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...
Case Histories
Posts describing accidents and damage to cultural heritage fall into this category
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...
Saint-Germain Église Fire: Another Historic Religious Site Arson
On September 29, 2025, the historic Église Saint-Germain, situated in La Châtre, Indre, France, suffered damage from a fire. The...
French Historic Castle Damaged by Fire
The Château de Médavy, a historic 18th-century classified monument situated near Argentan in the Orne department of Normandy, sustained severe...
The 2025 Cebu Earthquake: A Call to Action for Seismic Retrofitting of Historic Structures
On September 30, 2025, a devastating 6.9 magnitude earthquake reportedly struck Cebu province in the central Philippines, causing extensive structural...
Yemen’s Mud-Brick Palaces among Destruction and Restoration
Yemen’s historic mud-brick palaces and earthen architecture stand as remarkable and ancient built heritage, yet ongoing conflict, environmental damage, and...
Unrests Threatens Indonesian Heritage
Indonesia’s cultural heritage faces a critical crisis. Following the August 2025 mass protests, historic buildings and cultural sites, many repurposed...
Evacuated 30 Years of Archaeological Research in Gaza
In a high-risk, last-minute rescue operation, on September 10, 2025, nearly three decades’ worth of archaeological treasures have been salvaged...
