National Museum says contractors liable for blaze damages

A blaze raged overnight on the roof of the National Museum atop Prague’s Wenceslas Square. The contractors involved insist that adequate fire prevention precautions were in place, but the National Museum says this trio of companies is fully liable for the damages.

Photo: CTK

Firefighters received a call from a night watchman at the museum shortly after 1:30 am. They soon arrived on the scene and declared the fire to be of the most severe fourth category. A spokesperson for the service later described the blaze as of an “extraordinary scope”. It is believed that the right side of the wooden frame of the building’s roof, facing down to the Square, caught fire – reportedly near the location of an electrical relay area. The blaze was brought under control by around 3:30 am, while smoke continued to belch out of the roof for some hours thereafter. Of the 150 firefighters involved, one was reportedly taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

The specific cause of the fire and well as the precise level of damage caused are not yet known.

Photo: CTK

The historical National Museum building dates back to the late 19th century. Built in the Neo-Renaissance style, it sits in an iconic location just above the famous Wenceslas Monument statue. During the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the Museum found itself under fire from Russian tanks. It is said that the bullet and mortar holes were deliberately filled in the wrong colour as a subtle protest against the suppression of the Prague Spring.

The turbulence of the 20th century, including structural damage caused by the construction of the A-line section of the nearby Metro station in 1978, led to growing concerns that National Museum building was falling into a dangerous state of disrepair. The building has been closed since 2011, its entire collection relocated, while major reconstruction work takes place scheduled to end in 2017. The preliminary price tag for the reconstruction is just under CZK 1.7 bn. The contractors, known as M-P-I – an abbreviation for three firms Metrostav, Průmstav and Imos – were reportedly working under far looser “building site” fire safety guidelines rather than those that would have been required if the museum was in operation. However, Metrostav’s construction director Jan Kučera, insisted the precautions in place were sufficient:

“Relatively huge anti-fire measures are in place at the Museum site and fire prevention officers are in place 24-hours a day.”

Photo: CTK

According to museum director Michal Lukeš, an investigation will now be carried out into the cause of the blaze. He also insisted that M-P-I are fully liable to the National Museum for any damages caused. A CZK 1 billion insurance policy is written in to M-P-I’s renovation contract. According to Czech culture minister Daniel Herman, however, the damage suffered to the building is not expected to be significant.