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Small fire forces evacuation of Smithsonian’s Castle on the Mall Small fire forces evacuation of Smithsonian’s Castle on the Mall
(35 minutes later)
A small fire Wednesday morning on a fourth-floor library of the Smithsonian’s administrative building known as the Castle was extinguished by sprinklers and caused minimal damage, D.C. fire department officials said. A small fire Wednesday morning on the third floor of the Smithsonian’s administrative building, known as the Castle, was extinguished by sprinklers and caused minimal damage, D.C. fire officials said.
The fire was reported at 11:43 a.m. in the National Historic Landmark that was erected on the Mall in the mid 1800s. The fire department ruled the cause of the 11:43 a.m. fire as accidental and said it started in the electrical wiring. There were no injuries. Linda St. Thomas, spokeswoman for the Smithsonian Institution, said the fire occurred in a meeting room called the Library.
Dough Buchanan, the fire department's spokesman, said the cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials from the Smithsonian could not immediately be reached for comment. It was not clear if anything was damaged. There were no injuries. No artifacts or books were stored there, and St. Thomas described that damage as minimal. The fire department initially reported the fire as on the fourth floor.
The building was open to the public at the time of the fire and was evacuated, officials said. It is at 1000 Jefferson Drive SW between the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the National Museum of African Art. The Smithsonian tweeted that the building — a National Historic Landmark erected on the Mall in the mid-1800s — would be closed for the remainder of the day Wednesday. “All other museums remain open,” the tweet said.
The building was open at the time of the fire and was evacuated, officials said. Only the first-floor visitor’s center is open to the public. It is at 1000 Jefferson Dr. SW between the Freer and Sackler galleries and the National Museum of African Art.