The Fire at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Part 2: Removal of Soot from Artifacts and Recovery of the Building

Abstract In 1990 the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina, Canada, suffered a massive fire, resulting in a heavy deposition of soot throughout the museum. The fire recovery involved the interdependent recoveries of the museum building, the museum's public profile and programs, and the collection and noncollection material. The steps in the building recovery were well defined and involved the coordination of cleaning of the building by a commercial cleaning company, with demolition, reconstruction, and restoration by building trades. Cleaning of soot-covered collection and noncollection museum material was carried out in the museum building (while the building was being restored) and in a warehouse. Soot removal involved conventional conservation cleaning techniques and "bulk" cleaning methods. Conservators identified the unique characteristics of soot and developed guidelines for the removal of soot from museum objects utilizing a strict method of progressive cleaning: direct vacuum, followed by dry-surf ace-cleaning, and then the careful application of wet-cleaning.