Only 2 castles with sprinklers installed NHK survey on 12 castles nationwide, November 30th 4:53

While fire prevention measures for cultural properties became a challenge following the fire at Shuri Castle, NHK surveyed 12 castles nationwide with wooden castles built before the Edo period, and sprinklers were installed. I understood the current situation where sufficient measures such as staying in two places are not progressing.

In the Shuri Castle fire in Naha City, where seven buildings including the main shrine were completely burned out, there were no legal problems, but no sprinklers were installed. On the first floor of the main shrine, fire and heat were detected. Experts have pointed out that the equipment was not enough, such as no fire alarm that reacts to smoke before the fire.

NHK has high historical value, such as being designated as a national treasure and an important cultural property of the country, and when surveying the castle towers of 12 castles with wooden castles built before the Edo period, it installed sprinklers It was found that there were only two places, Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture and Matsue Castle in Shimane Prefecture.

There are five castles that say “There is a risk of damaging cultural assets” as to why they will not be installed, “It is difficult to secure water on the top of the mountain” and “Weight may cause problems with earthquake resistance” There was a place that replied.

There were also two castles that did not have fire alarms that react to smoke.

Director Takao Sakaguchi of the National Institute for Disaster Prevention says “equipment is stipulated by laws and regulations, and more measures are necessary to protect cultural assets. You should actively consider installing sprinklers, etc.” It is.

Lessons learned from Shurijo Castle Fire

In response to the fire at Shuri Castle, there is a movement to strengthen fire prevention measures for cultural properties.

On November 28, Nagoya City announced that it would install approximately 800 sprinklers when the Nagoya Castle's castle tower was restored with wooden structures.

On November 26, Governor Arai of Nara Prefecture revealed the idea of ​​establishing a unique ordinance to boost fire prevention measures for buildings such as national treasures.

Himeji Castle is an active fire prevention measure

On the other hand, there are cases where we actively work on fire prevention measures.

Himeji Castle has formulated a basic plan with the Fire and Cultural Affairs Agency since 1993, which was registered as a World Heritage Site, and introduced a sprinkler for about 1 billion yen.

There are two types of fire alarms on each floor of the castle tower that react to the flickering of smoke and flame.
The number is 603 exceeding the number stipulated by law.
The disaster prevention monitoring room has its own system for monitoring the reaction of the alarm.
It works in conjunction with the 66 security cameras installed, and instantly understands the detected smoke concentration and location, and the image at that time, and shares it with the fire department.

In addition to equipment, fire drills are frequently conducted.
In addition to conducting daily drills for firefighting, water discharge drills, which were performed only once a year in Shuri Castle, are also conducted weekly, and a fire hydrant provided inside the castle tower assuming that a fire has occurred indoors The hose is taken out from the water and actually discharged.

“The fire at Shuri Castle is not a problem as it deals with the same cultural property. Noise is annoying for training. "It is essential for citizens to understand."