Fire in a 17th-Century Chapel in Trégastel: Roof Loss and Saved Heritage
The blaze destroyed about 75 percent of the slate roof and caused part of the timber framework to collapse, but...
Case Histories
Posts describing accidents and damage to cultural heritage fall into this category
Forensic Engineering in Ancient Rome: Analyzing the 64 AD Fire through Archaeology
By Stefano Marsella Fire Safety Engineer | Adjunct Professor of Territorial Emergency Management, Università Campus Biomedico di Roma Introduction Synthesizing...
Vulnerabilities in Heritage Buildings
The Compounded Risk of Renovation Crucially, the hotel was undergoing extensive months-long remodelling to celebrate an upcoming anniversary at the...
Attack on Historic Monastery in Kyiv: Damage and Cultural Significance
Reports emerging at the moment indicate that a historic monastery complex in Kyiv has been affected by a new attack,...
Fire at Odeon Building – George Town, Penang, Malaysia
The rapid response of emergency services, the incident resulted in the death of a construction worker from Myanmar, trapped within...
Nine Japanese Shrines and Temples Lost to Fire in First Five Months of 2026: Context and Ongoing Protection Efforts
Complete Timeline: 9 Fires (January–May 2026) Note: Most of the 2026 fires remain under investigation by local authorities. Confirmed causes should...
The Paradox of Strategic Function: The Case of Beaufort Castle and the Ineffectiveness of International Protection in Warfare
The recent worsening of the damage suffered by Beaufort Castle (Qal'at al-Shaqif), in southern Lebanon, raises a fundamental question for...
World Cultural Heritage Losses
This project records losses, damage, and destruction affecting World Cultural Heritage and other culturally significant places around the world. It...
Miyajima’s Reikado Hall Fire: What the Loss of a Sacred Wooden Landmark Reveals About Heritage Risk
This event is more than a local incident: it is a case study in the fragility of sacred wooden heritage,...
Worship Centers Under Fire: From Japan’s Atago Shrine to Mozambique’s St. Louis de Montfort Church
Fire is arguably the greatest single threat facing cultural heritage. In 2026, this risk is increasingly concentrated in worship centers:...
Smoke and Radiative Heat: The Hidden Damage After the 1996 Fire at Iglesia de la Compañía (Quito, Ecuador)
On January 31, 1996, at 11:10 local time, a fire ignited inside the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, one...
The Montenach Fire: A Case Study in WUI Risk for Cultural Heritage
The fire that destroyed the Saint‑Cyriaque church in Montenach (Moselle, near the French–Luxembourg border) on April 30, 2026 is a...
Cybercrime & Historic Sites — the April 2026 San Marco Anti‑Flood System Incident
The April 2026 incident involving the 'Infrastructure Destruction Squad' (aka 'Dark Engine') serves as a critical warning for heritage site...
When Fire Strikes the Memory of Lesser-known Communities
Fires don't just erase homes and landscapes: they can destroy archives, symbolic places, and traces of local identity that will...
Teotihuacán Shooting: a Warning for Heritage Security
On 20 April 2026, a shooting at the Teotihuacán archaeological site in Mexico turned a major heritage destination into the...
Fire at Rio de Janeiro Olympic Velodrome (Brazil)
A fire broke out at the Olympic Velodrome in Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Park on April 8th, 2026 morning, damaging...
The Uffizi Cyberattack: a Warning for Heritage Institutions, but not a simple story
On 2026, the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, became the focus of a cyberattack story that quickly moved beyond technical disruption...
When Historic Spaces Become Event Venues: The Fire Risk Hidden Behind Special Occasions
From the Braidense controversy to Turin’s lesson, why dinners, catering, and temporary setups can turn a heritage interior into a...
The Cappella della Sindone Fire in Turin: When Restoration, Temporary Uses, and Fire Load Turn a Masterpiece into a Catastroph
The 1997 Turin fire shows how fragile heritage buildings become when temporary installations, electrical uncertainty, and delayed detection meet a...
Widespread damage to Iran’s cultural heritage reported amid military conflict: 56 sites affected
According to a statement released by Iran's Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts on 14 March 2026, at least...
Glasgow Central Blaze: B‑Listed Heritage Dome Collapse and Suspected Lithium‑Ion Cell Involvement
On March 8, 2026, a major fire on Union Street, beside Glasgow Central Station, has severely damaged and partly collapsed...
Strikes Damage UNESCO Golestan Palace: Shockwave Impacts on Tehran’s Historic Jewel
The Golestan Palace in Tehran, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013, suffered significant damage from shockwaves and debris caused...
