Fire at Wisconsin Civil War Museum Damages Estimated to be $200,000

March 25, 2008

A fire at a Kenosha, Wis. Civil War museum caused smoke and water damage.

Kenosha Fire Battalion Chief Matt Haerter says the fire appeared to be active for hours before a maintenance worker heard alarms go off.

Authorities believe spontaneously combusting oil rags may have sparked the fire.

The sprinkler system appeared to have been on for hours and was able to keep the fire under control before firefighters extinguished the fire.

Haerter says a significant amount of smoke was produced.

The museum was due to open to the public, with its grand opening in June.

The museum’s director could not immediately be reached for comment.

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March 26, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Legal Eagle says:

Wouldn't the city code have required a Central Station Alarm for a structure of this nature? Or if Museum did have a CSA installed with the sprinkler system, was it perhaps de... read more
March 25, 2008 at 2:04 am

Timmy says:

To all of the insurance agents out there--how often is there a sprinkler system installed that is not hooked up to a Central Station Alarm? $200,000 in damage-that's all for b... read more