Brandsläckning och textil restvärdesräddning Hur saneras textil efter en pulversläckning?

Abstract

This bachelor thesis discusses firefighting and the use of portable fireextinguishers in the salvage of historic artefacts focusing on textiles. . It also looks into the use of multi-purpose dry chemical extinguishers in a textile context and the impact the actual dry-agent has on textiles after firefighting. Literature studies, interviews and tests on different textiles were carried out to write this thesis. During the tests textiles were exposed to the dry agent and also to dry agent plus water to investigate the difference in residue. After vacuumcleaning it was clear that when the textile was exposed to dry agent and water it was almost impossible to remove the chemical without rinsing in water. By examining the residue left on the textile using SEM it was possible to see if a textile was as well decontaminated after vacuum-cleaning as it looks to the eye. We know that the dry agent often consists of ammonium phosphate which acts corrosively on many materials and one can assume it damages textiles as well after longer exposure. Buildings housing cultural collections are vulnerable as we cannot easily replace ruined material with new. Everybody involved in the care of historically important objects must have a plan on how to react if there is a fire and in the salvaging after a catastrophe. The damage can be greatly reduced if knowledge is spread and people are informed on how to behave in case of a disaster. Not only the fire but also the way we put it out will have a huge impact on textiles.