Dodging Disaster

Wildfire and Hurricane Preparedness Tips
by Diane Jackson, Huntington T. Block Insurance

We remember their names. Harvey. Maria. Thomas. Mendocino. Hurricanes don’t only strike the Gulf coast; Sandy ravaged 24 states. Nor do wildfires only hit California. There were 71,499 wildfires across the U.S. in 2017, destroying 10 million acres and 12,306 structures.*

While most large museums can weather these catastrophes, small and medium-sized museums often take it on the chin. Conservators and claims adjusters provide their preparedness recommendations on what to do before and after a disaster.

On the Fireline

“I’ve been directly involved in four wildfires,” said Scott Haskins, President and Chief Conservator at Fine Art Conservation Laboratories in Santa Barbara, CA.  “The one that came closest to a collection was the Tea Fire.  It came down through a university campus, which has a museum, and was quite a scare.” 

The problem with wildfires is that people don’t have time to evacuate.  Typically, they are accompanied by high winds that cause the fires to move rapidly.  “With 40 to 80 mile per hour winds,” said Haskins, “the fire can be upon you overnight and that doesn’t give you enough time to evacuate a museum.”

According to Haskins, more damage can occur from carrying, shipping and storing items than from the actual wildfire.  “I understand, because when you’re faced with a disaster your mind kicks into survival mode.  You’re not thinking objectively.   You’re reacting, rather than planning properly.”

Rosemary McRann, the director of claims at fine art insurance broker Huntington T. Block, said, “You have to prepare beforehand.  That’s what we want to stress.  If you’re trying to prepare at the last minute, it’s too late.”

HTB’s largest claim from wildfires last year was to a medium-sized museum.  “They had minimal smoke damage to the museum,” McRann said, “but part of their collection was offsite at the home of a director.”  After the fire swept through, all that was left of the house was a concrete slab and a steel safe.

“Some of the artwork was properly stored in a fireproof safe.  But there were other pieces that didn’t fit in the safe that got destroyed.  Because the museum’s records were not up-to-date, it’s taken us months just to figure out what was lost.  Right now, it’s in the millions.”

‘Hurricane’ is derived from a Carib Indian word meaning God of the Storm

Hitoshi Kimura, owner and chief conservator of Art Conservation of Central Florida in Tampa was among the FAIC emergency responders that assisted museums in Orlando after Irma and Puerto Rico after Maria.**  One of the museums Kimura aided was the Orange County Regional History Center. 

“Their archives, collection of TV news reels and artifacts from the Pulse Nightclub shooting were in a big industrial warehouse downtown,” Kimura said.  “Their air conditioning unit tore a hole in the roof.  Most of the damage was to the building, and I helped them treat the water damage to their collection.”

“Small institutions share a similar problem during disaster recovery situations,” Kimura said.  “They have a limited number of staff members, and some of those are elderly, which makes it difficult since it requires a lot of human labor to move a collection to a safe location before and after an event occurs.” 

“When it comes to hurricanes, most museums are very proactive,” McRann said.  “Last year, one of our clients that was right in the thick of things used sandbags to keep the water out of their museum, and they got away clean.”

“We had another museum on the coastline that had their roof blown off,” McRann added.  “Their building was a total loss.  The amazing thing is, they had a chandelier in the foyer of the museum.  Everything was blown away, but the chandelier was still hanging, with minimal damage.”

Haskins, Kimura, McRann and Steven Lindsey, a claim representative at HTB, offered the following considerations when revisiting, refining and revising your collections’ disaster preparedness plan. 

Before the Event

• Consult an art conservation professional and fine art insurance professional.  
  • Ask them to review your disaster plan.  They can offer sage advice based on their years of experience.
• Seal your building up tight.
  • While your museum may not be in the path of a fire, the smoke and ash can travel thousands of miles and get inside vents and under doors.
  • Using an inexpensive product like Flex Seal around doors, windows, and weak spots in the roof can help keep out smoke and water.
• Evacuate your unique, high valued items to a storage facility. 
  • Secure an offsite storage location that is climate controlled with 24-hour security.
  • Be aware that the price for storage will go up dramatically when a disaster is imminent.
  • Contact the storage facility far in advance to work out pricing and reserve space.  The same goes for shippers and movers. 
• Be careful when moving artwork.  More damage comes from handling and transportation than fire and water.  Train volunteers on proper techniques.
  • When shipping artwork such as paintings, interleaf them with cardboard.  It’s inexpensive, reusable and recyclable.
  • Cardboard should not come in contact with anything made out of cloth or paper. 
  • Cardboard does not serve as good protection onsite.  When it gets wet it lets off a brown liquid that can stain items.   Use it only for temporary protection.
• Items that cannot be moved to storage, place in a safe room and cover.
  • Be careful when using plastic.  If not vented it can act as an incubator and cause mold.
• Having good records is paramount. 
  • You want to protect your collection, and you also want to be prepared to talk to your insurance representatives after the disaster.
  • Your insurer does not cut a check for the total value of coverage.  They pay for specific items that are damaged or destroyed. 
  • Particularly in the case of a total loss you must be able to show records of what was lost.  Having good documentation speeds up the claim process tremendously. 
  • If you don’t have any records, you have to go through the appraisal process and get a conservator’s opinion on whether each piece is damaged or a total loss.  After a disaster, conservators will be extremely busy, which will slow down the process. 
  • Among your records, include appraisals and invoices, date acquired, the name of the work and the artist’s name.  The more detailed the better.
  • For large collections, at minimum, maintain records on your top 10 high valued items. 
  • A good inventory includes quality, high resolution photography.  If something gets damaged a visual record helps in the restoration, appraisal and claims process. 
  • Include the base, mounting, or exhibition case that goes with the artwork.
  • Store a backup copy of your records offsite or upload it to the cloud. 
• Protect your artwork by getting it 4” to 12” off the floor.
  • A high percentage of claims involve only a few inches of water damage along the edge of the artwork that was sitting on the ground.
  • Do not use wooden blocks.  Wood soaks up the water and will transfer it to the item.
  • Use EPI foam blocks.  They’re waterproof, inexpensive and can be cut into strips. 
• Have a building maintenance check at last once a year.
  • In Puerto Rico, several collections were damaged during Maria by roof leaks that were exacerbated by existing maintenance problems.
• If you haven’t done so already, develop relationships with other local museums. 
  • When an event hits, not all institutions will be damaged, and they can send their staff members to help.  

After the Event

• Protecting items from further damage is of utmost importance.  The only higher priority is the safety of your workers.  Injuries can come from unstable buildings, wet floors, and particles in the air like smoke and mold spores.  
  • Prepare a health and risk liability release form for volunteers that are going to enter damaged collection rooms.
  • Design a system like the one below to make your workers familiar with the ever-changing situation in various rooms.
    • Code Red: Building damage ongoing, unsafe to enter
    • Code Yellow: Building damage slowed down or stopped
    • Code Blue: Building damage stopped, but visual mold growth
    • Code Green: Building damage repaired, room safe
  • Under the code red, do not allow workers in the room. Under code yellow or blue, staff may enter wearing protective gear to remove collection items.
  • Use the buddy system.  Team up with other workers to watch each other for safety.
  • Protective gear can heat up the body faster than normal.  Enter the room in 10 - 15 minutes sequences.  Take frequent breaks to avoid fatigue and dehydration.
• Depending on the situation, protective gear can include a Tyvek suit, nitrate gloves, protective goggles, respirator with organic vapor cartridge, hard hat, and head mounted flash light to keep both hands free.
  • Using the head-to-toe coverage provided by the Tyvek suit prevents cross contamination to other rooms.
  • Gloves serve multiple purposes.  They protect the wearer, prevent damage to canvases, cross-contamination, and there is a psychological benefit.  They remind volunteers they are handling delicate items that can be ruined. 
• During recovery process, document damages with photos.
• Use an air filtration system to filter out particles like smoke, ash, mold and other toxins.
• Regulate the room temperature.  Lowering the temperature will help prevent mold.
  • In high humidity situations, be aware that artifacts like furniture, ornate frames and ethnographic items will have softened glue joints and may fall apart in your hands.
• Dry wet items with fans or by using sunlight.  UV light will kill most mold spores.
  • The Sandy Formula, developed after Superstorm Sandy, helps treat water damage.  Ask a professional conservator for further information.
• Be careful when returning items from storage.  This is when the majority of new damage occurs.
  • Use this as an opportunity to wipe things down and preserve them for the future.
  • It is also a chance to upgrade the protections in place for items not on display.
  • Check the wire on the back of artwork for corrosion and fraying and replace if necessary.

“Museums are our best clients,” McRann said.  “They really care about art.  They want to protect their art and are heartbroken when they have to report a claim.  With hurricanes getting bigger and stronger and wildfires getting worse, the precautions they take now, are going to make a world of difference.”

While wildfires occur during the dry months of summer and fall, the winter storm season typically starts in November and runs through April.  For institutions facing the coming winter storms, putting into practice these tips can help you keep your collections safe for public viewing for years to come.

*”Wildland Fire Summary & Statistics: Annual Report 2017,” National Interagency Coordination Center, 2018.

**The Foundation of American Institute for Conservation of Historic Artistic Works assists cultural institutions after disasters through their volunteer organization, the National Heritage Responders.  The NHR is available 24/7 at 202.661.8068.

Additional Resources:
Hurricane Preparedness Checklist, Huntington T. Block, October 2017.
Wildfire Preparedness Checklist, Huntington T. Block, August 2018.

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Diane Jackson is the Chief Operator Officer at Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency, Inc.  Diane has 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry and specializes in assisting museums protect their collections.  You may contact her [email protected] or 202.862.5305.

This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to provide individualized business, insurance or legal advice. You should discuss your individual circumstances thoroughly with your legal and other advisors before taking any action with regard to the subject matter of this article. Only the relevant insurance policy provides actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions, and exclusions for an insured.