As a passionate motorbike enthusiast, I was naturally saddened by the report of the fire in the motorbike museum in Hochgurgl in January 2021.

The cause of the fire was soon determined: a technical defect in a digital signage display in the exhibition area. The museum was largely made of wood, which made it even more difficult for the fire brigades to extinguish the fire. Just about all the classic motorbikes fell victim to the flames, and of course the question of the fire protection of the building, which was just newly constructed in 2016, arose.

 

 

However, there was indeed an elaborate fire protection concept – starting with fire protection sliding doors with T-30 fire protection function, which close automatically in case of fire, to optical and acoustic warning systems, to built-in rescue doors, which secure the escape route of persons and the possibility to quickly transport injured persons to hospitals via the helicopter landing pad.

 

And now the ” would have ” comes into play: If the operators or the fire protection officers had known at that time about the possibility of using monitors that are equipped in such a way that fires caused by electricity inside the monitors are automatically extinguished immediately and can thus fight a fire in a targeted manner before a catastrophe occurs, they would certainly have built this preventive fire protection into their fire protection concept.

 

Because: “The problem here was the undetected fire from inside, probably triggered by the electricity in the power supply unit. Such incipient fires can always happen,” explains Rajko Eichhorn, Senior Business Development Manager at JOB (JOB Group – world market leader for high-quality sprinkler lamps and inventor of the world’s smallest fire extinguisher). Most fire protection solutions for displays rely on unsightly, heavy, clunky fire protection enclosures and protective glass.

In contrast, solutions such as JOB’s E-Bulb, an automatic micro fire extinguisher, are integrated into the displays and can thus fight fires in a targeted manner before an actual fire occurs.

 

And now to the ” should “: Shouldn’t we all work together so that fires like this and others no longer have to be reported daily in our newspapers?

I think so – and change the “should” to “must”. We must disseminate and pass on knowledge that we gain and that can help the general public.

 

And that’s why we will report in our next articles on how the “Automatic Miniature Fire Extinguisher“, AMFE for short, works, the VDS-certified “E-Bulb” micro fire extinguishers and the concept of “appliance-integrated fire protection”.

 

By the way: The reopening of the Motorcycle Museum was on 18.11.2021!

The reconstruction not only expanded and renewed the lost collection, but also the entire concept of the museum.

So you “could” plan a visit to the museum again…. but:

The Austrian federal government has ordered another comprehensive lockdown, including the closure of all hotels, restaurants and museums.

This officially ordered closure of operations is set for a maximum of 20 days in the period from 22.11.2021 to 12.12.2021 and also includes the possibility of an earlier reopening after 10 days – provided that the infection situation eases significantly.

Check the museum’s website for the latest news.

 

And here’s another photo I took on the Col du Galibier in the summer – for you to understand what makes me so happy when I go motorcycling…