A fire broke out in the archaeology office of Montpelier, Founding Father James Madison’s Orange County estate, Monday evening.
The building sustained damage to its porch, attic and a single room inside, according to the Orange Volunteer Fire Company. While an initial report on Tuesday said there was no damage to any of the building's relics or injuries to those on the scene, Fire Chief Whit Jacobs said the next day that three firefighters did sustain injuries while battling the blaze.
The Montpelier Foundation that manages the estate told The Daily Progress it does not yet have an estimate on the scope and cost of the damage to the property. Jacobs told The Daily Progress the fire and its cause remain under investigation.
The Orange Volunteer Fire Company responded to a fire alarm at 13427 Dupont Circle at 5:15 p.m. Monday. When the first fire engine arrived, however, firefighters said they were told by foundation staff there was a blaze on another part of the property at 13409 Garden Road, where Montpelier’s archaeology office and laboratory are located.
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When firefighters arrived on the scene they described heavy fire conditions.
“The Orange County 911 center upgraded the alarm to a full structural response with an added ‘working fire dispatch’ above the first alarm,” the fire company said in a statement Tuesday.
Multiple crews responded from County of Orange Fire and EMS, Barboursville Volunteer Fire Company, Gordonsville Volunteer Fire Company, Rapidan Volunteer Fire Company and Lake of the Woods Volunteer Fire Company.
"There were over 30 firefighters on scene," Jacobs said, adding, "Crews remained on scene for over 4 hours."
While the Orange Volunteer Fire Company initially reported that there were no injuries on the scene, Jacobs later said that three of the 30 firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.
“Early in the incident as crews were trying to access, by ladder, fire in the attic, a partial collapse of the front porch roof caused the ladder to fall and two firefighters were checked by EMS,” the fire company said in its initial statement Tuesday.
That initial statement reported that EMS found the firefighters to be "uninjured," but Jacobs said the next day that wasn't true.
"We did have 3 firefighters injured on scene but were evaluated by EMS and denied transport to the hospital," he said via email.
Jacobs said the other information in the initial statement was accurate and that damage was limited to the building's porch, attic and single interior room.
There was no damage to the "extensive James Madison artifacts that were in display cases and in catalogued storage containers" inside the building, Jacobs said.
"Although some boxes suffered water damage, there was a concerted effort to remove and prevent damage to those items during and after the fire fight," he said.