National Museum of Brazil fire

National Museum of Brazil fire
The National Museum building burning behind the statue of Emperor Pedro II
Native name Incêndio no Museu Nacional
Date2 September 2018
(6 years)
Time23:30 UTC
Duration6 hours
LocationRio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TypeConflagration
CauseOverheating of air conditioning caused by short circuit.[1][2]
OutcomeApproximately 18.5 million (92.5 %) of the museum's 20 million items were destroyed.[3]
Deaths0
Non-fatal injuries1, a firefighter suffered burns to his fingers trying to save the skull of Luzia.[4]
Property damagePaço 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 [pt]) 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]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ a b "Lessons from the destruction of the National Museum of Brazil". The Economist. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Fire engulfs 200-year-old Brazil museum". BBC. 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "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.