Protecting heritage buildings with a disaster recovery plan

A disaster is a sudden or unforeseen event that can cause significant damage. In the historic environment, a disaster can put potentially irreplaceable items at risk of total destruction. Disasters can occur because of a significant weather event or a non-weather related incident that causes destruction and could include:

• Fire
• Flood
• Storm
• Bomb threat/explosion
• Serious injury to staff, volunteers or visitors.

Preventing a disaster in the first instance is always preferable to managing a disaster situation that has already caused damage and disruption. Where possible, preventative measures should be put in place based on assessments of your building, contents and activities. 

Planning for a disaster involves creating an action plan that can be immediately implemented in an emergency. It sets out the key information that may be needed by your team, such as plans for the emergency services or insurer information and outlines the actions to take in the event of anything from a small-scale incident to a major catastrophe.

• Provides procedures for when disaster strikes, to ensure the most effective response where prompt and decisive action is essential.
• Helps to minimise harm to people, buildings and contents, inform business continuity planning and protect the reputation of the organisation.
• Supports an insurance claim.

Responsibilities and tasks

Disaster recovery plans don’t come ‘off the shelf’. If you are a private house owner with a valuable collection, your needs will differ from those of the team running a museum.