Fire Safety and Suppression
Contents
Statement of Purpose
This section includes information related to fire safety and suppression within natural history museums.
Introduction
Contributors
Fluid Collections (Fishes and Herps)
- Fire code mandates numerous building and facility design elements.
- No specific fire or building code for natural history museums exists, so each local fire marshal and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) officer will interpret the general codes and set a local policy.
2015 International Building Code (IBC) http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/toc/2015/I-Codes/2015%20IBC%20HTML/
2015 International Fire Code (IFC) http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/toc/2015/I-Codes/2015_IFC_HTML/index.html
Then there are country, state and county specific codes under these.
- In the US there is:
National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) - NFPA 909 Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties — Museums, Libraries, and Places of Worship 2009 Edition http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/AboutTheCodes/909/909-F2008-ROP.pdf
General concerns revolve around storage temperature (lower reduces risk), ventilation rates, volume of alcohol/room volume, limits on height of shelves, etc., but each country and state will have local variations that need to be taken into consideration. Thus, it is critical for each collection manager to work closely with the fire marshal and EHS and to build a good working relationship. Bring them in at the beginning of the process if you are going to be designing a new building or moving into new space, and maintain regular contact. Regulations and interpretations of code can change, and a continued dialogue can help avoid surprises.
