FIRE SAFETY IN HERITAGE BUILDINGS

New Zealand's heritage buildings are burning to the ground at a rate of 15 a year. According to Fire Service statistics even more alarming is the fact that in the event of a fire, heritage buildings are more likely to be totally destroyed than modern buildings. Fire Service national manager community safety, Jim Dance, says the reason for this is that most of these buildings are not adequately protected from fire. "It is a fact that: 93 percent of all heritage buildings involved in fires did not have a fire detection system of any kind Nearly three quarters of all heritage building fires happen in timber framed structures Nearly a third of all fires in these types of buildings are deliberately lit Over half of heritage building fires occur in residential buildings If you combine all of these reasons - it is no wonder that we can't save them,...

By: Chris Wattie , Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 TORONTO - Flames consumed a block of heritage buildings on Toronto's Queen Street West on Wednesday, collapsing one historic structure and leaving several others empty blackened shells in a huge fire that one community leader said "left a hole in the heart of the city." More than 150 firefighters and 40 pumper and ladder trucks fought the stubborn fire for hours in windy, freezing weather that covered firefighters, rubble, power lines and store fronts in a coat of ice that froze almost as soon as it left firefighters' hoses. It took more than three hours to contain the blaze within the six-building bloc where it broke out at about 5 a.m. and the fire continued to smoulder for the rest of the afternoon. One building collapsed completely just as fire crews were scrambling out of the structure and another had to be pulled down to allow access to...

Source:http://punan.info/blog/category/general-news/

Centuries-old gate in Seoul was considered country's top national treasure Built in 1398, destroyed by fire in 11 Feb.2008 SEOUL, South Korea - An overnight fire destroyed one of Seoul's great landmarks, the centuries-old wooden structure that topped the Namdaemun gate and was deemed South Korea's No. 1 national treasure, a police official said Monday. Police did not yet determine the cause of the fire, said Sohn Young-jin, a police official handling the case. He did not give further details. The fire broke out Sunday night and burnt down the wooden structure at the top of the 610-year-old Namdaemun gate that once formed part of a wall that encircled the capital. The two-tiered wooden structure was renovated in the 1960s, when it was declared South Korea 's top national treasure, and again in 2005. The government opened the gate, officially known as Sungnyemun, to the public in 2006 for the first time in nearly a century. The gate had been off-limits to th...