Operational plan for responding to and rescuing works of art in the event of a fire: a case study for the Sacred Art Collection in Trogir, Croatia

Abstract

Objective: To develop a model of an operational plan for rescuing cultural heritage on the example of the Sacred Art Collection in the city of Trogir, Croatia.

Methods: We assessed the situation in the Sacred Art Collection, evaluated the existing safety measures, estimated the value of artifacts, made prioritization by value, measured each artifact, and developed grab sheets.

Results: We produced an operational plan containing the general facility information, interior and exterior contacts’ list, the evacuation of people procedure, risk assessment, floor plans, list of priority artifacts, management structure, artifact evacuation procedure, triage room location, temporary storage areas, and grab sheets.

Conclusion: The specific measurement for responding to and rescuing work of art in case of fire should be separate for each heritage micro and macro site in the historical cities. These measures differ from other similar measures because they take into consideration the material and non-material value of a work of art, which differ from case to case.