OT? The recent Art Warehouse Fire

[Malcolm Stewart]

I'm sure we've all seen pictures of the recent fire at Momart's warehouse where some of BritArt's works of art (treasures?) were destroyed. Having worked in an technical industry where our insurers simply said that we must have a sprinkler system, my job was to ensure that it worked and that our inspections etc. kept it working. One of the journalists reporting the fire said that arts treasures are generally not protected by sprinkler in view of the high (?) risk of damage. I found this puzzling (in view of what our insurers had insisted upon) so I did a quick Google and found, to my surprise, that sprinkler systems (in the US at least) have a raft of problems caused by poor installation, corrosion, bacterial attack etc. all of which can lead to damage to arts treasures. My experience over several years is that problems and leaks are very rare (we never had any leaks in quite a large installation), and I'm wondering if we were just lucky, or benefited from careful, monitored installation and decent maintenance which is perhaps becoming rarer with changes in modern site facilities management policies. (I'm thinking of outsourcing...) Anyone care to comment?

[BigWallop]

I'd rather have a couple of wet art works than have them all destroyed in a blaze. So I'm all for a sprinklers or other extinguishing devices being fitted in warehouses, theatres, cinemas or anywhere else that could be a danger to life or devastate stored goods.

[Paul - xxx]

Malcolm Stewart posted ...

I used to be a Torque Control Engineer and can comment on sprinkler systems to some lesser extent, and one particular problem they have.

The glass phials with liquid in, that break when heated thus releasing the water, are a particularly delicate part, and must be installed absolutely correctly.

Under testing it was found that a very minor difference of installation torque could change their life expectancy dramatically. When installed correctly they had an infinite lifespan, provided there was never a fire in the vicinity .. ;) If installed with a very slightly higher torque, and I mean a miniscule amount higher, like three degrees extra tightening rotation, let alone the actual torque increase value which was harder to measure than the rotational angle, the life expectancy, using accelerated tests, deteriorated to about three years .. which would mean a recommended replacement at about 1 year old .. not really commercially viable.

A new system was developed that made the head unit a 'pop-in' replaceable factory set part, but many systems still use the 'old' style fittings that are tightened up on site during commissioning, by installation engineers with adjustable spanners I guess ... ;)

[Dev Null]

[snip]

I'm aware of some muniment rooms (archive store rooms) where a specially licensed halon system is installed rather than risk the damage that would be caused by sprinklers.

DN

[Christian McArdle]

Are misting systems any better?

Why don't they store all the items in fireproofed cells? I would have thought that subdividing the space with loads of Fireline plasterboard or such like would (a) delay the spread of fire and (b) allow misting sprinklers to be used without affecting the stored items.

Christian.

[Andy Hall]

... but delays the insurance payout....

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Dev Null]

From:

At the 1999 Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association, a special forum on water mist technology was conducted by the experts in this field. The experts were in unanimous agreement that unless a client was willing to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in testing for a specific situation, water mist technology can not and should not be transferred to applications other than where extensive testing has demonstrated their effectiveness. In addition, water mist systems have not yet proven to be effective in extinguishing small fires.

[Christian McArdle]

But they do say that proper sprinkler systems are the way to go for high value cultural buildings with valuable collections.

Basically, as the individual sprinkler heads only activate under local fire conditions, you don't get as much collataral water damage as you would if the fire brigade turn up and use hoses

Christian.

[Peter Taylor]

Paul wrote

Totally agree with all this. Another big drawback with sprinkler systems is that the fire has to have got a hold and be producing flames and heat before it sets off any sprinklers. By that time the building will most likely be full of noxious smoke which, besides being a danger to life, causes as much, if not more, material damage as the heat itself.

Peter