Protecting our cultural heritage
Besides protecting the lives of visitors and staff, fire safety in historical buildings and museums is a matter of preserving invaluable architecture and artifacts. Historical buildings are of importance not only to professional historians, but also to people from all walks of life. The protection of our cultural heritage is a responsibility that we take very seriously – you can rely on our advanced fire safety offering.
Our offering
In general, damage caused by fire or extinguishing agents can be repaired, although at a cost. In the case of historical buildings and museums, however, this is not always the case. One of numerous tragic examples is Weimar’s Duchess Anna Amalia Library, which was destroyed by fire in 2004 with an estimated damage of $90,000,000. In such cases, the true extent of the loss is far greater than just the cost of restoring the fabric of the building. Every artifact that is lost represents an irreplaceable, and therefore priceless, piece of cultural heritage. Our advanced offering provides the appropriate protection.
Our promise
Historical buildings and museums typically have high ornate ceilings with molded cornices and wooden wallpaneling. The challenge is to provide an appropriate fire detection infrastructure which has minimum impact on the fabric and décor of the building, leaving the structure practically untouched while ensuring highly reliable fire detection.
In public buildings, it is important to avoid false alarms as these can easily lead to costly and unnecessary fire brigade call-outs and create confusion among visitors of all ages. Our smart detectors with ASAtechnology can reliably distinguish between real fires and deceptive phenomena such as steam, tobacco smoke or exhaust emissions. Worries about false alarms and their consequences are a thing of the past, as in many countries Siemens and its network of certified solution partners now offer a Genuine Alarm Guarantee.
Tailored solutions
While historical buildings reflect the state-of-the-art at the time of their construction, the materials and construction methods employed are no longer consistent with today’s building codes. Providing appropriate fire protection in these buildings requires a wide range of solutions that can be tailored to meet numerous special requirements.
A specialized system for every location
Heritage buildings and museums often contain a wide variety of rooms, from historical exhibition rooms with high ornate ceilings to small, confined spaces such as storage vaults. Adequate fire protection in these buildings is best achieved with systems that are optimized to meet the specific requirements of each room.
Learn More
