The National Museum burned at night; the damage should not be extensive

Prague - The historic building of the National Museum, which is a cultural monument and has been under reconstruction for almost a year, was engulfed by fire last night. 200 square meters of the roof burned. The damages have not yet been quantified, but according to Culture Minister Daniel Herman, they should not be extensive. The museum is empty due to the reconstruction. The cause of the fire is being investigated by detectives along with firefighters, and according to museum director Michal Lukeš, it may be related to the construction work being done during the renovation.
"The fire occurred in the attic, which must go through reconstruction anyway. The water from the firefighters did not cause significant damage in the historic halls, including the paintings," said Herman after the morning inspection of the building. He considers it most important that no one was injured. In this context, he thanked the firefighters for their professional work.
According to their spokeswoman Pavlína Adamcová, firefighters learned of the fire at 01:32. Initially, a third degree fire alarm was declared, which was later raised to an emergency, the highest level. Twenty units of firefighters responded, with 150 firefighters initially tackling the blaze. After roughly two hours, they brought the fire under control. In the morning, only a few units remained on site, and around eight in the morning, firefighters were extinguishing the fire scene.
The firefighters must dismantle the part of the roof of the museum that was affected by the fire. "There is an inter-ceiling section where there could be fire hotspots," said the operational officer of the Prague firefighters to ČTK.
Due to the intervention, traffic was closed on the Prague magistrate near the museum at night. However, before the morning rush hour, the magistrate in the direction of the Main Train Station was completely passable, while in the opposite direction, firefighters reopened two lanes before 06:00 and retained their vehicles in just one lane.
A museum security guard who reported the fire was taken to the hospital. He inhaled smoke but is out of danger. Initially, there were reports of one worker missing; however, the construction company Metrostav, which is involved in the museum's reconstruction, later denied this.
The museum is currently empty due to the reconstruction. "The building is cleared, handed over to the contractor, and there are no collections there. It is a bit of luck in misfortune, because if this had happened a few years ago, it would have been a much bigger problem," Lukeš told reporters. The damage caused by the fire should be assessed during the day and will be claimed against the construction contractor.
The contractor is a consortium called M-P-I, consisting of the companies Metrostav, Průmstav, and Imos. According to the museum management, the consortium bears full responsibility for the course of the construction, workplace safety, and compliance with fire regulations. "Based on the conditions set by the National Museum, the contractor was required to take out insurance for one billion CZK," the National Museum stated in a press release.
The reconstruction of the National Museum, costing more than 1.35 billion CZK, began last year and is expected to conclude in October 2018. The aim is to halt the deteriorating condition of the building, architectural elements, artworks, technical facilities, and engineering networks. Since its construction in 1891, the building has not undergone any renovations.