JULY 23, 1997
 
- French firefighters douse Paris museum blaze
Fire broke out in an area of the roof that was being renovated!!
AGAIN: remember the Hofburg in Vienna, Windsor Castle, and the Royal Academy (May 4, 1997). All these fires were caused by construction work. This is the third museum fire within three months: Royal Academy (May), Tate Gallery (June).....
 
 
 
French firefighters douse Paris museum blaze
By Christian Curtenelle
 
PARIS, July 23 (Reuter) - More than 100 firefighters battled half the night to put out a blaze in a Paris architecture museum near the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday.
Two firefighters were injured working to contain the flames in a wing of the Palais de Chaillot, containing the Museum of French Monuments as well as a film library in one of the capital's most famed tourist attractions.
At least two explosions, apparently of windows shattering from the intense heat, were heard when the fire broke out.
Initially, firefighters incorrectly said the blaze was in another wing of the colonnaded palace containing the Musee de l'Homme (Museum of Man) that traces human history with statues, frescoes and costumes.
``It's still very hard to assess the extent of the damage,'' a spokesman for the firefighters said after a battle of more than three hours to bring the flames under control.
The fire was smouldering in parts of the building at the Trocadero square overlooking the Seine river towards the Eiffel Tower. Thick smoke was still complicating the task.
But commander Philippe Lavoil, of the Paris firefighters, said earlier in the night that the ``national heritage in terms of art works, does not seem affected.''
The Museum of French Monuments includes copies or models of some of France's most famous buildings, including the great cathedrals of Notre-Dame and Chartres, in a history of the nation's monumental architecture.
Films were taken out of the film library. The building also contains a cinema museum with props including the skeletal frame of Mrs Bates from the horror movie Psycho.
About 120 fire fighters were called in from all over Paris and brought the blaze under control shortly before 1 a.m. (1100 GMT Tuesday), a spokesman said. Two firefighters were slightly injured and one was taken to hospital for treatment.
Police were ordered to carry out an investigation into the causes of the fire, a police spokesman said. Initial evidence pointed to an accidental blaze. The fire broke out in an area of the roof that was being renovated.
Culture Minister Catherine Trautmann visited the scene while the fire was raging. The Trocadero, choked by thick smoke, was sealed off to traffic.
The director of the Palais de Chaillot said: ``The frame of the roof window caught fire and that made the glass explode. The frame fell on the museum collections...mouldings, plasterwork.
``The museum has never known such a catastrophe,'' he told Europe 1 radio.
Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited
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The fire (continued)
Forwarded from Museum-L
 
From: Boylan P <P.Boylan@CITY.AC.UK>
Subject: MAJOR MUSEUM FIRE OVERNIGHT IN PARIS
 
Overnight (European time) news has been coming through of a very serious
fire in the Paris Palais de Chaillot, part of the 1930s Trocodero complex,
which houses several national museums and other cultural institutions,
including the Musee de l'Homme, the national maritime museum the new
national cinematography museum and the national museum of architecture
and monumental sculpture.
Early international press reports (e.g. BBC World Service radio at 1am
British Summer Time) suggested that over 4,000 sq, metres (40,000 sq.ft.)
of the Musee de l'Homme itself was on fire.
However, the latest reports are slightly less alarming, though
this was a major incident with a "Pumps 14" fire engine and crew
attendance level for over three hours, with water damage (at least) in the
Musee des Monuments de France.
 
Patrick J. Boylan
(Vice-President of ICOM)
 
City University, Frobisher Crescent, Barbican, London EC2Y 8HB, UK;
phone: +44-171-477.8750, fax:+44-171-477.8887; e-mail: P.Boylan@city.ac.uk
World Wide Web site: http://www.city.ac.uk/artspol/
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