UPDATED, 12:11 p.m.: The Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History opened to visitors shortly after its regular 10 a.m. opening time. A Smithsonian spokeswoman said it appears Monday morning’s fire in the building that houses the museum’s cooling fire started while a contractor was working in the mechanical building.
A fire broke out at a building next to the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History that houses the facility’s cooling tower, D.C. fire officials said.
Around 7:30 a.m. Monday, D.C. firefighters were dispatched to the museum and heavy smoke pouring from a detached building at Ninth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Maintanence workers had been in the area of the building when a fire started in the interior of the cooling tower itself, said D.C. Fire spokesman Pete Piringer.
A hazardous materials unit was called in because the interior components of the cooling unit contained plastic and various chemicals, Piringer said.
No one was injured, officials said. And museum officials said no smoke entered the green-domed building that houses millions of artifacts and collections
Officials plan to open the museum later Monday after the fire investigation is completed.
