Fire Safety in Heritage and Historical Buildings in Lancashire

Lancashire is home to a wealth of historic buildings from medieval halls and Victorian mills to stately homes and churches. Preserving these sites from fire risk is essential to safeguarding our cultural legacy.

Why Heritage Buildings Need Special Protection

Historic and heritage buildings can be more vulnerable to fire because of:

  • Combustible materials such as timber beams, panelling, and floors

  • Hidden voids and complex layouts that make firefighting and smoke movement difficult to predict

  • Ageing electrical or heating systems

  • Limited fire separation due to the original design

  • Restrictions on modifications due to listed-building or conservation status

Recognising these risks early helps ensure the right balance between preservation and safety.

Heritage fire risk assessments and safety strategies

Every heritage building must have a fire risk assessment carried out by a competent person.
For listed or protected buildings, this assessment should:

  • Identify heritage features and assess how fire-safety improvements can be made sensitively

  • Consider the impact of fire-safety works on historic fabric

  • Address detection, alarm, and suppression systems suitable for heritage settings

  • Review staff training, evacuation routes, and salvage priorities

Your assessment should be reviewed regularly and whenever there are significant changes to the building or its use.

Fire Prevention and Protection Measures

Preventing a fire is always better than fighting one.
Simple, well-planned measures can make a big difference:

  • Install early detection systems (heat and smoke alarms) appropriate for the environment

  • Ensure regular inspection and maintenance of electrical installations

  • Keep fire doors and escape routes unobstructed

  • Avoid storing flammable materials near ignition sources

  • Consider fire-resistant barriers and compartmentation where possible without harming heritage fabric

  • Where sprinklers or water-mist systems are appropriate, design them to minimise visual impact

Emergency Response Planning

A well-prepared emergency plan helps protect people, property, and irreplaceable heritage assets.
Your plan should include:

  • Clear evacuation procedures and assembly points

  • A salvage plan prioritising the protection of valuable artefacts, archives, or interiors

  • Up-to-date building plans accessible to the fire service

  • Contact details for key holders, heritage consultants, and conservation officers

Historic England provides detailed guidance on Emergency Response Planning and template documents to help you prepare.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service can assist in reviewing or testing these plans during familiarisation visits.

Salvage Planning

Salvage plan helps us prepare for how to best protect and save valuable or irreplaceable items if a fire or other emergency happens. Every museum, gallery, or historic building should have a designated person responsible for the salvage plan. This individual should understand which items or features are most significant and know how to protect or remove them safely if an emergency occurs.

A good salvage plan identifies:

  • Important features and objects that need priority protection or removal

  • Safe access routes for firefighters inside the building

  • Storage or protection areas where salvaged items can be kept secure and dry

  • Contact details for people who know the building and its contents

Template documents for creating an inventory of priority objects for salvage and salvage grab sheet are available for download at Historic England.Our expert Heritage team can offers help and advice on protecting heritage building.