On Tuesday, June 30 at approximately 2:01 AM, a fire was deliberately set in a garbage can outside the freight room area of the Northwest Railway Museum's 1890-built Snoqualmie Depot. The fire consumed most of the plastic garbage can and then climbed the exterior wall where it set off the fire sprinklers. The sprinklers operated as intended and rapidly reduced the intensity of the fire. The City of Snoqualmie Fire Department arrived a few minutes later and quickly extinguishing what remained of the fire. The Museum is grateful to the Snoqualmie Fire Department for their quick response, but also to the efficient design of the fire sprinkler system that worked as intended in this first “live” test since installation in 1979.

Though the Museum is grateful that the fire was quickly extinguished, it did damage approximately 100 square feet of siding, melted speaker wires, charred two deck boards, and admitted lots of smoke to the building. The Museum will be working quickly to repair the damage and continue with preparations for next week’s Day Out With Thomas event, and of course for the final arrangements required to begin construction of the new 25,000 square foot Train Shed Exhibit Building. The Museum plans to open Tuesday at 10 AM as scheduled.

Unfortunately, the depot arson was not an isolated incident. At approximately 3:55 AM, another series of fires were ignited. A fire was started behind the hair salon across the street from the depot. That building does not have sprinklers and the fire did extensive damage to the rear wall. Another fire was simultaneously started at the rear of city hall. Fortunately, the rear of that building is concrete and other than some smoke stains on the wall, there was no damage.

There has been a $10,000 arson award posted for information about these incidents. Anyone with any information is encouraged to call 1-800-55ARSON.

Additional views were posted on the Museum's blog earlier today:http://trainmuseum.blogspot.com/2009/06/snoqualmie-depot-is-local-icon.html

So another historic building saved by sprinklers. How many museum's have sprinklers in their buildings?

--Richard

richard,
At the SF Maritime Park we have the ferry Eureka the longest wooden merchant ship in the world. She was built in 1890. She has sprinklers throughout, even in the bathrooms and closets!

There is a Diesel powered pump in case the water pressure drops or the AC power goes off.

The Western Railway Museum has the Jenson Memorial Car Barn with a sprinkler system and fire mains and fire roads. Out in the country it has a 200,000 gallon tank with a back up Diesel powered pump in case the AC power goes down.

The number of places that have this kind of protection is growing; but all to few of the historic sites and museums have fire protection.

Let us hope that more systems will be built and there will be no more car barn loses such as the one at the National Capital Trolley Museum several years ago.

They have now moved to a new campus and I bet that their new barn has sprinklers!

Ted Miles

Yes, all of the National Capital Trolley Museum's buildings at the new site have sprinklers. Also, the large carbarn at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, and the carbarn and visitors center at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum have sprinklers.
The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum plans to retrofit sprinklers to our two older buildings. We have funding and, hopefully, construction will take place this fall.

Sprinklers are good, no, great. They are a basic requirement for preservation, in some cases required by law, in some by good practice...

But, once you have sprinklers they will need to be inspected and maintained...

In California there is a 5 year inspection requirement. I suspect it is common elsewhere too. In our city if the sprinklers are not working or out of compliance you are required to have a 24 hr a day fire watch.... Someone on hand around the clock to watch the building until the system can be repaired. Fire systems and regulations can be very technical, so a system may be functional but out of compliance.

Our city owned, city operated historic house museum has sprinkler heads which have been recalled by their manufacture... who is not very responsive... our city fire department is requiring a fire watch when ever the building is occupied... They are being nice since we are a fellow city facility, and not making us do the 24 hr a day thing...

So, get sprinklers, but plan for maintenance, and understand the consequences if they fall out of compliance... 24 hr a day fire watch is neither fun nor cheap...

The pump on WRM's diesel-powered fire sprinkler system has to be tested monthly. We have made that ritual something which is done after each monthly board meeting so we don't forget.