Sep 20, 2008 4:01 pm US/Central
Police: Chinese-American Museum Fire Not Criminal
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
The police Bomb and Arson Unit has ruled out criminal activity as the cause of Friday's fire at the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago that significantly damaged the museum.
Investigators are leaning toward careless use of smoking materials or an electrical problem, said a police Bob and Arson Unit member Saturday.
More than 100 firefighters spent nearly two hours Friday afternoon battling the blaze. An EMS Plan 1 and still-and-box alarm were called at 2:02 p.m. for a fire at the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago -- Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center at 239 W. Alexander St. in Chinatown, according to Fire Media Affairs Asst. Director Eve Rodriguez.
Flames were seen shooting from the roof and the top floor of the museum when crews arrived and soon spread heavily to the third floor and below, she said.
Everyone was outside of the museum when crews arrived and nobody was hospitalized following the fire, Rodriguez said.
A 2-11 alarm, requesting additional assistance, was called at 2:30 p.m. Firefighters extinguished the blaze at 3:50 p.m., Rodriguez said.
The third and fourth floor of the museum sustained "major damage," while the second floor sustained substantial damage. The first floor had minor fire damage, Rodriguez said.
A police Bomb and Arson Unit sergeant said early Saturday that the fire was under investigation, but the cause of the fire has not been determined.
The museum, formerly the Quong Yick Co., opened to the public in May 2005, according to its Web site.
According to the site, the museum closes at 1:30 p.m. on Fridays and was not open when the fire was reported. However, Rodriguez said she believed it may have been open.
The mission of the CMF is to promote exhibitions, education, and research relating to Chinese-American culture and history in the midwestern United States, according to the museum Web site.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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