User Manual

10
Siemens Switzerland Ltd
Building Technologies Division
Date Building Country Estimated
damage (€)
Cause
09.2009 Schloss Ebelsbach Germany 3.5 m Arson
08.2009 South Dakota Library USA 11 m Sparks from concrete saw
04.2008 Castello di Moncalieri Italy 10 m Renovation work
04.2008 Québec Armory Canada 100 m Renovation work (lamp)
02.2008 Namdaemun Gate South Korea 20 m Arson
10.2007 Armando Museum, Amersfoort NL 5 m Renovation work (roof)
04.2007 Georgetown Library, Washington DC USA 20 m Renovation work (roof)
08.2006 St.Petersburg Cathedral Dome Russia 3 m Renovation work (roof)
10.2005 Nuremberg Transport Museum Germany 30 m Unknown
09.2004 Duchess Anna Amalia Library Germany 80 m Faulty electrical
connection
09.2003 Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham England 20 m Cigarette
01.2003 Lunéville Chateau France 100 m Electrical fault
08.1993 Chapel bridge, Lucerne Switzerland 2 m
(bridge alone,
excluding
artwork)
Fire in moored boat
11.1992 Redoutensal, Hofburg Palace Austria 60 m Unknown
11.1992 Windsor Castle England 50 m Spotlight too close to
curtain
06.1992 Christianborg Palace Church Denmark 7 m Fireworks
08.1989 Uppark House England 20 m Renovation work
(blowtorch)
Table 1 Fire damage in heritage buildings
We now have the know-how and appropriate tools to help us drastically reduce the risk of serious fire and we are
also able to minimize the damage that has frequently been caused by the use of inappropriate extinguishing
agents. Loss of cultural heritage is often not only the direct result of fire damage, but paradoxically water-
damage, caused by measures taken to extinguish the fire, may prove to be even more costly. One particular
example where the water damage accounted for a significant proportion of the total loss was the Duchess Anna
Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany.