Fire cause and protection of Taiwanese historic buildings

Preservation of historic buildings has become the subject matter of intense discussions throughout the world. Compared with other risk management and protection systems, fire protection is considered a thorny problem to be solved. Many historic Taiwanese buildings have been seriously damaged by fire over the last four decades, resulting in the destruction of many irreplaceable collections. Negligence and the lack of heritage preservation awareness have been identified as the major causes of fire. Combustible substances, adjacent buildings, location characteristics, architectural patterns, and daily management solutions are now recognized as fire risk factors. Abiding by the principles of historic buildings preservation, adequate daily fire protection mechanisms should be used as precautionary measures instead of merely installing modern fire-fighting equipment. © 2011, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.