Subject: Sprinkler systems
In regards to [Elana Makridou's] questions about sprinkler systems, I help plan and manage "The National Conference On Cultural Property Protection" which has been sponsored for the past 22 years by the Smithsonian Institution. Next year--7-12 March 1999 in Los Angeles, CA USA--we are being hosted by The Getty where we will be meeting with the International Committee On Museum Security of The International Council of Museums. Fire Protection--detection and automatic suppression is a most important topic at all of our conferences. Someone once said, "if someone steals an artifact from your institution, you may get it back 15 to 20 years down the road--but if that artifact is destroyed by fire, its gone forever." Fire is the greatest risk to an institution--its people, its buildings and its collections--and automatic sprinkler systems are the best and most cost effective means to prevent that destruction. They should be used throughout the entire building complex. If properly designed and installed, they are safe and will not leak. If you would like back-up documentation, contact Andy Wilson, Chief, Fire Protection Division at the Smithsonian Institution or Sjur Helseth, Head of Section for Development, Technical Department, Directorate for Cultural Heritage, (Central Office of Historic Monuments and Sites), Norway. Kind Regards Roger Wulff *** Conservation DistList Instance 12:39 Distributed: Wednesday, October 28, 1998 Message Id: cdl-12-39-010 ***Received on Friday, 23 October, 1998