National Museum of Brazil fire
The National Museum building burning behind the statue of Emperor Pedro II | |
| Native name | Incêndio no Museu Nacional |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 September 2018 (6 years) |
| Time | 23:30 UTC |
| Duration | 6 hours |
| Location | Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Type | Conflagration |
| Cause | Overheating of air conditioning caused by short circuit. |
| Outcome | Approximately 18.5 million (92.5 %) of the museum's 20 million items were destroyed. |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 1, a firefighter suffered burns to his fingers trying to save the skull of Luzia. |
| Property damage | Paço de São Cristóvão |
The National Museum of Brazil was heavily damaged by a large fire which began about 19:30 local time (23:30 UTC) on 2 September 2018. Although some items were saved, it is believed that 92.5% of its archive of 20 million items was destroyed in the fire as around 1.5 million items were stored in a separate building and were not damaged.
First responders fighting the fire were hindered by a lack of water. Rio's fire chief said that two nearby fire hydrants had insufficient water, leaving firefighters to resort to pumping water from a nearby lake. According to a CEDAE (Rio de Janeiro's Water and Sewerage State Company) employee, although the hydrants did have water, the water pressure was very low because the building is on top of a hill, making them unusable. Brazilian President Michel Temer said that the loss due to the fire was "incalculable."