[17693]

Even without seeing a list, you can't help but see how great a loss this is. Some vintage bikes are fairly easy to come by, but there are so many more that would be considered a treasure hunters dream come true. We can only hope that there is some potential left for restoration on a few of these gems.

 

[45239]

You would think they'd have a decent sprinkler system to nip fires in the bud. You'd think that any damage of the vintage bikes from water exposure would be much less than fire damage.

 

[056]

I could...

Write some horribly distasteful mock news story about a Lucas fire alarm, or the cause of the blaze being traced back to an oil leak or something, but sheesh...it's like fish in a barrel. But you gotta admit, there sure have been a lot of British bikes burning lately! Maybe we are coming upon the end times?

"It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to the Lord" (Lev. 10:13)

 

[dwr461]

I guess that the remaining vintage bikes in other people's possesion have now increased in value as their brothern have become toast. I have to agree with the comment of why no sprinkler system? You would think that the insurance company for the museum would have insisted on one.



Dave

 

[Alf_Palaima]

About the sprinkler system... being that my guess that a water system wouldn't help against the potential "engine/machinery" fire, what other options do places like this have? Wouldn't somthing like a oil and possible gas fire be nothing for water to cut down?... you tell me.



-ap

 

[bikervince]

Yeah, but I wouldn't think that vintage bikes in a museum would still have oil and gas still in them, would they? It's not like they ever get ridden.



BikerVince

 

[pplassm]

According to this article, fire started near the elevator:

http://www.cyclenews.com/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=5373

I didn't realize that the collection was privately owned. I was lucky enough to see it several years ago. It was quite a display.

 

[BobW]

One of the pictures in the motorcyclenews.com article shows the skeletal remains of the FIRST BSA, 1904. Bummer.

 

[Closet_Bad_Ass]

It is sad to see any historical collection or artifacts get destroyed. Recall a few years ago when the Taliban organization destroyed some ancient Buddhist monuments in Eastern Afghanistan. Why? Why did early settlers of California and Oregon cut down old-growth Sequoia forests?



For some reason museum fires seem to be relatively common. Probably no more common than any other fires; we just tend to hear about them.



At least this appears to be accidental. At least, let’s hope so.

 

[35244]

A fire sprinkler system would have done the trick about 98% of the time..unless it was arson or the water supply was compromised. This bites big time.

As a commercial insurance Loss Control guy, I'm going to be extremely (%^%&**'ed if when I get up to the AMA Heratige Museum here later this fall and find it without fire sprinklers. It WILL be time to open a can if that is the case!

 

[sarnali]

Good point about oil/gas, but this would be a structural fire first so water then foam would be the best choice.

I wouldn't think the bikes would be stored with gas in them, it would be paint and plastic, possibly alu-u-min-eum and magnesium if it got hot enough

The best choice would be don't throw lit ciggerette butts in cardboard boxs next to air intakes.

 

[sarnali]

I read yesterday in MCN.UK that it was started by careless smoking outside near a pile of boxes that were stacked under a building air intake.

 

[obandoj]

What a shame, I saw some footage of the aftermath and it looks terrible. I also heard that the fire was started by somebody's cigarrete outside!

 

[45239]

You go! Rock on, Dude! :-D

 

[grover750]

I'm a field engineer for a commercial property insurance company, and would have to say that if the bikes did not have gas in them the fire would have easily been controlled by sprinkler protection. With gas in the tanks, it would really be anyone's guess what would happen. What I bet happened here is that the building was on fire, not the bikes, then it got powerful enough and spread to the bikes.



Europeans are much less likely to install sprinklers in their buildings than we are, they tend to rely on preventing fires from starting. Really strange that whomever was running the museum didn't have any sprinklers. You can install sprinklers for about $1.50 / sq. ft., cheaper than some carpeting.



The other possibility is that the place had sprinklers, but a valve was shut.



I'd bet this place was insured, but not by a company that puts much of an emphasis on loss prevention. There are a few fly by night types out there that pop up when rates are high (like right now) some of them don't send out engineers to their insureds, they just roll the dice & play the odds, like auto insurance companies.