Historic Saint-Paul Church Fire, Montreal (Canada): Total Loss
Early Monday 23 February 2026, ~1:40am, a fire engulfed the former Saint-Paul Church (Sud-Ouest borough, Montreal). The historic church, converted...
Case Histories
Posts describing accidents and damage to cultural heritage fall into this category
Niscemi (Italy), when the Earth takes back Memory
In the town of Niscemi, in southern Sicily, a slow-moving landslide has been advancing for months, carving cracks through streets...
The Reconstruction of the Glasgow School of Art following the Second Fire
In the evening of June 15, 2018, a catastrophic fire engulfed the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School...
Two Fires in Rome’s Historic Centre: Specific Risks in Churches
On Sunday 25 January 2026, two separate fires within minutes of each other affected churches in the very heart of...
Wildfires in Chile Damage Historic Heritage
Large-scale wildfires and other widespread emergencies are usually narrated in terms of hectares burned, people evacuated, houses destroyed and victims....
The Hidden Vulnerability: Fire Risk in Cultural Heritage Storage Facilities
On October 1, 2025, a devastating fire broke out at the main warehouse of Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) in Bhiwandi,...
Fire Safety Lessons from the 2026 Crans-Montana Bar Fire for Heritage and Historic Venues
The New Year’s Eve fire at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana is a tragic reminder that crowd-intensive venues in heritage settings...
New Year’s Eve Fire in a Historic former Church in Amsterdam
In the early hours of January 1, 2026, a violent fire devastated the Vondelkerk, the neo-Gothic church overlooking Vondelstraat, a...
The Laborie Estate Fire – Heritage Resilience and WUI in Paarl (South Africa)
Date of Incident: December 20, 2025 Location: Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa Site Classification: Grade II Provincial Heritage Site (Cape Dutch Werf) Laborie Wine...
Fire and Destruction of a Traditional Village in Sumba (Indonesia)
Kampung Adat Waru Wora in West Sumba is a village that suffered a devastating fire on 5 December 2025 that...
Heritage Sites Destroyed by Floods in Sumatra
Since late November 2025, extreme monsoon rains, intensified by deforestation resulting from logging and mining activities, have caused catastrophic floods...
Rebuilding a Canadian Heritage Village with Fire-Resilient Principles
On June 30, 2021, during a record-breaking heat dome, the Village of Lytton, British Columbia (Canada) — home to about...
New Zealand Heritage Wildfire
In early December 2025, a human-caused wildfire ignited within Tongariro National Park, a dual World Heritage landscape recognized for its...
Suspicious Fire Destroys Abandoned Church in Scotland
The overnight fire that on December 7, 2025 engulfed the 182-year-old Pollokshaws Parish Church on Shawbridge Street serves as a...
Backdraft at Historic Hotel Fire in Escanaba (USA)
A 161-year-old landmark hotel, a complex multi-occupancy historic structure, a ventilation-controlled fire in a concealed ceiling space, and a near‑fatal...
Hyrcanian Forest Fires: When Ancient Heritage Burns
In November 2025, Iran requested urgent assistance from friendly countries to contain a large wildfire in the Hyrcanian forests after...
Fire at Public Archives in Zagreb
Late on November 17, 2025, a large fire ripped through the Vjesnik skyscraper on Slavonska Avenue in Zagreb, burning vertically...
Analysis of a Maintenance Fire in a Theatre in Italy
Between November 11 and 12, 2025, a significant fire occurred at the “Ciotolone” Theatre, situated within the esteemed Le Ciminiere...
600.000 Comics Artefacts destroyed in a Fire
On October 1, 2025, a devastating fire broke out at the Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) warehouse in Bhiwandi, a suburb...
Second Fire in two Months in India’s Historic Town
The October 21, 2025 fire at Nainital’s Old London House was the second serious incident within two months at this 162-year-old colonial structure,...
Victorian Mansion demolished by Fire in the UK
Late on the night of 5 October 2025, Shotley Park in County Durham—once a grand Victorian mansion and latterly a...
The Montmedy 2025 strange coincidence fires
Between July 15 and August 12, 2025, two fires devastated historic buildings in Montmédy both of which have a shared...
