Emergency response (museum)

Emergency response in a museum refers to the measures and decisions needed to prepare for and respond to museum-specific emergencies. Certain action steps are taken to mitigate building, exhibition, and artifact damage, as well as any life loss. While there are prescribed methods for museum emergency response, ultimately each cultural institution should customize and periodically re-evaluate their disaster response and salvage plan to meet available resources and personnel abilities.

Emergencies that can be specific and, in some cases, catastrophic to museums include natural, man-made, and cultural disasters.

As with any disaster or emergency, damage or loss can be mitigated through proper and maintained preparation. On some level, emergency preparedness should dovetail collections care practices in every institution.

An emergency plan focuses on identifying any risks and outlining the policies and procedures to be used in disaster response and salvage at a museum. A conservator-restorer, collection manager, or other members of the collections and curation departments are responsible for the physical and intellectual care for the museum and its precious contents – both the artifacts and visitors - and therefore work with the design and management departments to draft an emergency plan. Aside from being a critical element of accreditation, a museum’s emergency plan must identify and anticipate any building, collections, or exhibition risks by outlining steps to mitigation, control, and salvage in the event of an emergency. In addition to the artifacts and exhibitions, as a public institution, a museum is also responsible for the safety of its visitors and employees. Various forms of training exercises and documentation can allow museum staff to be prepared to protect both human and artifact life.

Ideally, museums conduct annual risk assessments of their collections, building, and surrounding community. Does the collection contain any flammable or combustible items? Has the building environment incurred any alterations that would help or hinder an emergency? Is the area historically prone to earthquakes or floods? Have there been continuous efforts to mitigate pest infestation? Even more, has the museum obtained the proper insurance necessary to recover from an emergency?

To assist in the risk assessment of a museum, a detailed and flexible insurance policy is required to accommodate a specific or ever-evolving collection. Risks can be mitigated through an insurance policy that specifies the financial protection of previously assessed museum owned and loaned artifact, and any other property significant to the museum’s mission. An ideal policy is a ‘wall to wall’, or ‘all-risk’ coverage for permanent collections, as well as for loaned collections unless specified by in the loan agreement. Agents generally assist a museum in identifying a monetary insurance limit based on the area’s disaster and emergency history, as well as the probably maximum loss (PML) that is large enough to cover the worst-case scenario.

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