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Chester Zoo Fire

Visitors on site at the time of the fire have said how well the staff implemented the evacuation.
 
Looks like the fire has completely charred the roof supports. :cry:

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I've only been to Chester zoo a couple of times so struggling to recall exactly which exhibit this is, but it's still sad to see such destruction. I've heard there were no people injured which is good to hear. Hopefully there were no animal injuries or fatalities
 
Alsty said:
I've only been to Chester zoo a couple of times so struggling to recall exactly which exhibit this is, but it's still sad to see such destruction. I've heard there were no people injured which is good to hear. Hopefully there were no animal injuries or fatalities
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The Monsoon Forest only opened in 2015, and houses tropical animals.
 
Chester Zoo have released a statement on their website, confirming that the fire has been extinguished;

We can confirm that the fire service are still in attendance at our Monsoon Forest habitat after today’s fire. The fire has now been extinguished, but fire fighters will remain on site throughout the night alongside the zoo’s experts.

Visitors were evacuated immediately and the zoo’s response team worked alongside the emergency services to help bring the situation under control. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but we will be helping the relevant authorities with the investigation that will take place over the coming days and weeks.

The zoo’s teams are now assessing the situation inside Monsoon Forest. Critically endangered Sumatran orangutans and other mammals are all accounted for and being looked after by the zoo specialist conservationists and vets.

We are working hard to account for all other species, such as birds, and move animals to alternative habitats. Given that this is the UK’s largest zoo tropical house this will take some time. The zoo’s experts will be working intensively in the coming days and weeks to do this.

The zoo’s The Lanterns event this evening has been cancelled and ticket holders notified by email.

The zoo would like the thank the emergency services for their swift response. Thank you also to the many, many messages of public support.

Please refer to our website and social media pages for accurate information. We will update you with more information as soon as we have it.
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ihaveaspergers said:
I'm curious how zoos handle the animal side of things when incidents like this occur.

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Carrying on from my earlier post.

The press release give a idea.

In general. It is broken up into parts.

Response team will be split into rescue and assess.
The rescue part will be staff trained in evacuation of animals from their enclosures, in a safe and speedy way.
The assess part will be made up of vet staff and keepers to check for any urgent clinical care the animals may need at that time.

Temporary habits and movement team.
This is a team that is make up from multiple everyday teams from across the site or sites.
They make temporary habits to suit the core needs of the animals. E.g. setting up temporary heating systems. When the habits are ready the movement part of the team will relocate to the habits, if the habits are not at the assessment point.

Long term habitation and logistics team.
This team finds longer term housing for the animals whist the original habits are out of use, and the logistics of moving the animals to the habits. These may be on different sites of the same organization or hired/lent habits at other zoological groups.

That it in a rough outline. As i only know my works (a college) procedures. Thus can't say what chester zoo specific procedures are.


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Good news, the Zoo will be re-opening tomorrow. The Islands area (where the Monsoon Forest building is located) will remain closed.

Zoo statement:

Thank you for the overwhelming messages of goodwill following the fire in our Monsoon Forest building; they have been of great comfort to our teams.

Many of you have expressed that you would like to come along to the zoo to show your support, so we are able to confirm that the zoo will be open to visitors tomorrow, Sunday 16 December. The Monsoon Forest building and Islands zone will remain closed as our conservationists and vets continue to provide expert care and attention for the species there. The Lanterns event will go ahead tomorrow evening (Sunday 16 December) as planned.
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It's a brave man that prods a crocodile :D

It sounds like they're trying to account for all species but it could take a while. I guess there is a chance some of the birds could have escaped when the roof was compromised.
 
Alsty said:
It's a brave man that prods a crocodile :D

It sounds like they're trying to account for all species but it could take a while. I guess there is a chance some of the birds could have escaped when the roof was compromised.
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I read they willingly released a lot of tropical birds into the Cheshire sky. Great news for the Bill Oddie types of the north west.
 
The zoo have confirmed that despite all mammals safely being evacuated, a number of smaller birds, frogs and insects unfortunately died in the fire.
 
Updated statement from Chester Zoo:

Monsoon Forest Fire
A message from us...
Yesterday was one of the toughest days in Chester Zoo’s long history. The remarkable efforts from the zoo team and the emergency services meant the fire was extinguished as quickly as possible.

Visitors were evacuated immediately and we would like to thank them for their understanding and cooperation. Thankfully, no staff or public were harmed in the incident.

Keepers were able to encourage all mammal species away from the fire and to safety - including the zoo’s group of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans, Sulawesi macaques, endangered silvery gibbons and birds such as rhinoceros hornbills.

We are though, devastated to say that we were unable to save some of our insects, frogs, fish and small birds who were located near to the outbreak of the fire. It’s absolutely heart-breaking to lose any animal, especially when conservationists have worked so hard to breed these wonderful species.

New homes have been found within the zoo for all of the animals that were led to safety and our teams are working around the clock to relocate them as soon as possible.

The strength and support from the public has been incredibly overwhelming and the messages of goodwill have been of great comfort to our teams. We will support each other in rebuilding this part of the zoo and continue our mission of preventing extinction.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but we will be helping the relevant authorities with the investigation that will take place over the coming days and weeks. We would again, like to thank the emergency services for their swift response.

Jamie Christon – Chief Operating Officer

Please refer to our website and social media pages for accurate information. We will continue update you with more details as soon as we have them.

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Many of you have expressed that you would like to come along to the zoo to show your support, so we are able to confirm that the zoo will be open today, Sunday 16 December. Monsoon Forest and our Islands zone will remain closed as our conservationists and vets continue to provide expert care and attention to the species there.

The Lanterns event will go ahead this evening (Sunday 16 December) as planned.

As a result of the overwhelming numbers of people asking how they can donate to support our work as a conservation charity in light of the fire, a Just Giving page has been set up here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/monsoonforest

Thank you to everyone who has donated. Of course, we will be working with our insurers regarding the building damage but the generosity of our supporters will help us to recover our conservation efforts for threatened species as we fight against extinction.
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