The work will inlcude fire separation betweeen the pedestal and the statue above it [Photo: National Parks Service]

The Statue of Liberty in New York is to get two new means of escape as part of a package of measures to upgrade fire safety on the iconic monument.

The proposed work includes alterations to the staircases in the pedestal (base) of the statue, fire separation between the pedestal and the statue itself, two new means of exiting the monument and upgrades to the fire suppression system.

The news follows an evacuation of the monument last month, which was triggered by what was thought to be a faulty smoke detector head.

The statue itself was only reopened to the public in 2009 with a $20m security and safety upgrade, after having been shut following the 9/11 attacks on New York. The pedestal was re-opened to the public in 2004.

The main changes will be to the pedestal. According to the National Parks Service (NPS) which runs the monument, current fire codes say there have to be two separate means of egress, and that at least one staircase needs to have a two-hour fire rating. The present staircases do not provide this.

“Life safety changes to the pedestal and base have been planned since the NPS announced that it would re-open the statue in 2009,” said Mindi Rambo, spokeswoman for the National Park Service. “The process for approving changes to historic structures like the Statue of Liberty...is a detailed one that takes time. So we went ahead and made the statue as accessible as we could in 2009, while acknowledging at the time that more changes would need to be made starting in the fall of 2011.”

The 305 ft tall monument, equivalent to a 22-story building, is made of 3/32-inch copper, roughly the thickness of two pennies put together. It was given as a gift from France to the USA in 1886.