. The liturgy had changedsince the last restoration in the 1930s, and thelaws concerning public buildings, accessibility,and safety has also changed. The architect alsohad a desire to put his creative imprint on thenew building and building technology combinedwith economics are also partly responsible for thechanges made.

What can be learnt?What is probably most important from the her-itage point of view is the fact that the old churchwas not properly documented or measured.A feasible rebuilding of the church was simplynot possible. The Riksantikvaren was not in-volved in the process of rebuilding.

In this fire, almost all the things that couldgo wrong went wrong: a long distance for the firebrigade, no early warning systems, a lack of water,and insufficient documentation.

6. Eidsvoll Church, NorwayThe Church of Eidsvoll dates back to the MiddleAges. Through the centuries the church has beenchanged and enlarged several times to its presentsize and shape – which has given it a 19th centuryappearance. The church is a big construction ofdifferent stones and bricks. The roof, however, isof wood.

The fireThe fire alarm went off at about 6 pm on theevening of 21 August 2000. The fire brigade wasat the site within minutes but due to earlier falsealarms, they waited for the churchwarden, whohad a key to the church, to open the front door.As the churchwarden entered the church through

the sacristy, he immediately saw that the choirorgan was on fire. The organ was positioned closeto the crossing in the southern arm of the cruci-form church.

The fire spread from the organ up to the roofof the nave, where the ceiling and roof construc-tion were damaged. The organ in the west gallery,far from the choir organ, was also ruined. Sincethe fire started rather close to the choir, the bap-tismal font and the several-storied altarpiece werepartially ruined. The painted canvas panels of thealtarpiece were damaged by the heat of the fire.

The short time between the alarm and thearrival of the fire brigade saved the church butstill left the building with costly damage.

The most likely cause for the fire was the badcondition of the electrical connection to the choirorgan. The fire did not have time to spread up-

The interior of Eidsvoll Church reconstructed.

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wards to the church tower just above. If that had,the church bells would easily have fallen in andthe wood construction in the tower would havefed the fire.

After the fireThe damaged construction had much left of theoriginal material that could be feasibly recon-structed with traditional methods. The Riks-antikvaren contributed its know-how and the in-surance covered the costs. The altarpiece was re-stored but the choir organ was totally destroyed.The main organ was technically badly damagedand was rebuilt but the facade was reused.

What can be learnt?Several things are to be learnt from this fire. Thefire brigade hesitated while approaching thechurch because they suspected a false alarm. Ifthey had had the key to the main door, in a keybox at the entrance, they would have enteredmore quickly. The churchyard was soft and thegate narrow for the fire engines. This causedproblems and took time. The main reason for thefire was the electrical installations. Proper main-tenance of the installations could have preventedthe fire from starting.

7. Ringnes farm, NorwayRingnes Farm is on the eastern shore of LakeMjøsa. The land is very fertile and has been oneof the best farming districts in the country forhundreds of years. The farm dates back to before1000 AD but the present main building, com-pletely built in wood, was built just after 1700.The building is 30 meters long and consists of600 m2 on two floors. The building is listed.

The fireOn 10 September 1996 at 09.20 am, the owner,who was working elsewhere on the farm, sawsmoke coming out of the main building. Nobodywas inside. He immediately phoned the fire bri-gade, which, despite the 9 km distance, was at thesite in less than 15 minutes.

The fire started in an office on the groundfloor at one end of the building. The most proba-ble cause of the fire was a malfunction in the fusebox. The fire was under control after 4 hours.The greatest problem was that the fire got spreadthrough hidden spaces and holes formed duringthe many changes through the ages in the walls,rooms and floors.

The fire was restricted to the part of the build-ing used for living and more or less stayed out of

Interior of Ringnes just after the fire.

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the section used for parties. Most of the doors in-side where closed, which slowed down the spreadof the fire. The fire was restricted to half of the firstfloor. Except for a few rooms that were completelydestroyed, the largest damage was from smoke,soot and water. The house was filled with old piec-es of furniture, paintings, decorated walls and ceil-ings, and valuable old items.

The house had no alarm system connected tothe fire brigade. When the fire brigade arrived,they soon found that the connections between thefarm’s water system and the fire brigade’s hoseswere different. This caused a costly time delay.

After the fireThe restoration of the building was undertaken incooperation between the owners, Riksantikvaren,and the insurance company. The fact that the build-ing was legally listed made its restoration morecomplex, but it also made it possible to have therestoration carried out according to antiquarianprinciples. The insurance covered the extra costs.

The decision was made to return to the origi-nal room plan, enfilade, which meant changes insome walls and doors, and the building was dividedinto two sections according to use – living and en-tertainment. The wall surfaces in some of the

rooms were restored to the original, with the origi-nal painted decorations. Since the house is not amuseum but a home for a modern family withchildren, some of the changes in the living sectionwere made to fit these demands.

An automatic fire detection system has beeninstalled in the house. There is also portable wa-ter mist fire fighting equipment (IFEX).

What can be learnt?Good insurance is naturally important. The valueof a protected heritage building, i.e. a listed build-ing, is often different from other buildings. In ad-dition to functional value, a building literally hasdifferent layers of history, all the storytelling his-toric odd pieces and irregularities. A partial re-building of these traces in credible traditionalmethods may be costly, important and “incompre-hensible” to modern insurance companies.

Dividing a building into different fire cells isimportant in order to prevent a fire from spread-ing. Even closed doors can effectively prevent afire from spreading. An automatic fire alarm sys-tem connected to fire brigade saves lot of timeand it also works when there is nobody in thebuilding. The early detection of a fire can substan-tially reduce the damage.

Reconstructed interior of Ringnes after the fire.

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8. The Södra Rådamedieval Church, Sweden

The old church of Södra Råda was situated in thecounty of Västra Götaland in Sweden near theLake Vänern. The church was owned by the Gov-ernment and managed by the Riksantikvarie-ämbetet. The old timber frame from the 14th cen-tury was extremely well preserved, and had beenchanged only slightly during the 17th century. Theinterior had unique paintings on the walls and ceil-ings, and particularly those in the chancel, from1323, were of highest artistic quality. The enclosingchurchyard wall was also made of timber.

The building in the landscape, a witness of

historical continuity at this place of early Christi-anity, with strong links to religion and current ar-tistic influences in Europe, was an important partof local identity.

Before 1995, the fire protection of Södra Rådawas modest. A pond was constructed near thechurch during the 1950s to provide the watersupply in case of a fire. A fire hydrant was in-stalled and a lightning conductor was installed tothe church. In order to increase the awareness ofthe fire risks and to prevent fire damage in thebuilding, the property manager from the Riks-

The lost interior of Södra Råda with valuable paintings.

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antikvarieämbetet initiated a number of seminarsand workshops in 1995 with the aim of identify-ing the optimal level of fire protection whilst bal-ancing costs and security.

Experts from the Fire Defence Agency, theRiksantikvaren, alarm system producers and theRiksantikvarieämbetet took part in these meet-ings. The Riksantikvarieämbetet then engaged aNorwegian company to produce a fire protectionplan. Their decision was to install a sampling sys-tem that sucks air from inside the church into ananalysing unit outside the church. The systemsounded an alarm if there was fire or smoke inthe air from inside the church.

This was the level of protection chosen for thechurch and it was 95% installed. Due to problemswith the alarm system contractor and some techni-cal problems with the installation, the system wasnot fully functional at the time of the fire.

The fire – 12 November 2001The fire alarm went off at 01.53 am, both in thechancel and the porch. The fire was discovered bya neighbour at 02.18 am and he immediately no-tified the central alarm service. The local fire bri-gade arrived at 02.40 am. The police arrived at02.57 am.

The fire spread very rapidly and it was notpossible for the fire fighters to save any interiorobjects in the church.

The police closed off the area around thechurch immediately after the fire and Hemvärnet(the Voluntary Defence Organisation) protectedthe area 24 hours a day for the first 5 days after thefire. Thereafter, a fence and a powerful lightingwere installed around the building. Some weekslater, a construction was built over the formerchurch to cover and protect the remains so theycould later be investigated. This “tent”-like con-struction is still (2004) in use.

The investigation of possible causes involvedtechnicians and fire specialists. Police techniciansstarted a possible arson investigation the day afterthe fire. They could neither verify nor exclude ar-son. Other possible causes were an electric fault inthe alarm system connection box in the churchyardapproximately 8 metres from the northern facadeinside the wall. This box was checked but no con-clusions were reached.

The cause of the fire was unknown until theautumn 2003, when a man voluntarily confessed toarson during interrogation concerning the murderof a child. The arsonist, who was mentally dis-turbed, was convicted for arson in January 2004.He had the inspiration to set the church on firefrom a TV-programme presenting old woodenchurches in Sweden.

It was not possible to save any interior objectsduring the fire. Chandeliers, locks and other metalobjects as well as the baptismal font were all takencare of immediately after the fire was extinguished.Like everything else in the building, these objectswere badly damaged by the fire.

The remaining pieces of timber were num-bered and stored. Experts on timbering tech-niques carried out an antiquarian documentation.

An inventory was made of written sourcesand drawings concerning the old church and theresults were put together. It was clear that thisunique church was relatively well documented,although there were gaps. For example, no docu-mentation was found about some of the paintingsin the aisle.

Almost immediately after the fire, the munic-ipality and the local people started to demand thechurch be rebuilt in the same place and with thesame appearance as the old one.

In February 2002, the Riksantikvarieämbetetarranged the first meeting in Södra Råda, whichbrought together more than one hundred people,where the Director General of the Riksantikvarie-ämbetet promised to reconstruct the church.

After these events, the Riksantikvarieämbetetstarted the Södra Råda Project in collaborationwith the municipality, the inhabitants of the re-gion, the county council and the county museum.The project initially focussed only on rebuildingthe church. Now it has developed to an expand-ing long-term project, aiming at

• capacity building in cultural history andregional growth,

• increased commitment and interestfor our cultural heritage and

• strengthening collaboration betweenthe national, regional and local levels.

Another objective is to create a centre for the differ-ent building techniques used in medieval churches.

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Many difficult decisions and adjustments areyet to be made with respect to ethics, antiquarian,technical and regional culture tourism. Seminarsand workshops have been arranged and they willcontinue throughout the whole process.

The project is planned to end in 2008. Afterthe rebuilding and after the project is finished,the church will be owned and managed by afoundation called “Stiftelsen Södra Råda gamlakyrkplats”.

What can be learnt?One important aim for those preserving culturalheritage is the learning process concerning craftskills. Restoring a building in the same skilledmanner it was once built adds invaluable knowl-edge to the techniques of today. Another aim islearning how best to make use of the strong me-dia interest for the benefit of the process itself aswell as for the public.

Of course, this accident also shed light on theawareness of fire risks, especially in this type ofwooden building, and the prevention of damagecaused by fire. For example, the Riksantikvarie-ämbetet is working on a handbook showing howto make good photographic documentation of acultural heritage such as medieval timber churches.

9. City block in Jönköping,Sweden

The block and the buildingsA block named Arkadien in Jönköping began toburn the 11 February 2001. The oldest parts ofthe block were put up in 1630 as a courtyard sur-rounded by wooden buildings near Lake Munk-sjön. They were built for living and handcraftsand nowadays they also house small boutiques,barbershops and institutions. Three properties inthe block were more or less damaged by fire or bythe water used for extinguishing the fire. All thebuildings on one property were destroyed while abig stone building in the same place was onlyslightly affected. At least one of the buildings inthe block had a fire alarm. There was no auto-matic fire-extinguishing equipment in the dam-aged or threatened buildings.

The fire and fire fightingAfter the fire brigade had evacuated people theydrew the lines from which they would fight thefire. They had good experience from fire drills inthe very same buildings and they succeeded inkeeping the fire within the limitation lines theyhad set. The firemen had a good water supply

The block in Jönköping before the fire.

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from fire hydrants and the nearby lake. The ac-tion that gave “fog spikes” in the attics was themost effective, at least as long as the roofs wereintact.

Though there were fourteen flats and six com-mercial apartments that were totally destroyed, thefire brigade was rather satisfied; they succeeded insaving three-quarters of the block, both in area andin approximate value.

In at least one case, the rescue of valuablessucceeded well; the extinguishing water fromabove threatened a glue-paint covered ceiling in acafé on the entrance floor. The firemen coveredthe floor immediately with tight sheets andpumped the water outside. As soon as they could,the conservators got access to the ceiling to pro-tect it from further damage.Advice: A good knowledge of a building by boththe rescue service and the heritage authority willincrease the possibilities of a good result; an op-erational rescue and salvage plan are good instru-ments.

Problems in fire fighting1. There were narrow, 0.2–0.5 m “passages” be-tween some of the buildings that were originallybuilt as fire limitation space probably to be sprayed

with water. They were up to 40 m long and wentfrom the ground to the eaves and they were oftenused as storerooms for combustible materials. Theywere sometimes blocked with boards or growingplants at one or both ends. The walls in these pas-sages were often covered with board or otherwood-based materials.Consequence: These passages gave no protectionagainst fire spreading from one house to another.In some cases, they even acted as a chimney. Theywere often too long to be effectively sprayed withwater. Their length and narrowness also made itdifficult to enter them. The flames from the firewent up to the eaves and into the attic.Advice: Sprinklers under the eaves would proba-bly have limited or even stopped the fire. Alarmthreads on the walls may have given early warn-ing of fire in the spaces. A better possibility toaccess the spaces would have achieved their orig-inal purpose of fire limitation. Spreading firecould have been limited if the passage walls hadbeen covered with non-combustible materials andthe spaces were tidy.

2. There were just a few fire-limiting walls in theattics and between buildings.Consequence: It was impossible for the firemen to

The block in Jönköping after the fire.

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limit the fire to a smaller part of the block.Advice: Build fire-resistant walls (the heavier thebetter) from base to roof and in the same section.Doors in the walls should be made of non-com-bustible material and be closed. A sprinkler in theattic would have limited the fire.

3. One roof was (probably) covered with shinglesunder sheet-iron.Consequence:There was a shower of sparks overthe town.Advice: Sprinkle the ridge and the roof if thiskind of structure exists.

4. The houses across the street (and even theburning houses) had advertisement boards madeof combustible plastic on the walls.Consequence: The firemen had some problemsgetting the boards under control so that theywould not extend the fire.Advice: Make advertisement boards of non-com-bustible materials.

5. Some of the houses were painted in differentcolours on the street side and courtyard side.Consequence: The firemen found it difficult to ori-ent themselves. If they enter the wrong yard, atwo-side attack could fail.Advice: Provide information on these conditionsin the action plan.

6. One apartment in the attic in one house onlyhad access from the attic. Neither the fire brigadenor the police knew about this apartment.Consequence: The apartment was checked late bythe police. (Fortunately, it was empty.)Advice: A comprehensive and updated action plantells the rescue staff about such things. Do nothave just one access to such an apartment.

The investigationsThe investigations began the day after the fire.The fire investigators interviewed some witnessesand they got one photo from the early phase ofthe fire from a private individual. They also gotsome photos showing the situation before the fireand up-to-date drawings of the block. Thesedrew suspicion to a certain part, a staircase in onebuilding. The first thing they concentrated onwas the electrical installations. There were somesigns indicating that the fire had occurred on the

ground floor and they found some electricalequipment in these rooms, including a freezerand a heating fan. These were connected to theelectrical circuit over a multiple portable outlet.The heating fan was installed to protect a waterpipe from freezing. The investigators found ashort circuit and a loose connection in the exten-sion cables and plugs. This was probably thecause of the fire.Consequence: Some experts say that a loose con-nection can develop great heat energy (up to 25%of the connected power). One freezer would notgive more than about 50 W but a heating fan orheating unit whatsoever (2 kW) gives up to 500W of heat, which is dangerous when it developsin a small area with combustible materials sur-rounding it, e.g. plastics, paper and so on.Advice: Always connect heating and other high-effect units directly to a fixed electrical system.Always check loose connections inside high-effect and extension cord units.

After investigating the direct cause of thefire, the fire and rescue authority analysed howthe building construction and the technical fireprotection system affected the development ofthe fire.

Repair and rebuildingSome of the houses from 19th and 20th centurieswere destroyed and some remained. The half-burned houses were retained and repaired andthey were given an authentic shape.

What can be learnt?Where such units were installed, the automaticalarm systems worked as expected. After severalexercises in the block, the fire brigade was famil-iar with the buildings. The brigades from theouter parts of the municipality and from otherparts of the county had exercised with each otherand the rescue leader, so cooperation between theactors worked very well during and after the fire.

The fire brigades have now increased their ef-forts to make operational plans for the woodenblocks in the town.

It is a good idea to carry out fire supervisoryduty in restaurants, shops and other commercialplaces. Now all newly built living and commercialapartments are fitted with sprinklers.

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10. Katarina Church,Stockholm, Sweden

Katarina Church was built 1656–1695. The ar-chitect was Jean de la Vallée. The church wasdamaged by fire and rebuilt again in 1723, but itwas not an exact copy. The magnificent towerwas new and was finished in 1739. The architectthen was Göran Adelcrantz.

The church is on a hill in the south of Stock-holm, Södermalm, and you can see it from a longway away. It is a very important part of the Stock-holm skyline. The organ façade, which is from

1763, was by Jean Erik Rehn. The altarpiece from1732 and the pulpit from 1753 were by GöranAdelcrantz’s son Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz. The al-tar painting from 1735 was by Lorenz Gottman.

The fireThe church was destroyed by fire in May 1990.This is one of the most notorious fires in a cul-tural heritage building in Sweden. Only the outerwalls made of stone (or bricks) survived. The

Katarina Churchinterior just after the fire.

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cause of the fire was most probably an electricfault in the cable of the great hoist chandelier.The church had no smoke detectors. Had therebeen detectors, the fire would have been discov-ered at an early stage and probably been put out.The fire brigade was located next door to thechurch. But when the fire brigade came to thechurch, there was already a big fire and they hadno possibility to save the church. The church hadan old sprinkler system in the tower but it couldnot be used because there was not enough waterin the municipal water pipes.

After the fireOnly the walls, some vaulted ceilings and theground floor remained after the fire. All otherthings, the furniture, the altarpiece, the pulpit,the roof construction, the bells and so on were ly-ing on the floor. The conservators carried out anarchaeological excavation in the remains of thebuilding and found out the type of timber jointsused and other knowledge. They also saved piecesof ironwork, nails, mounts and so on, that werelater reused in the new construction. Even anoriginal water-coloured de la Vallée-drawing wassaved. They also found the former cast iron bellclappers that had been missing for decades.

The actors, the parish, the authorities, thechurch board and the newspapers immediately dis-cussed what to do with the ruin. The proposals weremany, from total rebuilding to a different shapedyouth centre. In the end, rather early (within aweek), the almost total rebuilding line had won.The church had been a well-known landmark forboth citizens and sailors for almost 300 years.

The church board engaged, after advice fromthe Riksantikvarieämbetet, a skilled architect anda skilled constructor.

The project team agreed along with thechurch board to give the building its shape fromthe early 18th century (after the former fire), bothin its interior and exterior. Some traces from therestoration in the 50s would be erased. The Riks-antikvarieämbetet actively participated in thisdiscussion and through argument and permissiondrove the design towards being more acceptablefrom the antiquarian point of view.

The church board wanted non-combustibleroofing but the constructor said that a concrete

construction would be far too rigid for the fire-affected and sensible walls. They ended up choos-ing a timber structure for the building. Here, theteam had great help from the pieces found in thefire remains.

The project team designed public facilities ina new basement under the western cross-arm,which led to an interesting archaeological excava-tion.

The former altarpiece was rebuilt except fromsome sculptures, which was impossible to do, andthe central painting, which would have beenmorally wrong due the artistic aspect. The formerbaroque organ from the 18th century, which wastaken down in 1870s was not reconstructed. Theorganist wanted a more modern one. The con-tracted architect gave the benches a new, func-tional design.

What can be learnt?You can never trust installations, neither electricalnor the fire-protecting ones. They always have tobe checked regularly.

The roof construction was a very interestingaspect in rebuilding. The architect proposed atraditional wooden construction while the churchboard wanted to use concrete. The matter wasstudied carefully by evaluating the use of laminat-ed timber and steel structures but finally it wasnoted that the old technique with wood would bethe quickest, easiest and cheapest way to rebuildthe roof. So skilful carpenters were employed andall parts were made on the site in order to adjustthem to the existing wall structures.

Detail of the new roof construction made of timberwith wooden joints.

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5.1 IntroductionFire needs three things to get started: combusti-ble material, heat and oxygen. If one of these canbe eliminated, then fire is eliminated. With theneed or will to protect an old building and itsunique character, many of these eliminating ac-tions can be contradictory. To reduce the amountof combustible material (the fire load) withouttaking it away, it could be stored behind plaster-board or fire-protecting paint. This would give anew character to surfaces, which is not recom-mended. Even heat-limiting installations such asinside or outside sprinklers and smoke lids in theroof (to eliminate flashover) could reduce the his-toric value of a building. To hinder oxygen fromreaching the building during a fire is technically

difficult because of doors, windows and othernatural holes in houses are not airtight.

This chapter discusses these problems andthe way to deal with them in old buildings.

5.2 Some examples

Conflict withconstruction and installationsPyhämaan uhrikirkko (the Pyhämaa Old Church)in Finland was built before 1667 and its interiorwas totally decorated with water-soluble gluepaint. The congregation was going to install aninternal water mist system that contains more

5. Fire prevention and protection

Pyhämaa Church.

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than 20 chemicals, which might damage the sen-sitive paintings. The Museovirasto did not allowthis; rather, it insisted that a mist system usingpure water should be used. As this system is moreexpensive than the chemical one, the congrega-tion did not accept the idea. Consequently, thereis no fire extinguishing system inside the church,only fire alarms.

The existing wooden exterior boarding onthe timber walls is from 1960s. The logs in thewalls were soft and they were no longer able tobear the load well; a new supporting frame wasneeded all over the church. This was made of 4" x4" wooden beams. This causes a serious risk offire because there is a gap between the log walland the boarding. The roof is also of double con-struction. A shingle roof visible but underneaththere is an older roof made of smaller and thinnershingles. There is also 10-cm wide gap that formsa flue in case of a fire.

The windows were situated in the surface ofthe wooden boarding. There were no windows atall in the timber frame. This meant that the gapbetween the boarding and the frame was directlyconnected to the interior. This was again a seri-ous fire risk. To prevent an arsonist from throw-ing something like a “Molotov Cocktail” throughopenings the existing glass windows were changed

to a shockproof material. New glass windows weremade for the timber frame. In addition, a sprin-kler system was installed outside the church, un-der the eaves and on the ridge. This sprinkler sys-tem may be too visible.

Technique also needs human beingsThere is a stave church in the Norsk folkemuseum(open-air museum in Oslo). It was moved therefrom Gol. Many different systems have been usedto protect the church against fire.

For fire detection, an air sampling system isinstalled in the church. It is so sensitive that itwill also detect external fires. Inside, there is awater mist sprinkler system. An “ordinary” sprin-kler system is installed in the gallery outside, + awater mist in the apsis. Four water mist cannonsare installed outside the building. Double plastictubes (that melt in a fire) activate the canons andthe water mist in the aisle; all the heads in theaisle are released simultaneously whereas in thechoir and around the apsis the heads are releasedindividually. There is a gas flask in the technicalroom to provide pressure for the release system inthe event of a power failure. The technical room,which is needed for the equipment, is built un-derground. The cannons were installed first andthen the sprinklers. Now, there is perhaps toomuch equipment.

There was a false release in the stave churchin the winter 2003, when the water mist systemwas activated. The mist fell to the floor as snowwithout causing any damage. The cause for this

The gap between the log wall and the exterior boarding.

The water mist cannon in the vicinity of Gol stave church.

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false release was a leakage in the detector pipe.The plastic tubes were installed too tightly sothat they would not swell or shrink with fluctua-tions in temperature.

There are two caretakers who know how tooperate the system and they check it once a week.A thorough check is carried out at least once ayear.

There is also a net of fire hoses that coversthe whole area of the open-air museum. Thesehoses have been equipped with a sabotage alarmand the water for them comes from the commu-nal water pipe. There are fire detectors in themuseum buildings. They are black because thiscolour merges well into the old wooden surface.

Systematic organisation is essentialStatens Fastighetsverk, (the Swedish NationalProperty Board) has written “Instructions on firesafety in national monuments” (Instruktion förbrandsäkerhet i statliga byggnader). Here aresome excerpts from the instructions:

“There are special requirements for historic prop-erties in terms both of how materials and designwithstand fire and the possibility of matchingfittings and other measures to the historic envi-ronment.”

“The property manager is obliged to:• Identify who is responsible for what in

relation to the fire safety of the property....

• Carry out regular training of staff and ensurethat the tenants’ staff receives training....

• Maintain continual contact with theFire Service in order to ensure that theyknow the property, understand its value andprepare intervention plans....

• Document incidents, analyse them and drawconclusions....

• Carry out and document a risk analysis andassessment of the cultural and economic valueof the building and coordinate this with thetenant’s analysis and assessment of collectionsand other valuable inventories....

• Draw up operating instructions and organisemaintenance.”

The Statens Fastighetsverk has also been workingon fire safety matters during the repairs. When abuilding is turned into a building site, they esti-mate that the risk of fire increases 30 times. Firecompartments and fire safety equipment are notusually active at that time and the building activi-ty itself increases the fire risk because of hotworks and so on. Therefore, they have tried tocreate ways to make the sites safer. The followingmeasures can be taken:• Work on repairs should be carried out so that

a building is divided into fire compartments.• A portable fire alarm system called

MADAMM can be used; its working range is50m and it is a sampling system (should beused only when there is no work on in the site,such as at night and on weekends, because thedust can cause problems). The price for oneunit like this is about 45 000 SEK (2003).

• All workers on the site are trained from thevery beginning to consider fire safety.

• The rescue of human beings must be ensured inthe event of a fire; fireproof elevators can beused (there is high pressure in the elevator well;it is normal technology for high-rise buildings).These fireproof elevators are in use not onlyduring the building activity but they alsofunction normally even in the event of a fire.

“MADAMM” a movable air sampling fire detector.

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5.3 How to choosefire prevention andprotection methods

Here are some basic recommendations forchoosing the fire protection methodand equipment:

• Consider each building unique. Therefore,it requires unique and creative solutions.

• What is usually needed is the combinationof organisational and technical fire safetyprecautions. Often a good organisation canminimise the need for technical adaptations.

• First try low cost methods complete withinstallations.

• Good solutions need cooperation betweenthe owner, the fire inspector and the heritageinspector.

Some key words for fire protection:

• Maximum safety with minimum damage• Extended cost-benefit analysis• Fire protection strategy

Maximum safety with minimum damage:• Choose fire protection methods that do

not involve interference with the building.• If interference is unavoidable, keep it

to the minimum, and it must be reversible.• New installations must be accessible for

maintenance and removable without causingdamage because they have a much shorterlifespan than the building itself.

• Technical installations andinformation signs must be discrete.

Extended cost-benefit analysis:• When choosing the systems for fire protection

both monetary costs should be considered aswell as the reduced cultural value of the build-ing due to damage to the fabric of the building,aesthetic interference, false releases from sprin-klers etc.

Fire protection strategy:• To minimise the interference to the building

and to secure the best use of available money, afire protection strategy should be carried outbefore expensive technical equipment is in-stalled.

5.4 Low cost fire preventionThe basic idea is that fire prevention is some-thing that needs constantly to be worked overand it has to be done systematically. Each herit-age building should have a specially appointedperson with the responsibility and the trainingfor fire protection. He must carry out or orderregular fire inspections according to a checklistthat is specially made for each building. All ob-servations must be well documented during in-

Sprinkler heads do not disturb the space very muchif installed carefully.

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spections. The checklist and fire risk assessmentcan be made with a fire inspector. In Sweden, thenew rescue law (Lag 2003:778 om skydd motolyckor, from January 2004) gives more attentionto fire safety documentation and the owners/ten-ants responsibility and less to the fire inspectionscarried out by the rescue service. The new rescuelaw (Pelastuslaki 468/2003) in Finland and theNorwegian law contain similar requirements.

There are some simple measures that can im-prove the fire protection of a building very muchlike caution with electric equipment and an openfire, locked storage for rubbish, the tidiness in thevicinity of buildings, in the attics etc.

Some technical installations do not cost toomuch but are effective, power surge protection,simple smoke detectors and fire extinguishers forinstance.

The most important thing is to have trainedpersonnel, to estimate the possible risks and tomake a fire protection strategy. It is also recom-mended to make a rescue plan in cooperationwith the local fire authorities to prevent extradamage in the event of a fire.

If a fire breaks out, the most important thingis its early detection, that the fire fighting equip-ment is easily within reach, and people know howto use it.

5.5 How to prevent arsonThe most important thing is always to make it asdifficult as possible for arsonist. When discussinghow to prevent arson, the first things that comeup are good locks and a burglar alarm. A verygood system might be a combination of a lightfitted with a movement detector, a video camerasending a picture to a guard company and a loud-speaker to talk to the person who is approachingthe building. To give the fire brigade more time,manual fire fighting equipment, for instance firehoses or in some cases an automatic fire suppres-sion system for instance sprinklers or water mistis recommended.

Some experiences from FinlandA discussion between people from the Museovi-rasto and an insurance company in Finland shedlight on some interesting aspects regarding out-door lighting and arson. (Note: Outdoor lightingis not same as a facade floodlight). Here are somepoints of view:• An illuminated building is visible

to all by-passers and it adds to control.• (Young) people avoid gathering

in well-lit places.• Lighting adds the fear of being caught

because to be seen adds enormous stress(every second is long) and 80% of burglarsgive up after 6 minutes if they have notsucceeded. (Standard: 6 minutes witha max. 60 cm long tool.)

• There is a positive connection betweenlighting and security: no dark corners towork in, light helps camera control.Insurance companies set lighting as secondsecurity measure after proper locks.

• According to insurance companies 70% ofcrimes in Finland, are committed byamateurs and to prevent them the simplestthing, a proper locking, is needed. Only 1 %of crimes are by organised criminals.

The negative aspect in some cases of outdoorlighting is that it can draw attention to a place thatwould otherwise be unnoticeable. It could there-fore “encourage” a passer-by. In remote places, itcan also help an arsonist to act because it is easierto work with the light on.

It is easy for an arsonist to set fire to an open binfull of rubbish in the vicinity of an historic building.

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5.6 Rescue Plan

FinlandThe requirements for a Rescue Plan are assessedin the Rescue Act 468/2003. According to thislaw, owners and occupants should independentlyimplement fire preventive measures on theirpremises. The Decree on Rescue Services 787/2003provides for standard of municipal emergencyservices and readiness for action.

A Rescue Plan has to be worked out for abuilding where the damage is assumed to be ex-tensive, such as all buildings open to the public,hotels and other accommodation buildings, shopsbigger than 500 m2, hospitals, day care centresinvolving more than 25 people, firms and compa-nies involving more than 30 people and blockswith at least 5 flats etc. This means that most ofthe protected and historic buildings in Finlandfall into categories where a rescue plan has to beprepared.

A Rescue Planshould include the following:1. Risk assessment and preparedness in

the case of an emergency2. Preventive measures3. Possibilities for evacuation and protection;

organisation for extinguishing and rescue4. The appointment and training of people

responsible for safety issues andthe use of other personnel and inhabitants

5. Equipment required for fire extinguishing,rescue and clearance, devices for personalprotection and first aid according tothe assumed case of emergency

6. Instructions for accident,emergency and hazards assumed in point 1.

7. A plan on how to informthe people concerned

An example of rescue plan drawings in Eksjö.

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SwedenRescue plans ought to be made for cultural her-itage buildings and apartment blocks. Theseshould include information about how to get intothe building or courtyard. They also should con-tain information on the most valuable objects tobe saved, where they can be found and how tohandle them etc (salvage action).

In general, a salvage action includes actionsthat limit damage and loss during and after a fireor any other accident that the rescue service mightwork with. This means that during a fire (acutesalvage), the participants have to make the site asdry and smoke-free as possible (primary damage).After the fire, they have to protect the site fromsecondary damage such as interruption in theowner’s activity, corrosion, dirt and soot, water andhumidity damage, temperature damage (proceed-ed salvage). The salvage action plan can be com-pleted with an activity priority in which the mostsensible, valuable or precious items should besaved in the first place. (In Sweden, the Larm-tjänst is responsible for salvage activity and theactivity priority is held and updated by the localLarmcentralen. Statens Fastighetsverk has pro-ceeded far in this task.)

NorwayAccording to the Norwegian Fire PrecautionsAct and Norwegian fire regulations, a rescue planis only required in buildings where there is a riskof the loss of human life. However, all building ofgreat historic importance, according to the law,should be designated as special category buildingswith the following requirements:• The owner must appoint an individual with

documented training to be responsible for thefire safety in the building.

• Fire safety must be documented: A. Plandrawings of the buildings showing the posi-tion of all fire installations. B. Descriptions ofall fire prevention equipment. C. Copies ofmaintenance agreements for the equipment.

• There should be fire drills every other year.• The local fire officer should carry out inspec-

tions every four years.• In buildings of great cultural value, the owner

should install permanent fire extinguishingsystems, for instance sprinklers.

5.7 Fire fightingAll the following examples deal with woodentowns but the same ideas can also be implement-ed in single historic buildings. If the firemen arefamiliar with the building, it is easier for them towork effectively without causing extra damage tothe building. This is the reason why a special res-cue plan for historic buildings should be made incooperation with local fire brigade.

It became obvious when looking at the casestudies that the best way to ensure effective firefighting is to make fire brigades familiar with thesites by organising fire drills. In Jönköping (Swe-den), they organised fire drills in the same blockwhere the fire occurred and this was the reasonthe work during the fire was effective. The factthat the fire brigade was familiar with the blocksaved some valuable paintings that might other-wise have suffered water damage.

An opposite example was presented fromTrondheim (Norway), where the fire brigade didnot know the block in advance, which causedmany problems and made fire fighting very diffi-cult.

In Eksjö (Sweden), they have not experiencedany serious fires of late but the fire brigade therehad made detailed plans on how to act in the eventof a fire in the old town. They also organised firedrills frequently in the old town. The politicianshad also discussed if neighbouring municipalitiesshould integrate their fire brigades. This was notdone as the Riksantikvarieämbetet issued a state-ment that there must be a local fire brigade as longas the old part of the town existed. The politiciansaccepted this and the fire brigade stayed in Eksjö.

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Fire protection strategyThe basic idea in choosing the most suitable fireprotection method is first to analyse the risksand to check the available/existing protectionmethods. Then, the remaining risks are listedand suitable prevention methods are chosen.However, a certain risk of fire always remains buta decision should be made on the acceptable levelof remaining risk. The main objective is to gain“maximum safety with minimum damage”.

Building up a fire protection strategy

Risk analysis, causes of fire

�

Fire preventive measures

�

Remaining risk

�

Fire limiting measures

�

Acceptable remaining risk

Risk analysis, causes of fireAny fire protection strategy should start with ananalysis of all potential causes of fire on the prop-erty. This will create awareness resulting in neces-sary fire preventive measures being carried out.

Some of the most likely causesof fire are:

• Incorrect use of electrical equipment• Faults in electrical equipment• Use of open fires, candles etc.• Faults in the construction of chimneys

and fireplaces• Arson• Lightning

It is obviously best if a fire can be prevented. Evenif a fire is extinguished, it will always cause dam-age to a building. Fire preventive measures can bedivided into administrative and technical meas-ures.

Fire preventiveadministrative measuresPriority should always be given to administrativemeasures as they are the most cost-effective andcause little damage to the building. Most fires canbe avoided through administrative measures. Someexamples of these measures are presented below.

Electrical equipmentElectrical installations are a cause of fire in about25% of cases. Therefore, all installations should bechecked regularly and all faulty pieces must be re-placed immediately. Electrical installations can bechecked using an infrared camera to reveal pointsthat create extra heat. If a building is not usedconstantly, the electricity should be turned off ifpossible. Moreover, all electrical equipment mustbe disconnected when not in use.

In Jönköping (Sweden), a loose connection in-side a multiple outlet caused the fire in a woodentown block. A loose connection can develop heatup to 25% of the connected power so in case ofhigh effect units (like heating fans); it is advisableto connect them directly to the fixed electrical sys-tem. Other examples in which a fire had startedfrom electrical installations are Åminneborg (Fin-land) (short-circuit caused by condensation), Ka-tarina Church (Sweden) (most probably an elec-tric fault in the cable of the great hoist chandelier)and Ringnes farm (Norway) (the fire started fromelectrical cable near the central unit).

Open firesAn open fire is always a risk and in some churches,candleholders have caused fires. Therefore, it isgood to have something on the floor to prevent afire if a candle falls over. The protecting cover must

5.8 Using a fire protection strategyto choose the right technical solutionsfor the fire protection ofcultural heritage

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be non-combustible and it should have raised edg-es to prevent the candles from rolling away fromthe cover. Even the security around bench-placed,handheld and freestanding candles should be con-sidered.

In Norsk folkemuseum (Oslo), there are somebuildings where an open fire is used. In thosebuildings, a dense net is installed in the chimneyto prevent sparks from spreading and setting fireto the roofs.

Prohibiting smoking in and near historic build-ings should always be considered.

The surroundings of buildings should be keptclean and such things as old leaves must be takenaway as they easily catch fire when they are dry.

Instructions to contractorsand others working in the buildingMany fires occur when there is building work go-ing on. Contractors and other people who carryout work on a site should therefore be given properinstructions on fire safety and sign a contractclearly making them responsible. Hot work shouldnot normally take place in heritage buildings.

However if such work has to be done all workersshould attend a special course.

Safe storage of rubbish etc.No combustible material should be stored in (ornear) a building if this can be avoided. An attic isnot usually good storage space. Sometimes it isnecessary to store some building fragments in theattic but in that case, tidiness is very important.

The removal of rubbish is also a measure toprevent arson. Preventing arson can be difficultbut at least it is possible to make it more difficultfor the arsonist to set a fire. All combustible ma-terial should therefore be removed from the prox-imity of a building. No litter boxes should be nearthe building. The spaces for rubbish bins shouldbe locked if they are located in the vicinity of ahistoric building.

Spread of fireFire doors should always be closed to limit a fireto only one compartment. If they happen to beopen in the event of a fire, there is a serious riskfor fire spreading to adjoining compartments.

An open or smouldering fire is always a risk. So smoking should be forbidden near historic buildings.

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Fire preventive building measuresIt is important to be aware of the risk of firespreading from buildings or activities nearby.Sometimes it is necessary to build fire barriers toprevent fire from spreading. In towns, fires canspread quickly in attics because of the lack of firebarriers. The insulation of walls between atticscan be an effective measure in preventing townfires.

Fire preventivetechnical measuresConstruction of fire barriers, new fire doors etc.can often create too much damage to a building.It is often better to consider technical equipmentas this can be installed without a need for greatchanges to the building – for instance, alarm sys-tems or sprinklers.

Burglar protectionBurglar protection (locks, detectors, guarding) isequally important against the arsonists. Lampsthat light up using a movement detector can pre-vent an arsonist. Permanent night illuminationcan be the wrong solution because it might givean arsonist “a working light” and it can draw un-desired attention to a (remote) building.

Burglar alarmsMany fires by arsonists can be avoided if there isa burglar alarm system. Infrared detectors sensingmovement are commonly used. Infrared detectorswith two different detection systems reduce thenumber of false alarms. Detectors mounted indoorframes can be another alternative if physicalintrusion of the installation is acceptable. The de-tector is activated only when the door is openedand it is therefore only acceptable if a break-inthrough the windows is unlikely.

Lightning protectionLightning is a major cause of church-fires. Whatseems to be a fire caused by an electric fault canin reality be caused by lightning. It is thereforeimportant that all electric installations are giventhe necessary lightning protection. Buildings inpositions where lightning strokes are likely, church-es for instance should also have an external light-ning protection system. The Riksantikvaren has

developed methods for fixing external lightningconductors in harmony with old buildings. InNorway, lightning conductors can be installedstraight to a surface and they do not have to befixed with very visible fasteners.

According to instructions on electrical instal-lations in Finland, how conductors should be in-stalled depends on the surface material. The nor-mal distance is 50 mm but if the surface is ofcombustible material, conductors should be in-stalled with a 400 mm gap. If the material is in-combustible, conductors can be installed straightonto the surface.

Video surveillanceThe threat of arson is usually the main reason forinstalling video surveillance systems to prevent afire. Unfortunately, there have been many prob-lems with false alarms from the video cameras atNorwegian stave churches. This is due mainly toinsufficient flood lighting during the night andthe incorrect positioning of lights in relation tocameras.

A lightning conductor installation in Norway.

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Fire limiting measuresEven if most fires can be avoided, there will al-ways be a risk. This remaining risk has to be metby fire preventive or fire limiting measures. Thesemeasures can be administrative, such as routinesfor handling a fire, or technical, such as alarms orsprinklers.

Technical fire limiting measuresTechnical fire limiting measures are basedon the following principles:1. Manual fire fighting2. Automatic fire-extinction,

such as sprinklers

Effective manual fire fighting depends on:• Fire detection• Fire fighting equipment,

such as fire extinguishers or fire hoses• People to carry out the fire fighting,

either the fire brigade or local personnel.If the distance to the fire brigade is morethan 10 minutes, it is necessary to relyon local personnel.

Internal fire detectionThere are many types of automatic fire detectionsystems. Most of these are designed for the heat-ed spaces. There are special challenges in unheat-ed heritage buildings.

Ceiling-mounted detectors are the most com-mon fire detectors. There are now sufficiently reli-able detectors on the market. Optical detectors arebetter than ionic detectors (optical detectors effec-tively detect fires without smoke early). Wirelessdetectors are being used in Danish and Swedishroyal palaces. Wireless detectors eliminate theneed for visually obtrusive cables.

Air sampling systems have proved to be veryreliable in stave churches and other churches inNorway. These systems are also extensively usedin farm buildings (with similar difficult climaticconditions). In Sweden, air-sampling systems areeven used in palaces and museums.

External fire detectionAir sampling is an alternative for external fire de-tection in wooden towns. Metal threads meltingat a certain temperature and metal tubes reacting

The only visible part in air sampling systems is the tiny end of a plastic pipe –if it is possible to hide the main pipes in such places as the attic above.

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continuous supply of water. A fire extinguisherhas a limited working time. Moreover, hoses areoften easier to use. Fire hoses should therefore beinstalled for full internal coverage of the building.These are mainly for use during the first minutesof a fire.

Special frost-proof outdoor fire hoses are de-signed and manufactured for use at stave church-es and other churches. Similar hoses are also usedin museums and wooden towns. The hoses are 50meters long and similar to the ones used by firebrigades. They can also suppress larger fires.Neighbours and others must be trained to usethese fire hoses.

When using hoses made of cloth, the pres-sure of water can cause a “strike”. This can be re-duced by using plastic hoses with a smaller diam-eter.

Manual fire fighting, mini fire stationsThese are standard containers with a water reser-voir of 6 or 10 cubic meters and a fifty-meter firehose. They were used at stave churches in Nor-way until a sufficient water supply was provided.They have now been moved to museums andchurches as a temporary measure.

Fire hose boxes should bedesigned to match the surroundings.

to change in temperature are other alternatives.These systems can also be used inside a building.

Infrared cameras for external fire detectionhave been tested at Røros in Norway.

Manual fire fighting, fire hosesFire hoses are more effective for fire fighting thanfire extinguishers. A benefit with fire hoses is the

Plastic fire hoses are easier to use than the ones made ofcloth because it is not necessary to pull it out full length.

A mini fire station in Norway.

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Water supplyTraditional sprinkler systems require a properwater supply. A good water supply is also neces-sary for manual fire fighting. The fire brigadenormally carries a limited amount of water intheir vehicles. To provide a reliable water supplyis a problem in many locations, particularly in ru-ral areas. If there is no public water supply, watercan be supplied by:• A reservoir with pumps• A reservoir under pressure• Pumps from a local lake or river

Automatic fire extinction,sprinkler systemsTraditional sprinkler systems have been used formore than one hundred years. In buildings with-out frost problems, wet sprinklers are recom-mended because they are simple, with few com-ponents, and very reliable. In unheated buildings,there has to be a dry, air-filled sprinkler system.This is more complicated as it needs a compres-sor to maintain air pressure in the pipes. A drysystem is in most cases better than a wet systemwith anti-freeze. If the anti-freeze is not properlydiluted, ice problems might occur in “pockets”.The anti-freeze substance may also damage valu-able surfaces.

Interior sprinkler systems are released by in-dividual heads activated by temperature. When asprinkler head in a dry system is released, thepipes (normally filled with air) are filled with wa-ter. On the outside of buildings (roofs and fa-cades), it is normal for several sprinklers to be re-leased by a separate release system (deluge sprin-klers).

The problem with sprinkler heads is that theyare sensitive and should be handled correctly at abuilding site in order to prevent false releases.

Loft sprinklersIt is often very difficult and hazardous for the firebrigade to gain access to lofts during a fire. Inthese areas of a building, a fire easily gets out ofcontrol. Priority should be given to installing firesuppression systems in lofts and towers. If thereis a short distance to the fire brigade, a dry sys-tem supplied with water from the fire brigade canbe an alternative.

Automatic fire extinction, water mistThe main problem with traditional sprinklers isthe amount of water released. Even if a false re-lease is very unlikely in certain buildings, such arelease is unacceptable. This is particularly aproblem in buildings with vulnerable interior sur-faces (such as water-soluble paint) or items. Insome cases, water may also cause serious damageto ceiling constructions. Water mist was intro-

Copper sprinkler pipes match well with aged wood.

If possible, it is good to use secondary spacesto install technical equipment.

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duced into the stave churches because their inte-riors were coated with water-soluble paint. Bothlow impulse and high impulse water mist instal-lations are used in stave churches. As water mistuses little water, it is an alternative in buildingswith a limited water supply. There have howeverbeen more false releases of water mist systemsthan with traditional sprinklers in stave churches.This is due mainly to the release systems for thewater mist.

The Riksantikvaren wanted a mechanical sys-tem that was independent of electricity for therelease because:1. Electric installations cause a danger of fire.2. If there is a failure of the power supply,

the sprinkler will not be released.For these reasons, a release system with plastictubes was developed for the stave churches. When

there is a fire, the tube melts and the loss of pres-sure causes a release of water mist (or sprinklers).The problems with this system include:• Leakage because the tubes

have been mounted too tightly and could notmove according to temperature fluctuation

• Condensation and ice inthe plastic tubes causing leakage

• The tubes have been cut by animalsMany water mist installations are equipped withdouble plastic tubes to reduce the risk of false re-leases. In some churches, there are two separatesystems to release the water mist, for instance plas-tic tubes + air sampling.

There should be more tests and research withwater mist on how it affects wall paintings if usedlonger than 10 minutes, how it really works inhigh spaces etc.

Many indoor paints such as sensitive glue-based paint do not stand the amount of water that traditionalsprinkler systems need, so a water mist system is more suitable for this kind of interior. (Pyhämaa Church)

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Inert extinguishing gasesThese can be used in buildings with sensitive in-terior surfaces or items. The gases consist mostlyof nitrogen. Gas systems are not normally an op-tion in cultural heritage buildings because tofunction properly, they need an air-tight buildingand no windows.

The aesthetics of exit signs etcThe design of the exit signs and fire hoses shouldbe such that they do not ruin the visual impressionand understanding of historic buildings and sites.Ideally, they should be effective when needed butinvisible at other times. In Sweden and Norway,the exit signs in sensitive interiors have beenexchanged with “invisible” spotlights that turn onautomatically when the alarm goes on to show es-cape doors and routes. Sometimes movable exitsigns are used if there is no continuous need forthem. Fire hoses can be hidden behind doors ortheir boxes can be designed to match the location.

Acceptable remaining risksEven if comprehensive fire preventive and firelimiting measures are carried out, a certain risk offires occurring still has to be accepted. This ac-ceptable remaining risk must of course be as littleas possible, particularly if the building is of highcultural value.

Two important aspects must be rememberedwhen making technical installations:1. They always need space for central

units, water “tanks” etc., and thisspace might become surprisinglylarge sometimes.

2. In addition, there must always bea person or people who are responsiblefor technical equipment andtheir regular maintenance.

A fire detector for the release of automatic firesuppression systems, for instance a water-mist thatconsists of two thin plastic tubes. It is discrete andfunctions without electricity, but there have been someproblems with it, such as incidents where the tubeshave been cut by animals.

Technology needs both space and human beings.

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6. After a fire

Documentation(before the fire) examplesWhen a historic building is totally lost by fire,the importance of good documentation cannot beover stressed. This documentation should includeplans, elevations and sections and information onthe structures, materials and techniques used inthe building.

In Sweden, two interesting project were pre-sented concerning documentation as a part of firesafety measures. They were documentation of theDrottningholm Palace and the combination ofcultural heritage values in the fire safety in estatesof Statens Fastighetsverk (the National PropertyBoard).

Documentation of Drottningholm PalaceThe Drottningholm Palace with its garden, Chi-nese Pavilion and theatre was named as UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1991 and it is regarded asone of the most important sites in Sweden. Thatis why it was decided that the palace is docu-mented thoroughly so that in event of damage,the current appearance can be recreated. It is in-teresting that in this case it was decided in ad-vance that the building or parts of it would be re-built if they were damaged.

The work covers 387 rooms and 9336 squaremeters and the task was given to two architect of-fices, Ove Hidemark and AIX. The work started

A photographic documentation drawing showing two interior walls in Drottningholm. (By Architect office AIX)

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in 2000 and it will end in 2004. The final cost forthe project will be about 9 000 000 SEK.

All spaces are documented with similar accu-racy. The aim is to document the “surface forms”but not what is behind the surface. No colour re-search is made, but the ordinary inventories ofeach room include records of the materials inthem.

The work started by making detailed linedrawings of some rooms, then taking ortho-pho-tos (these are scale photos and do not contain anydistortions) and high quality digital photos thatshow the 3-dimensions of the surfaces. The spac-es were then measured using laser scanning toproduce a “cloud of points” that are then proc-essed into a 3D model of the space. In “simple”spaces, some 300 points were measured.

There were problems in laser scanning. Mostof the new measuring techniques are created forindustrial use and they do not work well in suchpolymorphic spaces made of so many differentmaterials as at Drottningholm Palace.

Finally, it was decided that the best way wasto use stereo- and ortho-photography combinedwith digital photos. The structures in the atticwere measured by hand and the joints and otherdetails were photographed. All the drawings weremade with auto-cad on a scale of 1:1.

The result will be printed drawings that aresaved in digital form. In addition, the stereo anddigital photos will be saved. This documentationcovers all the surfaces of the spaces but not thestructures or materials behind the surfaces.

The project has not been continuous but ithas been carried out in intensive periods. Thishas made it possible to develop the systems con-tinuously, as after one period there is time toevaluate what could have been done in a differentway and to find new methods to work with.

Cultural value and “replaceability”The Statens Fastighetsverk has created a new sys-tem to combine historic value and fire safety. Thefirst project was carried out on an old palace build-ing in Stockholm that is now used as an office.

First, they estimated the historic values of thebuilding space by space and made coloured plansto show the result. They had set four differentlevels of value, from low to very high, and they

used colours to indicate these values in the plans.Then a three-level estimate was made of the “re-placeability” of the spaces a:1) if damaged by fire, possible to replace,2) possible to replace partly,3) impossible to replace.This replaceability was estimatedon the assumption of two aspects:1) The fire does not damage the building totally,but occurs only in a restricted area;2) The building is well documented.The results of this evaluation were marked on theplans using colours.

These two estimates (historic value and re-placeability) were based on the research and eval-uation on the building and on the maintenanceprogramme. Coloured drawings have to be madeso that they are readable even by colour-blindpeople.

After these evaluations were carried out, theywere combined with the fire safety analysis tofind the most suitable solutions to improve thefire safety of each space. The cost for evaluationand the proposals for what should be done cameto about 300 000 SEK for 12500 m2.

Actions after a fire,examples

Protection of ruins or remains after a fireAfter the fire at the Tyrvää Church in Finland,the stonewalls remained but almost all woodenparts had burned down. Work in the site startedby protecting the ruins temporarily with tarpau-lin because it was autumn and there was a dangerof rain. If the warm walls made of stone andbricks had become wet and then frozen, it wouldhave caused severe damage.

Soon, the congregation decided to build tem-porary scaffolding to protect the remaining walls.It was made of corrugated steel plates providedby the Rautaruukki factory. The door and win-dow openings were sealed with planks.

Immediately after the fire at Södra RådaChurch in Sweden, the police closed off the areaaround the church and Hemvärnet (the Volun-tary Defence Organisation) protected the area 24hours a day for the first 5 days after the fire.

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Thereafter, a fence and a powerful lighting wereput up around the building. Some weeks later aconstruction was built over the former church tocover and protect the fire remains so they couldlater be investigated.

Investigation of ruins and remainsAt Tyrvää Church, a survey of the remainingstonewalls was carried out very soon after the fire.The work was done by the Museovirasto with thehelp of a crafts school. The remains were investi-gated when cleaning the ruins, and all useful ma-terial was collected. All wooden parts with pro-files, marks or some traces were stored. All nailsmade of wrought iron were collected.

The investigation of the burned material wasorganised so that all larger remains were checkedin the place where they were found. They weremeasured and possible carvings and remainingdetails were checked and documented.

Smaller pieces were found when all the charredmaterial was sifted before it was thrown into theskip. The Museovirasto staff organised this workbut before this part of the half-burned materialwas already taken away, so some information waslost.

Protective construction was built to cover the remains of Södra Råda.

All charred material was sifted at the TyrvääChurch site after the fire.

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In Södra Råda, it was not possible to save anyinterior objects during the fire. Chandeliers, locksand other metal objects, as well as the baptismalfont were all taken care of immediately after thefire was extinguished. Like everything else in thebuilding, these objects were badly damaged bythe fire. The remaining pieces of timber werenumbered and stored. Experts on timbering tech-niques carried out an antiquarian documentation.

Archaeological excavations were carried outat the site when it was cleared of the charred ma-terial.

Documentation of ruins and remainsAt Tyrvää Church, all the damage in the stone-walls was marked on existing drawings. In addi-tion, the details and traces found in the remainswere documented at least by making sketches andtaking photos. A so-called post documentation ofthe church was made according to the photos.These drawings contained all the informationfound in the photos but still some informationand especially the joining and other invisible de-tails were missing.

Archive researchThere were many documentation drawings (most-ly from 1990s) of the Tyrvää Church in the Mu-seovirasto archives: plans, elevations and sec-tions, altarpiece, pews, pulpit and balcony. Inthe 1960s, the windows were made according tothe plans made in the Museovirasto so therewere many drawings of that time. In addition,the roof was well documented when the shingleroof was repaired in 1996-97.

There were documents in the archives ofthe local parish showing the order of the bench-es in 1665. Also, many photos (partly from pri-vate individuals) showed the interior and exteri-or of the church. However, a thorough docu-mentation of the paintings and interior detailsdid not exist.

In the case of Södra Råda, an inventory wasmade of written sources and drawings concern-ing the old church and the results were put to-gether. It showed that this unique church wasrelatively well documented, although there weresome gaps. For example, no documentation ofsome of the paintings in the aisle was found.

All cracks in the stonewalls were marked on the existing drawings of Tyrvää church.

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Analysis before the decision to“rebuild or not”Before any decision is made, the situation and theexisting documents and knowledge on the burnedbuilding should be thoroughly analysed. If rebuild-ing is chosen, there might be a need for research orexperimentation before applying certain construc-tions, materials or techniques. Rebuilding can beseen as a possibility to learn about old techniquesand materials, but this kind of work needs moretime than normal.

It was interesting that both the Katarina andTyrvää Churches were dominant in the landscapeand their silhouettes were so important that thispoint of view was used as justification for rebuilding.

Another justification for the Katarina Churchwas that it was very actively used. In the Tyrvääcase, the church was not used so much before thefire but it became very popular after (and during)its rebuilding.

Things that should be analysedbefore a decision is made:• the meaning of the building for

the surrounding area or landscape• the value of using the building

(is it still needed)• existing knowledge on the building

(level of documentation)• the possibilities of rebuilding

(economics, skills, techniques, materials)• the effects of rebuilding

(mental, economic, educational, research)• the style of rebuilding

(copy, interpretation, new design, mixture)• the effects of not rebuilding

Tyrvää was a dominant in landscape.

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Insurance andreconstructionInsuring heritage buildings is always a crucial butoften a difficult matter. It should be born in mindthat it might cost much more to restore a partial-ly damaged building or piece of art than it is torebuild or reconstruct it.

After a fire disaster, there should be immediatecontact and cooperation with the insurance com-pany. Much can be damaged and many traces canbe lost the first hours of “clearing up” after a fire.This might be very costly in terms of both lostheritage and money if not treated in the right way.

Proposal for“First Aid actions”When talking about first aid, the first questionsconcern the implementation of actions and or-ganisation of them. The first heritage authorityto be contacted should be the local one. Then,this person can ask the national heritage authori-ties for help. They should have a few people thatknow how to act in a case of a fire. These nation-

al authorities can develop their systems for ac-tions after a fire, if they are always the organisa-tion that organises the work on the site.

The following instructions are for a very val-uable heritage building and they should be ap-plied on a suitable scale case by case.

Protection of ruins and remainsNo matter if a fire has destroyed a building total-ly or partially, the remains must be protected sothat no extra damage is done. It is necessary tocover the ruins so that, for example in case ofrain, they do not get wet and in the case of aheavy wind, nothing is lost. There might be ar-chaeological material under ground that must beprotected, so the use of heavy machinery ortrucks when tidying up the site must always beconsidered carefully.

Outsiders must be kept away from the ruinsand remains so that they do not mess the site orsteal anything. Not a single item should be re-moved from the site before it is investigated. If

The starting point for investigations after a fire can be like this (Innset church, Norway).

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the temperature happens to be below zero, itmight be necessary to heat the remains under atarpaulin to prevent them from freezing. How-ever, in the case of heating, it must be remem-bered that a combination of high humidity andheat might also cause the rapid growth of fungiin structures. Therefore, heating must always beconsidered carefully and carried out in a control-led way. Sometimes, dehumidifiers can be used toreduce the humidity in the air.

1. There should be a guard on the site toprevent outsiders from entering.

2. The ruins or remains should besheltered and covered so that frost,rain, wind, or anything else does not causeextra damage.

3. A first aid cover can be tarpaulin,

The remains in Tyrvääwere investigated carefully.

canvas or something else that is quick andeasy to install but does not harm the ruins(it must be installed carefully and preferablyby conservation experts).

4. Later, a more construction likecovering can be made and this can be used asspace for researchers to investigate the ruins(like in Södra Råda).

5. Supporting structures should be made ifstructures in danger of collapse.

6. If some structures have to be taken down,it must be done in a controlled way.

7. Heating and drying wet structures.(A temperature few degrees abovezero does not harm fungi-sensitive materials,even if they are wet. Fungi andmould only grow at certain temperaturesand humidity, seldom around zero.)

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Investigation ofruins and remainsMuch information can be found from charred re-mains. Sometimes a fire exposes layers and struc-tures not previously visible. That is why remainsmust be investigated properly.

1. As soon as a fire is suppressed, no peopleother than investigators (police andconservation experts) are allowed toenter the ruins and remains.

2. Good and open cooperation and theexchange of information between police andheritage authorities should be establishedat the site.

2. Investigators (other than police) should beconservation experts.

3. Large remains can be checked anddocumented in situ, smaller remains can betaken to conservation laboratories.

4. Charred material should be sifted to findeven the smallest parts carrying someinformation.

5. All parts that carry some information about abuilding should be stored in a safe place.

6. Very detailed information can begained using microscope analyses.

Documentation ofruins and remainsSometimes a fire is an opportunity to study layersand structures that are not usually visible. Thisresearch must also be well documented.

1. During the investigation of ruins andremains, the site must be documentedproperly. The remains should not be messedup before they are documented.

2. The site and details must be documentedwith systematic photography.

3. If proper drawings showing the buildingbefore the fire exist, they can be used asa basis for documentation.

4. If there are no drawings, the ruins should bedocumented as they are and in the case ofpartial destruction, proper drawings of thebuilding should be made and the notesmade during the investigation should bemarked on them.

5. Important observations should be marked on(existing) drawings of the building(such as the places where the remainswere found, constructions and layersthat the fire exposed).

6. It is good to make sketches of the details andconstructions etc. found.

7. Documentation of found materials andtheir properties (wood, plaster, paint etc)should be made.

Investigation ofarchivesWhen information about a fire reaches the herit-age authorities, they should check to see what isin the archives about the building. Sometimes apiece of information can be found that tells uswhat to search for at the site of a fire. This can besomething like if a valuable object stored in thebuilding, whether some special building partsmight have survived, if there are some structuresthat have not been studied but that might now bevisible etc. A check should also be made to see ifthe site is archaeologically interesting and if exca-vations are needed.

1. Check the archivesof the heritage authorities.

2. Check the literature.3. Check the local archives.4. Check other possible archives

that might posses some informationabout the burned building.

5. Collect the information together to help theinvestigation on the site and future actions.

ReportIt is advisable to make a report that includes theinvestigation and documentation of the site aswell as the results of archive research. This reportcan assist decision-making when the question ofrepair, rebuilding or conserving the ruins is dis-cussed.

The report will also serve as a final documen-tation of the lost building (or a part of the build-ing).

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How to approach the questionIf a building is partially or totally destroyed byfire, there is always a question of how to dealwith the loss. Each loss, whether it was total orpartial is unique. It may be advisable not to makepremature decisions after an accident becausefeelings are still strong and they guide too muchthe decision-making. After the first shock is over,it is easier to analyse what was important or valu-able in the building that is lost. Then, it mightalso be easier to consider the different solutionsand their possibilities.

One way to approach the question is to ana-lyse the values of the lost building. If the valuewas age (or authenticity), it is something thatcannot be reconstructed. If the value is in itsuse, the building should be rebuilt but in thiscase, a contemporary design might be a goodsolution. If the value of the building was in itsart, it might be possible to reconstruct it after athorough investigation and analysis. These werejust examples of values that might be related tobuildings.

An essay:“Conservation, rebuilding or what?”

Tyrvää Church lost interior.

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There are usually three main alternativesto built a lost heritage building:

1. RebuildingOften, the immediate reaction is that everythingmust be reconstructed. In practice, this often ap-pears to be very difficult as there is not enoughknowledge or proper documentation about thelost building. Even if it was possible to rebuild alost building with total accuracy in every detail, itwould always be a new building. The patina andthe age value are lost forever.

On the other hand, rebuilding can be seen asan opportunity to study old materials, their pro-duction and construction techniques. During arebuilding process, it is possible to train crafts-men in conservation and to study the process,materials, techniques and constructions.

2. Nearly rebuildingIf the idea of a total rebuilding is rejected, thenext idea is very likely to build something remi-niscent of the lost building – but more simple,more practical or made with contemporary tech-niques. This solution is often chosen. In this case,there are very often high hopes but the “endproduct” can be a disappointment as it does notsufficiently resemble the lost building but it is notreally a new one either.

3. Contemporary designThe most demanding way to act is to build some-thing totally new with a contemporary design.This option requires courage from the client anddesigner. If the result turns out successfully, it canbe seen as a new beginning. On the other hand, ifthe new design is not good it might increase thefeeling of loss.

Attitudes in different countriestowards rebuilding after a fire

FinlandIn the 1970s and 1980s, rebuilding was regardedin Finland as a falsification of history. Lost islost, it is gone and you cannot get it back. Thisthinking was based on quite strict adoption of theVenice Charter of 1964 (International Charterfor the Conservation and Restoration of Monu-ments and Sites). According to Finnish way ofthinking, authenticity is authenticity of materials,not only that of shape or design.

Lately, the attitude has become more tolerantand rebuilding can at least be seen as a learningprocess. In addition, the concept of rebuilding at-mosphere has been discussed quite much lately.

The separation between total or partial re-building had already been made earlier. It is easyto accept rebuilding when only a part of the build-ing is lost in a fire. Then, it is possible to think ofit as a kind of recovery or a repair. The VeniceCharter says that the reconstructed part must bedistinguishable; you have to be able to recognisethe original from later additions. The recon-structed part has usually traits of the original butits details are simpler, thus indicating the differ-ence between the authentic and reconstructedparts. The aim is that the overall impression isharmonious, even if some details are missing.

Södra Råda before fire.

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NorwayThe policy of the Riksantikvaren is to distinguishbetween cases where buildings have been lostcompletely or just partially. When a building iscompletely lost, rebuilding it is of no interest.The historic value lies in the authentic material.A partially lost building is a different case. Tosave the authenticity of the remaining parts, it isoften of vital importance to reconstruct the lostparts. This could be for structural reasons, theunderstanding of the monument, or simply thepresentation of the monument itself. Rebuildingwould normally be undertaken using traditionalmaterials and techniques.

Economically, from the insurance point ofview, a partial fire is more costly than completedestruction. Partial destruction leaves a lot oftraces and authentic material that will be used asa basis for rebuilding. There is also an attempt toconserve, repair and reuse as much as possible ofthe damaged parts – to avoid loss of authenticity.

There have been a number of fires in Norwe-gian churches where this policy has been appliedover the past ten to fifteen years.

SwedenOn the national level, there has been no clearpolicy or established practise on how to handlethe issue of protected buildings lost in fire. As inmany other countries, the Venice Charter had animpact on the restoration policy in Sweden, espe-cially during the late 1970s and 1980–1990. Oneimportant example of the Venice Charter is thegreat caution in dealing with rebuilding.

During previous decades, the practice hasbeen to regard every new piece of damage to cul-tural heritage as a unique situation, with manyaspects and conditions interacting. For churcheslost in fire, the wish of the congregation on howto handle the loss is of utmost importance. How-ever, the County Administrative Board has to ap-prove the proposal from the congregation in ac-cordance with to the Heritage Conservation Act.

Decisions concerning other protected build-ings are made in dialogue between the owner ofthe property and the antiquarian authorities so asto ascertain a decision that is both historicallycredible and democratically acceptable.

During previous decades, one common solu-tion to handle the loss of a protected building wasto reconstruct its exterior using traditional materi-als and techniques. A more pragmatic attitude hasgenerally been practised for the interior. The resultof this has sometimes been a new layout.

Since a reconstructed building has to fulfilthe regulations for a new building (according tothe Planning and Building Act) this can also af-fect the outcome.

The attitudes mentioned above may differ tosome extent from attitudes in other parts of Eu-rope, since Sweden was not directly involved inWorld War 2. It seems that Sweden also focusesmore on workmanship in details, such as hand-hewn logs, than elsewhere. This may also havesomething to do with the fact that Sweden wasspared the devastating effects of the war.

Churches lost in fire as examplesTraditionally in the Scandinavian societies, thechurch has been the centre of the local communi-ty. Everybody belonged to the church and thechurch was not only the place where the servicewas held but it was also the place where the Statewas very much present – the place where newlaws were proclaimed, news was exchanged, andpeople met and made business. Inside the church,everybody had his place according to rank. Evenin our modern times, the majority belong to thechurch and most people are buried in cemeteriessurrounding the churches. This makes the churchbuilding a central part of people’s lives, even ifthe majority does not attend services regularly.

The church is also often the oldest buildingin the community and the building where we findthe most interesting architecture – the result ofcraftsmen’s skills, the artists’ works and so on.These facts have also made church buildings theobjects with the longest history in restoration andconservation. Much of the ideology of conserva-tion and restoration has been developed in workgoing on in churches. Maybe they can also leadthe way when discussing the question of rebuild-ing after a fire.

During the last century, approximately onechurch per year was lost in fire in Sweden. In astudy in 2003, the Riksantikvarieämbetet selected

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sixteen churches that had been lost in fire duringthe past few decades to find out how the discus-sions went after the fire, what the argumentswere and in what they resulted.

Reactions after a fireAccording to the Swedish study, the immediatereaction among people was to get the churchback in the same shape as it was before the fire.This often seemed to be the only possible alter-native just after the fire. When time passed, how-ever, a more varied discussion on how to handlethe damaged building usually took place.

The people working within a church or in thecongregation were most often the ones who pre-ferred changes and had no difficulties in seeingalternative solutions to restoring the church aftera fire. The church building itself is often given afunctional (use) value and usually a complete re-building is considered too costly and not resultingin the expected outcome. “What is lost can notbe restored”.

The people not actively involved in the churchwere often more negative to changes and theyusually argued for a complete rebuilding of thechurch. The importance of the church as a land-mark was argued, as was its importance for his-toric continuity and local identity. “We miss ourchurch, its silhouette and the ringing bells. Animportant part of our cultural heritage has beendamaged”. It was argued that extensive changesor a new design would damage culturally historicvalues. Often this reflected a wish to regain whatonce existed, and culturally historic values areused as arguments.

There is something special about old church-es, something that people long for and love. Ouracademic discussions should take this side ofthings into consideration in order to find whattouches the hearts of people, even if it does notfollow accepted rules and practises.

Examples

Tyrvää (Finland)In this case, the idea was to restore the lost at-mosphere and not the lost interior. In fact, the re-building of the interior of Tyrvää Church fol-lowed the Venice Charter by showing in somedetails of the wooden structures that it is not theoriginal. It was not meant to be a copy of theburned interior, even if does look very much likeit in reality.

In this particular case, it could have been pos-sible to accept the copy because everything wasburned down and thus it would have been impos-sible to mix the original and the rebuilding.

The boarding in the panels for paintings was madehorizontal while in the old Tyrvää Church it was vertical.

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Karjalohja (Finland)The church in Karjalohja was left as a ruin be-cause the Museovirasto demanded so. Only thebrick walls remained in 1970. They were strength-ened with concrete to withstand the cold and hu-mid Nordic climate. A box of glass and steel wasbuilt next to the church in 1977. In its leaflet, thecongregation says that the new glass church hascaused anxiety in people because of its modernand severe architecture. There is a story about asmall boy who said to his mother “what a congre-gation, they even have a swimming hall here “.

Because the members of congregation missedtheir old church, the decision was made to rebuildit, but not to follow what it was like before the fire.This was due to the economic reasons; everythinghad to be low cost. The first step in 1995 was tolift the look-like prefabricated top of the toweronto the church. The next phase was a new roof in1997, but without the wooden ceiling vault. Stepby step, the church was rebuilt. Finally, old bench-es from the Church of Kouvola were added. Theyhad been lying in storage for many years and theywere given as a donation. The local people are nowvery happy about their “real church”, which is usedonly in the summer because it is unheated. A heat-ing system will be installed in 2004, if the congre-gation has money to do it.

Karjalohja Church when rebuilt.

Karjalohja “new” Church from 1977.

Otaniemi Chapel (Finland)Otaniemi Chapel is one of the most impressiveexamples of Finnish contemporary architecture.It was built in 1957 and designed by the archi-tects Heikki and Kaija Sirén. It was struck bylightning and totally burned down in the 1970s.It was reconstructed in 1978 immediately afterthe fire without any discussion about the otheroptions. Of course, all the drawings were at handand the architects were able to direct the rebuil-ding.

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Norwegian examplesThere are several cases of rebuilding lost churches.The most famous examples are probably the Hol-menkollen Chapel in Oslo and the Fantoft stavechurch in Bergen. In these cases, the original de-sign was far more important than the originality ofmethods and materials. In the case of the InnsetChurch, the general exterior impression is that theold church has returned, but a closer look showsthat the new architecture as well as modern liturgy

and regulations have changed the church and con-verted it into a modern church with a lot of refer-ences to the old. This applies even more to theVeldre Church where the church is a completelynew and modern design with a number of refer-ences to history such as the top of the tower, theold door ring, a copy of the old Madonna in medi-eval colours and the altarpiece made of reusedstones from the foundations of the old church.

Fantoft just after the fire. Fantoft reconstructed.

Veldre before the fire. Veldre reconstructed.

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Trönö (Sweden)Trönö Church, built of bricks in 1893–1895,burnt in 1998. It stands out from other churchesin that a new church was built inside the ruin ofthe old one. A smaller church was built in thechancel and front part of the aisle. The newchurch is of a modern design. The remaining partof the aisle is now used as an open yard. The spireof the tower walls has been replaced by a con-struction made of glass.

After the fire, the parish discussed whether torebuild the old church or to tear down the wallsand build a completely new church. The truewish of the parish was to rebuild the old churchas it was before the fire. Since the funding wasinsufficient for rebuilding the church and sincethe parish did not want to tear down the walls,this somewhat uncommon solution was chosen.

Which solutions were chosen?A study of the 16 churches in Sweden showed thatfive different solutions were mostly discussed.

Initially a complete rebuilding, includingboth the exterior and the interior of the churchwas discussed and this solution was chosen intwo cases. If this solution was rejected, a rebuild-ing of the exterior with a new interior designedfor today’s liturgical requirements was discussed.This was done in nine cases.

Two parishes made the choice to build a newchurch of contemporary design on the same site.Building a new church of contemporary designon a new site was also discussed, but not chosen,by any parish. Finally, the alternative not to re-build the church at all was discussed. This latterdecision was taken in two cases because thosechurches were no longer in use.

The new church in Trönö was built inside the remains ofthe old church.

The modern and the old meet.

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Summary

In English

BackgroundThe project consisted of three seminars during2003 and the participants were from the heritageboards of Finland, Norway and Sweden.There are some common aspectsin the fire protection ofhistoric buildings in all these countries:• A large proportion of historic buildings

in Nordic countries are made of wood.• There are historic wooden towns

that are densely packed andwhere the threat of fire is serious risk.

• Some historic buildings are locatedin remote places.

• The climate in all three countries is coldin the winter and warm in the summer,so there is a danger of fire during longdry seasons and on the other hand,temperatures below zero can cause problemsfor fire protection and fire fighting in winter.

Whilst the main aim of ordinary fire protection isto safeguard the lives of human beings, the fire pro-tection of historic buildings should also safeguardthe building and its cultural heritage value. The aimof fire protection in historic buildings is to achieve“the maximum safety with minimum damage”.

Legislation and cooperationwith other authoritiesThe legislation in all three countries is very simi-lar. According to the Rescue Service Acts in eachcountry, the owner of the (heritage property)building bears responsibility of its fire protectionand the local authorities bear the responsibilityfor the rescue service.

The cultural heritage laws of each countrycontain nothing about fire protection measures.There is not anything in the acts that give in-structions for building activity about the fire pro-tection of historic buildings.

In Sweden and Norway, the heritage authori-ties are in close contact with the rescue services.In Sweden, the Swedish Rescue Agency and theNational Heritage Board have together publisheda handbook “Brandskydd i kulturbyggnader”.

The fire protection ofhistoric wooden townsThree projects concerning historic wooden townswere presented in the seminars: Rauma (Finland),Lillehammer (Norway) and Eksjö (Sweden).

After studying the examples during the project, it ispossible to propose that following matters shouldbe considered when starting a fire protectionproject in a historic wooden town:

1. What is the goal of the project (prevention ofsingle fires or prevention of town fire)?

2. What kind of risks are there on single estatesand in the town structure and how can theybe minimized?

3. What are the risks for fire spreading fromone estate to a neighbouring one andhow can these be minimized?How a fire can be limited to a restricted area?

4. What can be done to detect a fireas early as possible?

5. What problems does the fire brigade facewhen acting in a town structure oron a single building?

6. Is there enough water to extinguish a fire?7. How is the common training of owners and

inhabitants in fire protection arranged(it is important to make them aware ofthe fact that a fire in a neighbour’s houseis a threat to their own house, too)?

8. Which measures are paid for by authoritiesand which are left to house owners?

Case studiesSome cases from each country were discussed dur-ing the seminars. These were the Tyrvää Church,Åminneborg manor and the Kotaselkä loggingsite hut in Finland; the Trondheim town fire,Innset Church, Eidsvoll Church and Ringnesfarm in Norway; Södra Råda medieval church,Katarina Church and the Jönköping town fire inSweden.

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Choosing the fire prevention andprotection methodsHere are some basic recommendations for choos-ing the fire protection method and equipment:• Consider that each building is unique.

Therefore, they require uniqueand creative solutions.

• Try low cost methods first,complete with installations.

• Choose fire protection methods that do notinvolve interference in the building.

• If interference is unavoidable, keep it to theminimum, and it must be reversible.

• New installations must be accessiblefor maintenance and removablewithout causing damage because they have amuch shorter lifespan than the building itself.

• Technical installations andinformation signs must be discrete.

• Good solutions need cooperation betweenthe owner, the fire inspector and the heritageinspector.

Before anything is done, a strategy should bemade. What is usually needed is a combination oforganisational and technical fire safety precau-tions. Often good organisation can minimise theneed for technical adaptations. There should be aspecial person in each heritage building who isappointed to have the responsibility and trainingfor fire protection. This person should also carryout regular fire safety inspection.

Technical installationsThe basic idea in choosing the most suitable fireprotection method is first to analyse the risks andto check the available and existing protectionmethods. Then, the remaining risks are listed andsuitable prevention and protection methods arechosen. A certain risk of fire always remains but adecision should be made on the acceptable levelof the remaining risk. The main objective is togain “maximum safety with minimum damage”.

A few points must be remembered whenmaking technical installations. They always needspace for central units such as water “tanks” etc.and this space might sometimes become surpris-ingly large. In addition, there must always be aperson or people who are responsible for techni-cal equipment and their regular maintenance.

After a fireWhen a fire has occurred and been suppressed ina historic building, it is necessary to protect, in-vestigate and document the remaining material.Sometimes a fire reveals structures or layers thatwere previously not visible. In these cases, a firecan be seen as a possibility to learn somethingnew and this possibility should be used. It is sur-prising how much information can be gainedfrom charred pieces of wood and how much ma-terial can survive a fire.Actions after a fire1. Protection of ruins and remains2. Investigation of ruins and remains3. Documentation of ruins and remains4. Investigation of archives5. Report on the investigations

Analyses before the question of“rebuild or not”Before any decision is made, the situation and theexisting documents and knowledge on the burnedbuilding should be thoroughly analysed. Then,decisions should be made on whether studies orexperimentation are needed before applying cer-tain constructions, materials or techniques.

Rebuilding can be seen as a possibility tolearn about old techniques and materials.

“Steps” in the fire protectionof historic building1. Documentation and

evaluation of the buildingThorough existing documentation of historicbuildings is important in cases when a building istotally lost in fire. Then, at least the informationthat has been documented is saved. During thedocumentation, the value of the building and itsparts should be estimated as well as the necessaryfire safety improvements.2. Fire preventive measuresThe first and maybe the most important actionsin improving the fire protection in historic build-ings are to make a fire protection strategy and tocreate an organisation for it. Organisation meansthat the users of the building are trained to takefire protection into consideration in their dailywork and to know how to act in the event of afire. It is important that a special person be ap-

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pointed to be responsible for fire protection ineach building.3. Fire detection measuresEarly detection of a fire can considerably reducedamage. Therefore, detection should be effective-ly organised. Fire detection can be either by peo-ple present at the site or by an automatic fire de-tection system. There are many kinds of automat-ic detection systems available and a careful con-sideration must be given to the best type in eachspecific case.4. Fire fighting equipmentTo prevent damage, the first fire fighting actionsare important. If it is impossible to totally sup-press a fire, it is necessary to limit it. The fire figh-ting equipment for the first action should be easilyavailable and easy to use.

An automatic sprinkler system in some casescan be the best solution.5. Instructions for fire fighters

and fire brigadesHistoric buildings might contain some extremelyvaluable parts or items. The fire service should beinformed of these so they can prevent the firefrom spreading to those parts or the items arecarried out if they are threatened. There shouldalso be instructions for which, how and wherevaluable items should be evacuated in the eventof a fire.6. After a fireProtecting remains (also archaeological) is im-portant in order to prevent further damage. Inaddition, outsiders must be kept away from theremains or ruins so that they do not destroy anyevidence or remaining parts.

In the event of a fire in a historic building,the remains should be thoroughly investigatedand documented. Sometimes a fire can revealstructures that are not normally visible, so a firecan be a chance to see and document them.7. Repair, rebuilding of leaving as a ruinWhen a building is partly or totally destroyed byfire, it is necessary to analyse the situation beforethe decision of repair, rebuild or leave as a ruin ismade. All aspects such as the meaning of thebuilding in the landscape, the level of documen-tation, the use of the building and the resourcesavailable and necessary for the work should betaken into consideration.

Yhteenveto suomeksi

Taustaa

Hanke koostuu kolmesta vuonna 2003 järjestetystäseminaarista. Osallistujat ovat Suomen, Norjan jaRuotsin museovirastoista.Näissä kolmessa maassa onhistoriallisten rakennusten paloturvallisuudenkannalta yhteisiä piirteitä:• Suuri osa historiallisista rakennuksista

on puisia.• Joka maassa on historiallisia, tiiviitä puu-

kaupunkeja, joissa tulipalon vaara on suuri.• Osa historiallisista rakennuksista sijaitsee

“kaukana kaikesta”.• Ilmasto on kaikissa maissa kylmä talvella ja

lämmin kesällä. Kuiva kesäaika lisää paloris-kiä ja toisaalta talven pakkaset vaikeuttavatpaloturvallisuusasennuksia ja sammutustyötä.

Kun tavallisesti paloturvallisuuden päätavoite onsuojella ihmisiä, on historiallisten rakennustenkohdalla tavoite suojella ja säästää myös raken-nus ja siihen sisältyvät arvot. Palosuojauksen ta-voite historiallisissa rakennuksissa on saavuttaa”maksimiturvallisuus minimivahingoilla”.

Lainsäädäntö ja yhteistyömuiden viranomaisten kanssaKaikkien kolmen maan lainsäädäntö on hyvin sa-mankaltainen. Pelastuslakien mukaan joka maassapäävastuu rakennuksen paloturvallisuuden järjes-tämisestä kuuluu rakennuksen omistajalle ja vi-ranomaiset kantavat vastuun pelastustoiminnasta.Kulttuuriperintöä tai rakentamista koskevassa lain-säädännössä ei puhuta historiallisten rakennustenpaloturvallisuudesta mitään.

Ruotsissa ja Norjassa kulttuuriperintöviran-omaiset ovat tiiviissä yhteistyössä pelastusalanviranomaisten kanssa. Ruotsissa on sikäläinenmuseovirasto mm. tehnyt yhdessä Pelastusviras-ton kanssa käsikirjan Paloturvallisuus kulttuuri-rakennuksissa (Brandskydd i kulturbyggnader).

Historiallisten puukaupunkienpaloturvallisuusHankkeen aikana olivat esillä kolmen puukau-pungin paloturvallisuushankkeet: Vanhan Rau-man, Lillehammerin (Norja) ja Eksjön (Ruotsi).

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Näihin tutustumisen jälkeen on mahdollista suo-sitella, että seuraaviin asioihin kiinnitetään huo-miota kun pyritään parantamaan puukaupunginpaloturvallisuutta:1. Mikä on tavoite

(yksittäisten palojen vaikaupunkipalon estäminen)?

2. Yksittäisten rakennusten sekä kaupunki-rakenteen paloturvallisuusriskien kartoitus.

3. Kuinka suuri riski on palon leviämiselle naa-purirakennuksiin ja miten tämä voidaan estää.Miten rajata palo mahdollisimmanpienelle alalle?

4. Miten palot saadaan havaittua ajoissa?5. Millaisia ongelmia on

palokunnan kannalta kaupunkirakenteessa jayksittäisissä kiinteistöissä?

6. Onko tarpeeksi sammutusvettä saatavilla?7. Miten asennekasvattaa asukkaita ja

kiinteistöjen omistajia (on tärkeää saada hei-dät ymmärtämään, että palo yhdessä raken-nuksessa voi olla uhka koko kaupungille)?

8. Mitkä toimenpiteet tehdään julkisellarahoituksella ja mitkä jäävät omistajien jaasukkaiden maksettaviksi?

EsimerkkitapauksetSeminaarien aikana käsiteltiin muutamia tapah-tuneita paloja, joiden avulla keskusteltiin histori-allisten rakennusten paloturvallisuudesta ja toi-menpiteistä palon jälkeen. Nämä esimerkit olivat:Tyrvään Kirkko, Åminneborgin kartano ja Kota-selän savottakämppä Suomesta; Trondheiminkorttelipalo, Innsetin kirkko, Eidsvollin kirkko jaRingnesin maatila Norjasta sekä Södra Rådankeskiaikainen kirkko, Katarinan kirkko ja Jönkö-pingin korttelipalo Ruotsista.

Miten valita sopiva tapaparantaa paloturvallisuuttaOhessa on muutamia suosituksia miten lähestyäkysymystä paloturvallisuuden parantamisesta:• Muista, että jokainen historiallinen rakennus

on yksilö. Siksi jokainen niistä vaatiiyksilöllisiä ratkaisuja.

• Aloita edullisista ja yksinkertaisista toimen-piteistä. Täydennä teknisillä asennuksilla.

• Valitse sellaisia palosuojaustoimenpiteitä,jotka eivät aiheuta vahinkoa rakennukselle.

• Jos rakenteisiin on pakko tehdä muutoksia,tee mahdollisimman vähän.

• Uusiin asennuksiin on päästävä käsiksi janiiden on oltava poistettavissa,sillä teknisten laitteiden elinikä onlyhyempi kuin rakennuksen.

• Teknisten asennusten ja kylttien tulee ollamahdollisimman huomaamattomia.

• Hyvien ratkaisujen löytäminen vaatiiomistajan, paloinsinöörin ja kulttuuri-perintöviranomaisen hyvää yhteistyötä.Ennen kuin mitään tehdään, on laadittavastrategia. Yleensä tarvitaan hallinnollistentoimenpiteiden ja teknisten asennustenyhdistelmää. Usein kuitenkin jo hyväorganisaatio vähentää teknisten asennustentarvetta. Jokaisessa historiallisessarakennuksessa tulisi olla yksi henkilö,joka vastaa paloturvallisuudesta jasuorittaa säännölliset tarkastukset.

Tekniset asennuksetSopivimman palosuojaustavan valitsemisen pe-rusajatus on ensin analysoida riskit ja selvittääolemassa / käytettävissä olevat suojaustavat. Sit-ten jäljelle jäävät riskit listataan ja sopivat toimen-piteet paloturvallisuuden parantamiseksi valitaan.Aina jää jäljelle kuitenkin jonkinasteinen riski,jolle on määriteltävä hyväksyttävä taso. Perusta-voite on saavuttaa maksimiturvallisuus minimiva-hingoin.

Muutama seikka on muistettava, kun käyte-tään teknisiä laitteita. Ne tarvitsevat aina erillisenteknisen tilan keskusyksikölle, vesi- ja kaasusäili-öille ym. ja tämä tila saattaa muodostua yllättävänsuureksi. Laitteet vaativat myös ihmisiä, jotkaosaavat niitä käyttää ja huoltavat niitä säännölli-sesti.

Palon jälkeenKun historiallisessa rakennuksessa ollut palo onsammutettu, on tarpeen suojata, tutkia ja doku-mentoida jäänteet. Joskus palo tuo esille rakenteitatai kerrostumia, jotka eivät ole ennen olleet esillä.Näissä tilanteissa palo voidaan nähdä tilaisuutenatutkia ja oppia uutta ja tämä mahdollisuus tuleekäyttää. On yllättävää kuinka paljon informaatio-ta voi olla jäljellä hiiltyneissä puupaloissa ja pal-jonko materiaalia voi palosta säilyä.

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Toimenpiteet palon jälkeen1. Jäänteiden suojaus2. Jäänteiden tutkimus3. Jäänteiden dokumentointi4. Arkistotutkimus5. Raportti

Analyysi ennen kysymystä”rekonstruktio vai ei”Ennen kuin päätöksiä tehdään palaneen raken-nuksen rekonstruktion tai korjauksen suhteen, onkoko tilanne ja olemassa olevat dokumentit sekätiedot rakennuksesta analysoitava kunnolla. Mi-käli tämän jälkeen päädytään jonkinasteiseen re-konstruktioon, on selvitettävä tarvitaanko tutki-musta tai kokeita rakenteista, tekniikoista tai ma-teriaaleista ennen kuin aletaan rakentaa. Näillevalmisteleville töille on varattava tarpeeksi aikaa.

Rekonstruktion voi nähdä mahdollisuutenaoppia uutta vanhoista tekniikoista ja materiaaleista.

Historiallisen rakennuksen palo-turvallisuuden parantamisen ”askeleet “:1. Rakennuksen dokumentointi ja

arviointi etukäteenJos rakennus tuhoutuu kokonaan palossa,on perusteellisen dokumentoinnin olemassa-olo tärkeää. Silloin ainakin tallennettu osainformaatiosta säilyy. Dokumentointiatehtäessä on myös mahdollista arvottaarakennusta ja sen osia sekä merkitä muistiinpuutteita paloturvallisuudessa.

2. Paloa ehkäisevät toimenpiteetEnsimmäinen ja kenties tärkein toimenpidehistoriallisen rakennuksen paloturvallisuudenparantamisessa on strategian tekeminen japaloturvallisuusasioiden organisointi.Organisointi tarkoittaa, että rakennuksenkäyttäjät koulutetaan ottamaan paloturvalli-suusnäkökohdat huomioon jokapäiväisessätyössään ja että he osaavat toimiapalotilanteessa. On tärkeää myös nimetäyksi henkilö vastaamaan rakennuksenpaloturvallisuusasioista.

3. Palon havaitseminenPalon aikainen havaitseminen vähentäävahinkoja huomattavasti.

Siksi palon havaitseminen on tehtävä tehok-kaaksi. Se voidaan järjestää joko ihmisten(esim. vartijat) tai automaattisten laitteidenavulla. Automaattisia laitteistoja on saatavillauseita erilaisia ja aina on pyrittävä löytämäänjuuri kyseessä olevaan kohteeseen sopivin.

4. Palon sammuttaminenPalon aiheuttamien vahinkojenehkäisyssä alkusammutus on tärkeää.Jos paloa on mahdotonta saada kokonaansammumaan, on sen leviäminen estettävä.Alkusammutuskaluston on oltava nopeastisaatavilla ja helppokäyttöinen.Joissain tapauksissa automaattinensprinklerilaitteisto on paras ratkaisu.

5. Ohjeet sammutustyöstäHistoriallisissa rakennuksissa saattaa ollaerityisen arvokkaita osia tai esineitä.Palokunnalla ja palomiehillä on oltava tietonäistä, jotta palon leviäminen arvokkaisiinosiin voidaan estää tai esineet voidaanpelastaa palon uhatessa niitä. Näitäarvokkaita osia ja esineitä varten on laadittavaohjeet, mitä, miten ja minne ne pelastetaan.

6. Palon jälkeenJäänteiden (myös arkeologisten) suojauspalon jälkeen on tärkeää, jotta estetäänlisävahinkojen syntyminen. Ulkopuoliset onpidettävä poissa palopaikalta, jotteivät hetuhoa tai varasta mitään. Historiallisenrakennuksen palon jälkeen jäänteet ontutkittava ja dokumentoitava huolellisesti.Joskus palo saattaa paljastaa aiemminpiilossa olleita rakenteita, jolloin onmahdollisuus tutkia ja dokumentoida näitä.

7. Korjaus / rekonstruktio / raunioKun rakennus on joko kokonaan taiosittain tuhoutunut palossa, on hyväanalysoida tilanne kunnolla ennen päätöstäkorjauksesta / rekonstruktiosta /jättämisestä raunioksi. Kaikki näkökohdat,kuten rakennuksen merkitys maisemassa,dokumentoinnin taso, rakennuksenkäyttöaste ja käytettävissä olevatresurssit tulee huomioida.

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Sammanfattning på svenska

BakgrundProjektet har bestått av tre seminarier under 2003och deltagarna representerade de centrala kultur-miljövårdande myndigheterna i Finland, Norgeoch Sverige.Dessa tre länder har några gemensammaförutsättningar, vad gäller brandskyddi historiska byggnader:• En stor andel av husen i Norden

är byggda av trä.• Det finns gamla trästäder

med tät stadsmiljö där brandrisken är stor.• En del av de historiska byggnaderna

finns långt från närmaste brandstation.• Det nordiska klimatet, med kalla vintrar och

varma somrar kan medföra problem medsåväl brandskydd och brandbekämpningvintertid som ökad brandrisk och vattenbristsommartid.

Det huvudsakliga syftet med brandskydd är atträdda liv. I historiska miljöer måste man även setill att de gamla byggnaderna får ett tillräckligtbrandskydd. Målet med detta brandskydd är”maximal säkerhet med minimal skada”.

Lagstiftning och samverkanmed andra myndigheterLagstiftningarna i de tre länderna är mycket lika.Brandlagstiftningen säger att ägaren till en bygg-nad har ansvaret för brandskyddet medan de lo-kala myndigheterna har ansvar för räddnings-tjänsten.

Kulturmiljölagstiftningen i de tre länderna in-nehåller ingenting om brandskyddsåtgärder. Inteheller sägs något om brandskydd i kulturhisto-riskt värdefulla byggnader i ländernas plan- ochbygglagstiftning.

I Sverige och Norge har kulturmiljömyndig-heterna mycket nära samarbete med brandmyn-digheterna. Räddningstjänsten i Sverige har, till-sammans med Riksantikvarieämbetet gett ut hand-boken ”Brandskydd i kulturbyggnader”.

Brandskydd i äldre trästäderTre projekt om äldre trästäder studerades i semina-riet; Rauma (Finland), Lillehammer (Norway)och Eksjö (Sweden).

Efter att ha genomfört dessa studier kan föl-jande förslag ställas om saker som bör beaktas närett brandskyddsprojekt för en trästad skall startas:1. Vilket är målet för projektet

(förebyggande skydd mot enstaka brändereller mot en stadsbrand)?

2. Vilka brandrisker finns i enstaka byggnaderoch i staden som helhet?Hur kan dessa risker minimeras?

3. Vilka risker finns för brandspridning från enbyggnad till en annan och kan dessa riskerminimeras? Hur kan en brand begränsastill ett avgränsat område?

4. Vad kan göras för att en brand skall blitidigt upptäckt?

5. Vilka problem, för brandkåren,utgör bebyggelsestrukturen och utformningenav enskilda byggnader vid en utryckning?

6. Finns det tillräckligt med vattenför att släcka branden?

7. Hur kan utbildning och information ombrandskyddsfrågor spridas till fastighetsägareoch hyresgäster? (Det är viktigt att dessaförstår att en brand hos grannen även ärett hot mot deras eget hus.)

8. Vilka åtgärder kan betalas av myndigheteroch vilka måste husägaren stå för?

FallstudierUnder seminarierna diskuterades ett antal fallstu-dier. Dessa utgjordes av Tyrvää kyrka, Åminne-borg herrgård och Kotaselkä timmerhus i Fin-land, stadsbrand i Trondheim, Innset kyrka, Eids-voll kyrka och Ringnes gård i Norge samt SödraRåda gamla kyrka, Katarina kyrka och stadsbrandi Jönköping i Sverige.

Hur väljs metoderför förebyggande brandskyddoch för tekniskt brandskyddHär följer några allmänna rekommendationer förval av brandskyddsmetoder och utrustning:• Beakta att varje byggnad är unik och

att de därför behöver unika ochkreativa lösningar.

• Välj lågkostnadsmetoder i första hand ochkomplettera sedan med installationer.

• Välj brandskydd som inte skadarbyggnaden eller påverkar den negativt.

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• Om negativ påverkan är oundviklig,minimera den och göråtgärden reversibel.

• Installationerna måste vara åtkomligaför underhåll. De måste även vara möjligaatt avlägsna utan att ge skador, eftersom dehar kortare livslängd än byggnaden själv.

• Installationer och informationsskyltarskall vara så diskreta som möjligt.

• Goda lösningar fordrar samarbetemellan ägare, brandingenjör ochantikvarisk expert.

Innan något annat görs, bör en brandskydds-strategi tas fram. Vad som normalt erfordras är enkombination av organisatoriskt och teknisktbrandskydd. En god organisation kan ofta mini-mera behovet av tekniska lösningar. En personbör vara ansvarig för brandskydd och brandöv-ningar och denna person bör även se till attbrandsyner genomförs.

Tekniska installationerEtt grundläggande arbetssätt, när metoder förbrandskydd skall väljas, är att såväl brandriskersom tillgängliga och existerande skyddsmetoderförst analyseras. Därefter förtecknas de kvarstå-ende riskerna och sedan väljs de lämpligaste före-byggande och skyddande metoderna. Det kom-mer emellertid alltid att återstå en viss brandriskoch man har då att avgöra vad som är en ”accep-tabel kvarstående risk”. Målet bör vara att uppnå”maximal säkerhet med minimal skada”.

Några synpunkter bör beaktas när tekniska in-stallationer väljs. Dessa behöver alltid utrymmenför apparatur, vattentankar med mera. Det måsteäven finnas en eller flera personer som är ansvari-ga för utrustningen och dess skötsel.

Efter en brandNär en brand har helt eller delvis förstört en his-torisk byggnad är det alltid viktigt att man skyd-dar resterna och det är även viktigt att undersökaoch dokumentera lämningarna. Ibland kan enbrand avslöja ytor, lager eller konstruktioner sominte var synliga före branden. Då kan branden geen möjlighet till ökad kunskap. Det finns överras-kande mycket information i förkolnat trä och detär förvånande hur mycket som faktiskt överleveren brand.

Åtgärder efter en brand1. Skydd av ruiner och lämningar.2. Undersökning av ruiner och lämningar.3. Dokumentering av ruiner och lämningar.4. Arkivsökningar.5. Rapportering.

Analyser före frågan”återuppbyggnad eller ej”Innan några beslut fattas måste alla omständighe-ter kring den brunna byggnaden noggrant analy-seras. Det kan gälla befintlig dokumentation ochannan kunskap om byggnaden samt om någonforskning eller provning behövs innan några spe-ciella konstruktioner, material eller metoder väljs.En återuppbyggande kan ses som en möjlighetatt lära sig mer om äldre material och metoder.

Arbetsordning för brandskyddi historiska byggnader1. Dokumentering och värdering

av byggnaden.En noggrann dokumentation av en historiskbyggnad är viktig i de fall byggnaden blir heltförlorad vid en brand. Då är åtminstone den do-kumenterade informationen sparad. I sambandmed dokumentationen bör en uppskattning görasav byggnadens kulturhistoriska värde såväl somerforderliga brandskyddsåtgärder.

2. Åtgärder förförebyggande brandskydd

De första och kanske viktigaste åtgärderna för attöka brandskyddet i historiska byggnader, är attskapa en strategi och en organisation för brand-skyddet. Organisation innebär att de som använ-der byggnaden är så pass utbildade att de beaktarbrandrisker i sitt dagliga arbete och att de vet hurde ska agera vid ett tillbud. Det är viktigt, i varjehistorisk byggnad att detta ansvar läggs på enspeciell person.

3. Åtgärder för att upptäcka brandBranddetektering bör organiseras omsorgsfullt,eftersom att tidig upptäckt av en brand kan redu-cera skadorna betydligt. Detekteringen kan skö-tas av närvarande personer eller av ett system av

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branddetektorer. Det finns en stor mängd av oli-ka automatiska detektorsystem och det är viktigtatt rätt typ väljs i varje situation.

4. Utrustning för brandbekämpningFör att förebygga skador är den första släckning-sinsatsen av stor vikt. Om branden inte kansläckas genast, är det nödvändigt att begränsa denoch hindra den från att sprida sig. Utrustningenför den första insatsen skall därför vara lätt åt-komlig och lätt att använda. Ett automatisktsprinklersystem kan i vissa fall vara den bästa lös-ningen.

5. Instruktioner för räddningstjänstenHistoriska byggnader har ofta värdefulla bygg-nadsdelar eller kan innehålla värdefulla föremål.Av denna orsak bör brandkåren informeras omdetta så att de kan hindra brandspridning tilldessa delar. De bör även informeras om vilka fö-remål som ska evakueras samt hur och vart deskall flyttas, om de hotas av brand.

6. Efter en brandAtt skydda lämningarna, även de arkeologiska,efter en brand är viktigt för att förebygga ytterli-gare skador. Även obehöriga måste hindras frånatt beträda brandplatsen, så att de inte förstör be-vismaterial eller rör om i lämningarna.

Efter brand i en historisk byggnad, måstebrandresterna undersökas och dokumenterasnoggrant. Branden kan i vissa fall ha blottlagt ti-digare osynliga byggnadsdelar.

7. Reparation / rekonstruktion / ruinNär en byggnad har blivit helt eller delvis för-störd av en brand är det nödvändigt att noggrantutreda situationen innan beslut tas om byggnadenska repareras, återuppbyggas eller lämnas som enruin. Alla aspekter skall beaktas i beslutet, blandannat byggnadens betydelse i landskapet, doku-mentationsnivån, byggnadens användning samttillgängliga ekonomiska och materiella resurser.

Sammandrag på norsk

BakgrunnProsjektet besto av tre seminarer gjennom år2003, med deltakere fra i Museiverket i Finland,Riksantikvaren i Norge og Riksantikvarieämbeteti Sverige.Disse landene har flere felles problemstillingerknyttet til brannsikring avkulturhistorisk verdifulle bygninger:• En stor andel av bygningene er bygget i tre.• Tette trebyer der brann er en alvorlig risiko.• En del av de verneverdige bygningene ligger

på fjerntliggende steder.• Klimaet er kalt om vinteren og varmt om

sommeren, noe som lett forårsaker fare forbrann i lange, tørre perioder og temperaturerunder null i andre. Dette skaper problemerfor både brannsikring og brannslukning.

Det overordnede målet med ordinær brann-sikring er å verne menneskeliv, mens brannsik-ring i kulturhistorisk verdifulle bygninger i tilleggskal sikre bygningene og deres kulturhistoriskeverdier. Målet med brannsikring i verneverdigebygninger er å oppnå ”maksimum sikkerhet medminimal skade”.

Lovverk og samarbeidmed andre myndigheterLovverket i alle tre land har mye felles. Ifølgebrannvernlovene er det eieren av den verneverdi-ge bygningen som har ansvaret for brannsikrin-gen og de lokale myndigheter som er ansvarligfor brannvesenet.

Kulturminnelovene i disse landene innehol-der ikke noe om brannsikringstiltak. Lover somregulerer bygningsvirksomheten, inneholder hel-ler ikke noe om brannsikring av kulturhistoriskebygninger.

I Sverige og Norge samarbeider kulturmin-nemyndighetene nært med brannmyndighetene.I Sverige har Redningsverket og Riksantikvarie-ämbetet sammen utgitt håndboken ”Brannskyddi kulturbyggnader”.

Brannsikring av kulturhistoriske trebyerI prosjektet ble det presentert tre studier av kul-turhistorisk verdifulle trebyer: Rauma i Finland,Lillehammer i Norge og Eksjö i Sverige.

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Erfaringer fra disse studiene viser at følgendebør vurderes når man planlegger brannsikring avverneverdige byer:1. Er målet å forhindre enkeltbranner

eller bybranner?2. Hvilke typer risiko er det

i de enkelte gårdene og i bystrukturen,og hvordan kan disse minimaliseres?

3. Hva er risikoen for at en brann skal spre segfra en eiendom til en annen, og hvordan kanbrannen begrenses til et område?

4. Hva kan gjøres for atbranner skal oppdages så tidlig som mulig?

5. Hvilke problemer har brannvesenetmed å operere i bystrukturen ogi den enkelte bygning?

6. Er det nok vann til å slukke brannen?7. Hvordan organisere opplæring om brannsik-

ring for eiere og innbyggere?(Det er viktig å gjøre dem oppmerksom påat en brann hos naboen også representererfare for brann i eget hus.)

8. Hvilke tiltak betales av myndighetene oghvilke overlates til eierne?

Hvordan velge metoderfor brannsikring?Her er noen grunnleggende anbefalinger for valgav brannsikringsmetoder og utstyr:• Hver bygning er unik. Derfor kreves det

også tilpassede og kreative løsninger.• Forsøk først lavkostløsninger,

og kompletter med installasjoner.• Velg brannsikringsmetoder

som ikke medfører inngrep i bygningen.• Hvis inngrep ikke kan unngås,

gjør dem så små som mulig og reversible.• Nye installasjoner må være tilgjengelige for

vedlikehold og kunne fjernes uten å forårsakeskade, fordi de har en langt kortere levetidenn bygningen selv.

• Tekniske installasjoner oginformasjonsskilt må være diskrete.

• Gode løsninger krever samarbeid mellomeier, brannmyndighet og kulturminne-myndighet. En strategi må ligge til grunnfor arbeidet. Vanligvis er det behov for enkombinasjon av organisatoriske og tekniskesikringstiltak. God organisering kan

minimalisere behovet for tekniske installa-sjoner. Det bør utpekes en person med ansvarfor brannsikring og opplæring i allekulturhistoriske bygninger.

Tekniske installasjonerEn analyse av risikoen må ligge til grunn for valgav den best egnede brannsikringsmetoden. Deret-ter må en velge egnede brannforebyggende ogbrannbegrensende tiltak for å dekke opp restrisi-koen. Det er umulig å eliminere risikoen helt, ogen må derfor vurdere hva som er et akseptabeltrisikonivå. Hovedmålet er ”maksimum sikkerhetmed minimum skade”.

Ved montering av tekniske installasjoner skalen være oppmerksom på at sentralenheter, vann-taker osv. ofte krever overraskende stor plass. Detmå alltid være en eller flere ansvarlige for det tek-niske utstyret og for regelmessig vedlikehold avdette.

Etter brannenEtter brannslukningen er det viktig å beskytte,undersøke og dokumentere de igjenværende re-stene av den kulturhistoriske bygningen. Brannenkan avdekke strukturer og lag som aldri før harvært tilgjengelige. Man bør benytte den mulighe-ten som brannen kan gi til å lære noe nytt ombygningen. Det er forbausende hvor mye infor-masjon som kan ligge i forkullede trerester oghvor mye som kan være igjen etter en brann.Tiltak etter brannen1. Beskyttelse av ruiner og restmateriale2. Undersøkelse av ruiner og restmateriale3. Dokumentasjon av ruiner og restmateriale4. Arkivundersøkelser5. Rapport om undersøkelsene

Analyser knyttet til spørsmålet om”rekonstruksjon eller ikke”Før det tas noen avgjørelser, kreves en grundiganalyse av forholdene, tilgjengelig dokumentasjonog kunnskap om den brente bygningen. Deretterbør en avgjøre om det er behov for ytterligereforskning eller eksperimenter før det tas stillingtil hvilke konstruksjoner, materialer og teknikkersom bør benyttes. En rekonstruksjon kan være enmulighet til å få ny innsikt i gamle teknikker ogmaterialer.

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CasestudierUnder seminaret ble følgende case diskutert: Tyr-väa kirke, Åminneborg herregård, og Kotiselkalaftehytteområde fra Finland, Södra Råda mid-delalderkirke, Katarina kirke og Jönköping by fraSverige, og Innset kirke, Eidsvoll kirke og Ring-nes gård fra Norge.

Trinn i brannsikring avkulturhistorisk verdifulle bygninger:1. Dokumentasjon og evaluering

av bygningenEn grundig dokumentasjon er viktig. Ved en for-håndsdokumentasjon bør også bygningens verdivurderes og behovet for bedret brannsikring. Nåren kulturhistorisk bygning blir totalskadet i enbrann, vil man i hvert fall sitte igjen med den do-kumenterte kunnskapen om bygningen.

2. Brannforebyggende tiltakDet første og trolig det viktigste man gjør i for-bedringen av brannsikkerheten er å skape en or-ganisasjon for sikring av den verneverdige byg-ningen. Dette innebærer at brukerne av bygnin-gen er opplært til å ta hensyn til brannsikkerhe-ten i deres daglige arbeid, og at de vet hva de skalgjøre hvis en brann bryter ut. Det er viktig at detutpekes en ansvarlig for brannsikringen i hverbygning. Det bør også utarbeides en strategi forbrannsikringen. Innbruddsdeteksjon er også enbeskyttelse mot påtenning.

3. BranndeteksjonTidlig deteksjon kan redusere sannsynlighetenfor brann betraktelig. Derfor bør deteksjonen or-ganiseres effektivt. Dette kan enten bestå av entilstedeværende person eller et automatisk brann-deteksjonssystem. Det finnes mange forskjelligedeteksjonssystemer, og man bør vurdere nøye hvil-ket som er best egnet i det enkelte tilfelle.

4. BrannslokningsutstyrDen første slokningsinnsatsen er viktig i begrens-ning av skadene. Dersom det ikke er mulig åslokke brannen, er det viktig å begrense den ogforhindre at den sprer seg. Slokkeutstyr bør værelett tilgjengelig og enkelt å bruke. Et automatiskslokkeanlegg kan i noen tilfeller være den besteløsningen.

5. Instruks for slokkepersonellog brannvesen

Kulturhistorisk verdifulle bygninger vil ofte inne-holde svært verdifulle bygningsdeler. Brannvese-net bør informeres om slike for at det kan forhin-dre spredning av brannen til disse delene, eller atde kan tas ut av den brennende bygningen. Detbør utarbeides planer for ikke bare hva som børevakueres, men også hvordan.

6. Etter brannenDet er viktig å beskytte restene på branntomtenfor å unngå ytterligere skade. Uvedkommendemå holdes borte fra brannrestene og ruinen slik atikke spor eller bevarte deler blir ødelagt. I tilfellebrann i en kulturhistorisk bygning bør resteneundersøkes og dokumenteres grundig. Noen gan-ger kan en brann avsløre strukturer som vanligvisikke er synlige. En brann kan være en mulighettil å se og dokumentere disse.

7. Reparasjon/rekonstruksjon/ruin

Når en bygning er delvis eller fullstendig ødelagti en brann, er det viktig å foreta en grundig ana-lyse før man tar stilling til spørsmålet om manskal reparere, rekonstruere eller la restene forblien ruin. Alle aspekter som f.eks. bygningens be-tydning i landskapet, nivået på dokumentasjonenog bygningens bruk, bør tas i betraktning.

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1. General information1.1 Approval and upkeep of the plan1.2 Purpose1.3 Identification and general description

of the monument or placeVariety of different values of thebuilding, materials used if they havesome effect on fire safety

1.4 Contacts to local rescue service

2. Risk assessmentWhat are the fire risks in theparticular building? Possible causes of a fire

3. Measures to prevent hazards andthe possibilities for protection3.1 Fire safety

Fire and hazard classifications;evacuation areas and exits, markingpassageways and exits; the width andamount of escape routes;fire compartments, doors; safety devices,fire detectors, fire alarms, fire extinguishers,emergency lighting, function of fire doors(automatic?), smoke extraction;tidiness and order, refuse collection anddisposal, smoking, the use of open fire(candles etc), attics and cellars (storage?),the use of electric equipment, fire safety offixtures and coatings, electric heaters;prevention of arson; hot work supervisionplan; instructions for daily fire protectionroutines; instructions for fire protectioninspections; interval of inspectionsby authorities

3.2 Toxic chemicalsLocation and behaviourin the event of a fire

3.3 Other dangerous substancesLocation and behaviourin the event of a fire

3.4 Work safety and first aid preparedness3.5 Crime prevention

Burglar prevention is part ofarson prevention

3.6 Information security3.7 Environmental hazards3.8 Property management3.9 Civil defence (bomb shelter)

4. People responsible for safety issues;safety education and training4.1 Nomination of people in charge

People in charge of fire protection andregular fire safety inspections

4.2 Personnel initiation and trainingInstructions on how to train permanentand temporary workers to act in of theevent of a fire; who organises fire drillsand how often

5. Safety equipment and materialsDescription and location of fire safetyequipment detectors, extinguishers,alarm systems, sprinklers etc.

6. Instructions in a case of emergency6.1 General instructions

6.1.1 Internal arrangementsin case of alarm

6.1.2 Exit6.1.3 Giving an alarm6.1.4 Information service6.1.5 Recovering

6.2 Action in special cases6.2.1 Fire

First fire fighting devices,who guides the fire brigade,doors to be closed to preventthe fire from spreading etc.

6.2.2 Medical emergency6.2.3 Criminal emergency6.2.4 Environmental hazards

in the form of toxic substances6.2.5 Action during emergency alarm6.2.6 Radiation alarm6.2.7 Interruption of electricity,

water or heating supply6.2.8 Damage of computer systems6.2.9 Evacuation

Items to be saved andhow and where they are taken

AppendicesPlans supplied with safety instructions:

• Situation plan• Floor plans• Fragile and dangerous premises and

the location of valuable items thatshould be saved in of the event of a fire

Appendix:Contents of a Finnish rescue plan:

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List of literature and links

Finnish literature:• Rakennusten paloturvallisuus &

Paloturvallisuus korjausrakentamisessa[Fire Safety of Buildings &Fire Safety in Building Adaptation],Helsinki Ympäristöopas 39, 2003

• Paloturvallisuussuunnittelu.Oletettuun palonkehitykseen perustuvasuunnittelu ja ratkaisuesimerkit.[Fire Safety Design based on assumed firedevelopment and solution examples.]Suomen RakennusinsinöörienLiitto ry RIL 221–2003 Helsinki 2003.

• Kokkala, Matti, 2000.Rakennusten paloturvallisuussuunnittelu.Toiminnallinen lähestymistapa[Fire Safety Design of BuildingsPerformance-Based Approach.]Research Notes 2028.Technical Research Centre of Finland(VTT), Espoo.

Finnish links:• National Board of Antiquities

www.nba.fi• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland,

Fire technology:http://www.vtt.fi/rte/firetech/indexe.html

• Central Organisation ofRescue Services in Finland:http://www.spek.fi

• Old Raumahttp://www.oldrauma.fi/

Norwegian literature:• Arbeidstillatelse for bygningsmessige

arbeider. Riksantikvaren 2001• Arbeidstillatelse ved varme arbeider.

Riksantikvaren 2001• Brannsikring av eldre tett trebebyggelse.

Byggforsk 1999• Brannsikringsstrategi. Riksantikvaren 2002• Brannslokkere for museer verneverdige

bygninger. Interconsult 1998• Byen brenner. Hvordan forhindre storbranner

i tett verneverdig trehusbebyggelse medRøros som eksempel. SINTEF,Norges branntekniske laboratorium, 2004

• Elektriske anlegg i kirker. Informasjon ogkontrollrutiner, Riksantikvaren 1992

• Enkle slokkeanlegg for kulturminner.Interconsult 2002

• Gamlebyen i Fredrikstad. Brannsikring.Sluttrapport: Konklusjoner etter utredningtester og 9 mnd. Pilotprøving.Interconsult 2001

• Gamle stavanger-Brannsikringsplan.Interconsult 2002

• Hvordan brannsikre fredete bygningerog historiske trehusmiljøer.Norsk brannvernforening/Interconsult 1998

• Markering av rømningsveier.Riksantikvaren 2002

• Montering av utvendig lynvernanleggpå kirker. En veiledning i estetikk.Riksantikvaren 1995

• Novel Techniques For Active Fire ProtectionOf Historic Towns And Buildings.Interconsult 2000

• Om bybrannsikring med Røros someksempel. Interconsult 2002

• Tekniske installasjoner i fredete ogverneverdige bygninger. Retningslinjer formontering. Riksantikvaren 2001

• Typer automatiske innvendige slokkeanlegg ifredete og verneverdige bygninger.Riksantivaren 2000

• Veiledning og sjekkliste for brannsyn iverneverdige objekter, DBE 1997

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Norwegian links:• The Directorate for Cultural Heritage

(Riksantikvaren):www.ra.no

• Norwegian Fire Protection Association(Norsk brannvernforening):www.norsk-brannvern-forening.no

• Ringnes farm:www.ringnesgaard.no

• The Norwegian Fire Research Laboratory(SINTEF-NBL);www.nbl.sintef.no

• The Directorate for Civil Protection andEmergency Planning (Direktoratet forsamfunnssikkerhet og beredskap):www.dsb.no

• Interconsult ASA (fire consultants)www.interconsult.com

Swedish literature:• Att skydda kyrkan mot stöld och brand,

Riksantikvarieämbetet, 2000• Brandskydd i kulturbyggnader, Räddnings-

verket och Riksantikvarieämbetet, 1997• Brandskydd i kyrkor,

Svenska Brandförsvarsföreningen, 1998• Brandskydd i trästäder. Strategi för skydd av

centrala Eksjö, Räddningsverket ochRiksantikvarieämbetet i samarbete medEksjö kommun, 1999

• Brandskydd i trästäder. Strategi för skydd avcentrala Eksjö, lägesrapport 2003,Riksantikvarieämbetet i samarbete medEksjö kommun, 2004, (will be published in2004; also on RAÄ:s website).

• Brandskyddsdokumentation,Svenska Brandförsvarsföreningen, 1997

• Kyrkan brinner, vad hände sedan?, Riksantik-varieämbetet, (will be published in 2004)

• Restvärdesräddning i samverkan,Svenska Brandförsvarsföreningen, 1993

• Restvärdesräddning,Svenska Brandförsvarsföreningen, 1988

• Åskskydd,Svenska Brandförsvarsföreningen, 1999

Swedish links:• Riksantikvarieämbetet

(National Heritage Board)www.raa.sewww.raa.se/materialguiden(Information on fire properties ofconstruction materials in Swedish)

• Svenska brandförsvarsföreningenwww.svbf.seclick on ”Förlagsprodukter”(Publications service in Swedish)

• Statens Räddningsverk(Swedish Rescue Services Agency)www.srv.sehttp://www.srv.se/funktioner/publish/doklager/dok425-73.pdf(Command & Control Glossary)www.srv.se/funktioner/frameset/default.asp?om_id=31(Publications service in Swedish)

• Statens Fastighetsverk(National Property Board)www.sfv.se

• Boverket (The National Board of Housing,Building and Planning)www.boverket.se

• Eksjö kommun (Municipality of Eksjö)www.eksjo.se

• Allmänt om åskskydd(About lightning),Uppsala universitet http://www.hvi.uu.se/IFH/blixtskydd/blixtskydd.html

• Branden i Jönköping den 24 februari 2004,Tillsyn och utvärdering, Räddningsverkethttp://www.srv.se/funktioner/publish/doklager/dok2A1-9.pdf

• Article in Swedish about fires in old woodenhousing areas:http://www.brand.lth.se/utbild/pbr/pbr-5099.pdf

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Cover picturesThe photo at the back shows charred wood remains from the Tyrvää Church fire.

Tyrvää Church (Finland) lost interior / The Södra Råda (Sweden) before the fire / Copper pipes in a Norwegian stave church.

Pictures:Museovirasto: pages 2, 5, 7, 10, 12, 21, 36, 51, 54 (down), 55, 56, 58

Museovirasto / Soile Tirilä: cover backgroundMartti Jokinen: cover Tyrvää, pages 8, 16, 22, 23, 27, 29, 37, 38, 40, 47, 48 (down right), 49 (upper), 50, 60, 63, 64, 80

Jorma Lehtinen: pages 6, 9, 15, 45Raul Pohjonen: page 20

Riksantikvaren: pages 14, 18, 26, 28, 38 (upper), 46, 48 (upper), 57, 65Rune Petter Ness, Adresseavisen: page 25

SINTEF, Norway: page 48 (down left)

Riksantikvarieämbetet: cover Södra Råda and copper pipes, pages 13, 19, 30, 39, 41, 49 (down), 54 (upper), 61, 66Bo E. Karlson, Jönköpings läns museum: pages 32, 33

Lena Simonsson: page 35From Report ”Brandskydd i trästäder – Strategi för skydd av centrala Eksjö”: pages 17, 42

AIX-architects: page 52

Fire drill at Petäjävesi Church

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Experiences and practises on the fi re protection of historic build ings

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lost in a fi re?Experiences and practises on the fi re protection

of historic build ings in Finland, Norway and Sweden

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Documents

Can we learn from the heritage lost in a fire? · of fire protection but we did learn that there are many ways to prevent a fire and to protect build-ings against fire. The important