MCCOMB, Miss. — A major fire damaged nearly 70% of the historic McComb Railroad Museum on Sunday, authorities said.
Firefighters said they were able to save most of the artifacts in the Mississippi museum, WLBT reported.
“It got some smoke, water and heat damage, but we were able to save the artifacts,” McComb Deputy Fire Chief Jason Howell told the television station.
Firefighters respond to major fire at McComb Railroad Museum https://t.co/LrFmp1pI4a
— WLBT 3 On Your Side (@WLBT) May 30, 2021
The cause of the fire was not known. Howell said he believed that between 65% to 70% of the building was lost to the blaze.
“The north end was a total loss,” Howell told WLBT. “The fire got in the attic, and more of the attic burned than the museum. We were able to get the fire stopped before it burned all of that.”
The railroad depot in McComb was built in 1901 by the Illinois Central Railroad, according to the museum’s Facebook page.
The depot that houses the museum currently is a railroad station for Amtrak, WLBT reported.
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