Antarctica Fire History
The chances are that you have come to this page hoping for a reasonably complete
summary of the history of fires in Antarctica, unfortunately for the time being
at least you are going to be disappointed as there is no such summary as far
as I am aware. A number of people emailing me and asking for such information
over the last few years led me to starting this page in the hope of building
up a picture of fires in Antarctica.
Antarctic Fire Hazards
 With the very unlikely exception of some exposed coal seams somehow
catching fire (of which there is no record) there is really nothing at all in Antarctica
that is naturally there that could burn. 98% of the continent is permanently covered
with snow and ice and the other 2% is largely bare exposed rock. There is some vegetation,
but nothing more than mosses, lichens and sparse growth of grass in a few places.
There are no wildland fires in Antarctica.
The fire hazards in Antarctica therefore are faced by the human
habitations of which there are about 65 in total with around 37 being manned year-round,
the others are summer-only.
Despite the general lack of combustible materials, Antarctica
is a very dangerous place to have a fire and fire is in fact the single greatest
danger in Antarctica. The cold temperatures make it very dry, as the
windiest place on earth there is likely to be a wind blowing a gale much of the
time more than strong enough to fan the flames. Finally, due to the temperature
averaging below freezing across the whole continent if there is a fire, then
there is unlikely to be very much liquid water to fight it with if any at all.
The response usually is to make sure everyone is out
of danger and safe and then stand back and watch the fire burn itself out - of course
attempts are made to fight the fire, it's just that for the reasons stated above,
they are rarely of any value.
As Antarctica is such an extreme environment and so remote
from any chance of help or rescue, the prospect of a station being gutted means
not only the loss of the building/s, but also possibly the loss of "life
support".
Bases in Antarctica are designed to survive fires by
being made up of a number of separate buildings with a significant distance between
them, if they are connected then it is by small insubstantial connections. In this
way if a building does catch fire, the chances are the fire won't spread to other
nearby buildings.
The First Fire in Antarctica
The first recorded fire in Antarctica happened
during the 1898-1900
British
Antarctic Expedition led by Carsten E. Borchgrevink,
aboard the Southern Cross. A member of the expedition set fire to his mattress during
the winter nearly burning down the hut. If this had happened it could have led to
the death of all members of the expedition with the loss of supplies and shelter.
As with most of the mistakes made by the early Antarctic explorers,
it was a hard but well learned lesson. Many Antarctic bases have emergency supplies
stored in a hut near to the base but well away so that if the unthinkable happens
and the base burns down in the depths of winter when no-one can either get in or
out, there should be enough supplies and shelter for the base members to survive
until help can arrive.
Fires in Antarctica
Tell us about a fire |
| data given in chronological order, /
means no data available |
| Station |
Date |
Building/s |
Casualties |
Notes |
| Mawson, Australia |
1958 |
Main power house |
/ |
Burnt down during
construction |
| Mawson, Australia |
April 3rd 1959 |
Main power house |
/ |
Burnt down -
picture |
|
Rothera, UK |
Sept 2001 |
Bonner marine
laboratory |
none |
Building destroyed,
caused by an
electrical fault, building destroyed. Prevented 3 of 5 research
projects in process at the time from continuing. |
|
Progress - Russia |
Oct 5th 2008 |
"2 story building" |
1 killed, 2 seriously injured |
Building destroyed,
radio equipment destroyed so unable to contact outside world for 4 days |
|
Scott - New Zealand |
May 2009 |
A-frame hut |
none |
Building destroyed,
caught fire during re-ignition of heater after re-fuelling. |
| |
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Rothera research Station - UK - Adelaide
Island, Antarctic Peninsula - September 2001 - Bonner Marine Laboratory
Fire
Top picture
In preparation for the arrival
of the aeroplanes arriving at the start of the summer, the runway is cleared
of snow by the snow blowers. This photo was taken 18 days before the Bonner
Laboratory was reduced to rubble by a major fire. Attempts were made to
try to put the fire out, which included snowblowing as in this picture;
but to no avail.
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Middle picture
The laboratory building already consumed by fire, this is the moment that
the roof was blown off. The miserable day happened to also be the windiest
of the winter with winds gusting up to 80+ knots. Fire is a major threat
on base, this one caused by an electrical fault, and is very difficult to
tackle once it takes hold. Prevention of injury to personnel is paramount,
and luckily here no one was hurt. However, the scientific work was severely
affected. |
|
Bottom picture
This is what was left of the laboratory building at Rothera, on the peninsula,
that had been consumed by fire the day before.
Words and pictures by Jenny Dean |
Scott Research Station - New Zealand - McMurdo
Bay - May 2009 - A-Frame
 24
May 2009
MEDIA STATEMENT
A FRAME HUT FIRE
IN ANTARCTICA
The iconic A Frame Hut near Scott Base, Antarctica
burnt down on Saturday evening. A routine inspection and change over of
diesel fuel tanks, which supplied the heating to the hut, was being completed
by Scott Base Staff. Upon re-ignition of the heater the priming fuel flashed
over and set fire to the hut. Attempts to fight the fire proved futile as
the timber and bitumen hut burnt quickly.
Chief Executive of Antarctica
New Zealand, Lou Sanson said, “We are extremely thankful that no one was
seriously injured in the fire. It is a testimony to the skill of our staff
that they were able to think quickly and remove themselves from harm."
 The
A Frame Hut had become an icon of the modern Antarctic era. It was moved
out onto the Ross Ice Shelf in 1971 from the McMurdo Station ice wharf.
Discarded by the United States Antarctic Programme, the Kiwis of Scott Base
quickly made it their own. It was primarily used as a base for field training
and as a retreat for the staff of Scott Base. The A Frame Hut has housed
many notable New Zealand scientists, artists and politicians, and was the
favourite haunt of Sir Edmund Hillary.
Lou Sanson said, “The A Frame
represented something uniquely Kiwi in Antarctica. It was the concept of
a mountain hut mixed with a bach and it said something about who we are.
The A Frame Hut will be sadly missed by all those who have been part of
the New Zealand Programme in Antarctica over the last 38 Years".
Ends
BBC article |
Progress Research
Station - Russia - Larsemann Hills/Prydz Bay, East Antarctica - October
5th 2008 - Two Story Building
Photo Credit: Hannes Grobe/Alfred Wegener
Institute |
MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti)
A two-story building,
part of Russia's Progress station in Antarctica, caught fire killing one
construction worker and seriously injuring two others, the expedition's
head said on Thursday.Valery Lukin said the fire
broke out on Sunday on the station, where 29 people are based, completely
destroying the radio equipment, which made it impossible to contact Russian
officials about the incident until Thursday.
"All the radio equipment was destroyed. One of the station's
construction workers... died, and two others received serious fractures
and injuries," Lukin said.
The injured have been taken to a nearby clinic and are
receiving the necessary medical treatment. "There is no need for an evacuation
due to medical concerns," Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
said in a statement.
The earliest date that an evacuation could be carried
out is early November.
An investigation into the fire is being carried out.
The Progress research station was opened in 1989
and is located in the Larsemann Hills in East
Antarctica. The station is around 1.5 kilometers
from China's Zhong Shan research station, where
the injured Russians are receiving medical treatment.
ENDS
The personnel on the base at the time were unable to cope
with the fire and the building was completely destroyed by the fire.
“There is no need for an evacuation due to medical concerns,"
Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, which oversees the RAE
program, said in a statement through Novosti the Russian State News Agency
“At present, the station team … lives in the old, small
houses left by previous builders. The fire did not spread to the other station
facilities, so we have the mess hall and the galley, the medical unit, ‘warm’
and ‘cold’ warehouses, all transport vehicles and also the facilities of
the new wintering station under construction," Valery Lukin, head of RAE
said.
“All food, fuel and medical supplies were preserved,"
Lukin added. “The people are provided with normal meals, polar clothing
and medical service."
Antarctic Sun article
Arson
I wintered over at McMurdo in 1981 with the Naval Support Force. I
was a Utilitiesman 2nd class assigned to the Maintenance Division.
Sometime in October, at a very late hour, one of my buddies and I were
walking from the PO Club and noticed smoke coming from the Chapel. He
ran back to the club and notified the Fire House who were on the scene
within 3 minutes. While he was doing this, I was able to get inside and
pull some of the pews away from the fire and when my buddy returned, we
were able to pull a rug that was in flames out the back door before the
Firemen arrived. Fortunately, only a small portion of the interior was
damaged and was rebuilt the following summer. After the fire was put
out, the Firemen could not find a cause and were baffled.
It was the next day that we found out that it was actually an attempted
arson committed by one of our Winter Over friends who had become
intoxicated and chose to commit this act in order to be flown out
quicker than he had been originally scheduled. Another buddy of mine had
seen him run out of the chapel but did not see any smoke or flame and
thought nothing of it at the time so he went on to his quarters. He came
forward the next morning after hearing what had happened and told of
what he saw and thus the story goes.
I do not choose to reveal the arsons name seeing how this was an
occurrence of 28 years ago. I can tell you that he was a Naval 1st Class
Petty Officer who got his wish and was flown out at first flight, did
not R&R in ChCh, and was flown directly back to the states where he was
charged. I do not know the outcome of the charges.
By email
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Antarctic
Fire History
Do you know of an Antarctic fire that can
be added to the list?
If so, please send us the details so it can be
published here
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part of a mailing list - cross my heart and hope for an enforced winter.
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