Bakelite museum falls foul of fire safety standards
A quirky museum in Somerset is facing closure if it cannot raise the money to bring its building up to modern fire safety standards. The museum has been based for the last twenty years in an old flour mill crammed full of period features, such as the very steep wooden staircases.
The owner remains convinced that the preserved historic features of the mill contribute to the quality of the experience offered by the museum, and argues that any internal structural changes would be to the detriment of the exhibition and the experience.
His local fire and rescue service is adamant that steps should be taken to prevent possible injury from fire, particularly as there is no fire escape route from the top floor. Despite the threat to the museum’s future, they have issued a reminder that businesses must carry out fire safety assessments and act on any findings, as lives are lost every year through fires in the workplace.
The museum’s owner now hopes to raise enough money to build an external fire escape in order to preserve the integrity of the internal design and structure.