Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo

Fires are among the most frequently recurring hazards affecting museums and cultural heritage sites. The fires of the National Museum of Brazil in 2018 and of Notre Dame de Paris in 2019 showed that the consequences of such events can be heavy and lead to irreversible heritage losses. In Kosovo, few...

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Main Authors: Charlotte Fafet, Erinë Mulolli Zajmi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
Series:Fire
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/1/11
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author Charlotte Fafet
Erinë Mulolli Zajmi
author_facet Charlotte Fafet
Erinë Mulolli Zajmi
author_sort Charlotte Fafet
collection DOAJ
description Fires are among the most frequently recurring hazards affecting museums and cultural heritage sites. The fires of the National Museum of Brazil in 2018 and of Notre Dame de Paris in 2019 showed that the consequences of such events can be heavy and lead to irreversible heritage losses. In Kosovo, few studies were made about the risks that can affect cultural heritage sites. A project led by the NGO Kosovo Foundation for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB Kosova) in 2018 explored the most prevalent risks for the cultural heritage sites of the country and highlighted fire as a predominant risk in Kosovo. In order to better understand it, vulnerability assessments were conducted in several museums in Kosovo. Data were collected through field visits in the different museums, in which interviews with staff members as well as observations were conducted. The aim of this paper is to present the main results of the fire vulnerability assessments conducted in Kosovo’s museums in 2018. An important aspect of this project is the approach to collect information in data-scarce environments. It is believed that the questionnaires used to lead interviews with museums’ staff members could help other practitioners to collect data in such contexts and evaluate more easily the risk of fire for the museums and their collections. In the context of Kosovo, one of the main findings is the identification and prioritisation of measures to ensure better protection of Kosovar museums. Structural mitigation measures such as alarm and fire suppression systems are not the only elements necessary to improve the resilience of Kosovar museums to fire. Indeed, the promotion of risk awareness, the training of staff members and the realisation of crisis simulation exercises are just as important in order to prevent and detect a fire, and above all, to respond quickly and accurately if a fire occurs.
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spelling doaj.art-22abc10b26ba46d1b508613b5c89add62023-11-21T09:54:01ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552021-03-01411110.3390/fire4010011Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from KosovoCharlotte Fafet0Erinë Mulolli Zajmi1Kosovo Foundation for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB Kosova), Rr. Idriz Gjilani, Hyrja 4, nr.9, 10000 Prishtina, KosovoKosovo Foundation for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB Kosova), Rr. Idriz Gjilani, Hyrja 4, nr.9, 10000 Prishtina, KosovoFires are among the most frequently recurring hazards affecting museums and cultural heritage sites. The fires of the National Museum of Brazil in 2018 and of Notre Dame de Paris in 2019 showed that the consequences of such events can be heavy and lead to irreversible heritage losses. In Kosovo, few studies were made about the risks that can affect cultural heritage sites. A project led by the NGO Kosovo Foundation for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB Kosova) in 2018 explored the most prevalent risks for the cultural heritage sites of the country and highlighted fire as a predominant risk in Kosovo. In order to better understand it, vulnerability assessments were conducted in several museums in Kosovo. Data were collected through field visits in the different museums, in which interviews with staff members as well as observations were conducted. The aim of this paper is to present the main results of the fire vulnerability assessments conducted in Kosovo’s museums in 2018. An important aspect of this project is the approach to collect information in data-scarce environments. It is believed that the questionnaires used to lead interviews with museums’ staff members could help other practitioners to collect data in such contexts and evaluate more easily the risk of fire for the museums and their collections. In the context of Kosovo, one of the main findings is the identification and prioritisation of measures to ensure better protection of Kosovar museums. Structural mitigation measures such as alarm and fire suppression systems are not the only elements necessary to improve the resilience of Kosovar museums to fire. Indeed, the promotion of risk awareness, the training of staff members and the realisation of crisis simulation exercises are just as important in order to prevent and detect a fire, and above all, to respond quickly and accurately if a fire occurs.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/1/11risk mitigationfire riskheritage protectionvulnerabilityresiliencemuseums
spellingShingle Charlotte Fafet
Erinë Mulolli Zajmi
Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo
Fire
risk mitigation
fire risk
heritage protection
vulnerability
resilience
museums
title Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo
title_full Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo
title_fullStr Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo
title_full_unstemmed Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo
title_short Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo
title_sort qualitative fire vulnerability assessments for museums and their collections a case study from kosovo
topic risk mitigation
fire risk
heritage protection
vulnerability
resilience
museums
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/1/11
work_keys_str_mv AT charlottefafet qualitativefirevulnerabilityassessmentsformuseumsandtheircollectionsacasestudyfromkosovo
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