Can we learn from the her it age lost in a fire? - Museovirasto

antikvarieämbetet initiated a number of seminars
and workshops in 1995 with the aim of identifying
the optimal level of fire protection whilst balancing
costs and security.
Experts from the Fire Defence Agency, the
Riksantikvaren, alarm system producers and the
Riksantikvarieämbetet took part in these meetings.
The Riksantikvarieämbetet then engaged a
Norwegian company to produce a fire protection
plan. Their decision was to install a sampling system
that sucks air from inside the church into an
analysing unit outside the church. The system
sounded an alarm if there was fire or smoke in
the air from inside the church.
This was the level of protection chosen for the
church and it was 95% installed. Due to problems
with the alarm system contractor and some technical
problems with the installation, the system was
not fully functional at the time of the fire.
The fire – 12 November 2001
The fire alarm went off at 01.53 am, both in the
chancel and the porch. The fire was discovered by
a neighbour at 02.18 am and he immediately notified
the central alarm service. The local fire brigade
arrived at 02.40 am. The police arrived at
02.57 am.
The fire spread very rapidly and it was not
possible for the fire fighters to save any interior
objects in the church.
The police closed off the area around the
church immediately after the fire and Hemvärnet
(the Voluntary Defence Organisation) protected
the area 24 hours a day for the first 5 days after the
fire. Thereafter, a fence and a powerful lighting
were installed around the building. Some weeks
later, a construction was built over the former
church to cover and protect the remains so they
could later be investigated. This “tent”-like construction
is still (2004) in use.
The investigation of possible causes involved
technicians and fire specialists. Police technicians
started a possible arson investigation the day after
the fire. They could neither verify nor exclude arson.
Other possible causes were an electric fault in
the alarm system connection box in the churchyard
approximately 8 metres from the northern facade
inside the wall. This box was checked but no conclusions
were reached.
The cause of the fire was unknown until the
autumn 2003, when a man voluntarily confessed to
arson during interrogation concerning the murder
of a child. The arsonist, who was mentally disturbed,
was convicted for arson in January 2004.
He had the inspiration to set the church on fire
from a TV-programme presenting old wooden
churches in Sweden.
It was not possible to save any interior objects
during the fire. Chandeliers, locks and other metal
objects as well as the baptismal font were all taken
care of immediately after the fire was extinguished.
Like everything else in the building, these objects
were badly damaged by the fire.
The remaining pieces of timber were numbered
and stored. Experts on timbering techniques
carried out an antiquarian documentation.
An inventory was made of written sources
and drawings concerning the old church and the
results were put together. It was clear that this
unique church was relatively well documented,
although there were gaps. For example, no documentation
was found about some of the paintings
in the aisle.
Almost immediately after the fire, the municipality
and the local people started to demand the
church be rebuilt in the same place and with the
same appearance as the old one.
In February 2002, the Riksantikvarieämbetet
arranged the first meeting in Södra Råda, which
brought together more than one hundred people,
where the Director General of the Riksantikvarieämbetet
promised to reconstruct the church.
After these events, the Riksantikvarieämbetet
started the Södra Råda Project in collaboration
with the municipality, the inhabitants of the region,
the county council and the county museum.
The project initially focussed only on rebuilding
the church. Now it has developed to an expanding
long-term project, aiming at
• capacity building in cultural history and
regional growth,
• increased commitment and interest
for our cultural heritage and
• strengthening collaboration between
the national, regional and local levels.
Another objective is to create a centre for the different
building techniques used in medieval churches.
‹ 31