 The National Museum building burning behind the statue of Emperor Pedro II | |
| Native name | Incêndio no Museu Nacional |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 September 2018 (6 years) |
| Time | 23:30 UTC |
| Duration | 6 hours |
| Location | Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Type | Conflagration |
| Cause | Overheating of air conditioning caused by short circuit.[1][2] |
| Outcome | Approximately 18.5 million (92.5 %) of the museum's 20 million items were destroyed.[3] |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 1, a firefighter suffered burns to his fingers trying to save the skull of Luzia.[4] |
| Property damage | Paço de São Cristóvão |
The National Museum of Brazil was heavily damaged by a large fire which began about 19:30 local time (23:30 UTC) on 2 September 2018.[5][6][7] Although some items were saved, it is believed that 92.5% of its archive of 20 million items was destroyed in the fire as around 1.5 million items were stored in a separate building and were not damaged.[8]
First responders fighting the fire were hindered by a lack of water. Rio's fire chief said that two nearby fire hydrants had insufficient water, leaving firefighters to resort to pumping water from a nearby lake. According to a CEDAE (Rio de Janeiro's Water and Sewerage State Company) employee, although the hydrants did have water, the water pressure was very low because the building is on top of a hill, making them unusable.[9][10] Brazilian President Michel Temer said that the loss due to the fire was "incalculable."[7]
- ^ Estadão, ed. (23 March 2019). "Curto em ar-condicionado causou fogo que destruiu Museu Nacional, diz perícia" [Short on air-conditioning caused fire that destroyed National Museum, says expertise]. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ "PF conclui inquérito no Museu Nacional e descarta 'conduta omissa' e incêndio criminoso" [Federal Police concludes survey at the National Museum and rules out 'silent conduct' and arson] (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 July 2020. Archived from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ "Museu Nacional: 1,5 milhão de peças escaparam do incêndio por estarem em outros prédios" [National Museum: 1.5 million pieces escaped the fire due to being in other buildings]. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ "Bombeiro diz que se queimou ao tentar resgatar Luzia no Museu Nacional" [Firefighter says he burned himself trying to rescue Luzia at the National Museum]. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ "Rio's 200-year-old National Museum hit by massive fire". Reuters. 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ "Incêndio atinge prédio do Museu Nacional, no Rio". UOL Notícias (in Portuguese). 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Lessons from the destruction of the National Museum of Brazil". The Economist. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ "Fire engulfs 200-year-old Brazil museum". BBC. 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ Phillips, Dom (3 September 2018). "Brazil museum fire: 'incalculable' loss as 200-year-old Rio institution gutted". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ "Falta de água prejudicou combate ao incêndio, diz comandante dos Bombeiros". Veja (in Portuguese). 3 September 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018.