Notre Dame fire highlights danger of renovating historic structures

The devastating fire at Notre-Dame de Paris is the latest blaze to damage or destroy historic buildings while undergoing renovations. It highlights how vulnerable such structures are to fire while undergoing repairs.

While the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, it may well be due to activity during the restoration project on the ancient cathedral.

Historic structures are like tinderboxes, according to an expert in the field, as quoted in a Fast Company article, because they contain wood and other flammable materials that have dried out over centuries.

Torches used in restoration work for soldering pipes or welding metal roofing components can give off hot molten metal bits that drop into concealed spaces. The embers can spark a fire that is not immediately detected.

With extremely dry wood, the heat from power tools could also induce a blaze, even without an open flame. The construction industry doesn’t appear to have universal standards for fire watch and suppression for historic renovations, the Fast Company article says.

New ideas in design and constructability are radically changing how metal systems are used as roofing for commercial and institutional buildings. Behind the investment in these new kinds of expressions and construction approaches is a growing interest in improved performance and reduced environmental impact. Metal roofing systems can cut cooling and heating loads significantly, according to the EPA.