Implementing the new ICOMOS Fire Guidelines for Places of Religion and Ritual – PRERICO Workshop proposal

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PRERICO Workshop Proposal:

          Implementing the new ICOMOS Fire Guidelines for Places of Religion and Ritual

1.         Purpose:

            The ICOMOS Fire Guidelines, adopted at the 22nd General Assembly in Kuching (October 2026), invite adaptation to local, cultural and regional contexts. Places of religion and ritual are among the most exposed to fire and among the hardest to protect without harming what makes them significant. This workshop would ask how PRERICO can help interpret and extend the Guidelines for these places.

2.         Why PRERICO:

  • Fire in practice: candles, lamps, incense and sacred fires are part of worship and ritual, not only hazards to be removed;
  • Living use: most of these places are still in use, so protection has to be agreed with the communities who worship there;
  • Custodianship and authority: decisions often rest with religious authorities and customary knowledge holders rather than heritage agencies, which tests how the Guidelines assign roles;
  • Sacred objects: who may handle, move or salvage them in an emergency, and in what order;
  • Access and restriction: spaces closed to outsiders, including responders, raise questions for emergency planning;
  • Festivals and gatherings: occasions of peak use and peak risk;
  • After the fire: rebuilding as a religious act; continuity of ritual, meaning and community during recovery.

3.         Proposed format:

            A half-day session, online or alongside a PRERICO meeting, in three parts:

  1. The Guidelines: a short briefing on what was adopted and the scope for annexes;
  2. Perspectives: brief contributions from members across different faith traditions and regions, each drawn from a real place;
  3. Next steps: whether PRERICO should prepare an annex, hold further workshops, or work with faith organisations and custodian communities.

4.         Possible outcomes:

  • A short list of themes for a PRERICO annex or joint annex;
  • Named contacts among faith organisations and custodian communities;
  • Agreement on how PRERICO joins the wider implementation effort.

            Nov 12, 2026 by Doug Evans [dougevans12[@]gmail[dot]com]