Demolish museum rather than renovating it: Fire dept official
29 April 2016 5:19 AM IST
A day after the National Museum of Natural History was gutted by fire, the senior officials in Fire department suggested for the building to be demolished via explosion rather than trying to re-occupy or renovate it. The initial investigation also suggested that the building is not fit to get repaired as the foundation of the building has weakened.
Meanwhile, a special committee has been constituted to analyse the structural strength of the building. According to the source, the committee consists of structural engineers, architects of FICCI, fire department officials and Delhi Police.
The source further added that during the initial analysis it came to light that the iron rods, beams of the building, including the T-beam and cantilever beam have melted in many areas. The concrete near the beam have fallen due to the shivering that took place during the massive fire. The remaining concrete has swollen up to unbraced cripple walls due to the water used to douse the fire.
A senior official in the fire department said: “It took more than four hours to douse the blaze after which a cooling operation was launched which lasted for around six hours. Therefore, it is clear that the building stayed at a very high temperature for long. Hence, the high temperature has weakened the structure beyond repair.”
“At this point of time, there is high risk that the building might collapse, either by itself or during any natural calamity. In the present situation, the building can’t even bear an earthquake of around 5 magnitude. It is very risky to keep the building intact,” he added.
Another official close to the investigation said: “Even if the structural engineers approve the building for re-occupation or renovation, the process itself is very risky. If any repair work is done to strengthen the building it might shake the beams and it will have worse consequences.”
Minor fire breaks out in museum again
Some parts of the National Museum of Natural history again caught fire on Wednesday and was doused within half an hour after the fire tenders reached the spot. According to the fire department, the wooden material lying inside the building caught fire due to the high temperature. Though the cooling operation lasted for around six hours after the fire was doused on Tuesday, it seems that the temperature had not cooled down properly in all parts of the building. As a result, the partially lit wooden materials again caught fire.
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