Archives to get full fire damage report

A full report on the fire-damaged national archives, detailing both losses and successful restorations, is expected by the end of the first quarter of this year, Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, the Minister with responsibility for Culture, has told Barbados TODAY.

Speaking after the launch of the new million-dollar Jackie Opel Residency Lab at the Queens Park Steel Shed on Tuesday, the minister explained that the intense heat from the fire necessitated immediate preservation measures, including placing the damaged records in cold storage to gradually lower their temperature before treatment could begin.

“Those records would have been hot coming from the fire, so we had to put them on ice. We actually had to have them in cold storage for a period of time to bring the temperature down,” she said. “That is not a two-day activity; you have to put them there for a little bit, sometimes a month, depending on the damage. Then you take them out and then you have to do the treatment.”

She added: “We are in that process of doing the treatment now. As we do the treatment, we can then begin to identify the records and distinguish what it is we are able to restore, from what it is that we have lost. The team is now going through that. I am hoping by the end of the first quarter of this year, I’ll have a comprehensive report. Not only because I know the public cares about what we have lost, but it’s also about what we have been able to restore.”

In addition to assessing the damage, the government is implementing measures to prevent future incidents. Following an independent investigation into the fire, recommendations have been made to enhance the safety of the new location for the archives at the planned Newton site. This includes installing fireproof cabinets, enhancing security, and establishing a direct fire alarm link to the Barbados Fire Service.

“We are in the process of implementing these recommendations, which include things from fireproof cabinets to ensuring that all rooftop areas within the archive space are secure; we’ve doubled security, and we have also instituted an immediate fire response. So no one has to call the Barbados Fire Service; now we have a direct link – in case of fire, an alarm will go off at the fire service,” she said.