[MSN] LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Fire damaged the North Museum Wednesday night, forcing staff to evacuate about 20 reptiles.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Evening fire damages North Museum
Firefighter saves turtles

By Brett Lovelace, Intelligencer Journal Staff
Intelligencer Journal

Published: Jun 08, 2006 8:19 AM EST 

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Fire damaged the North Museum Wednesday night,
forcing staff to evacuate about 20 reptiles.


The fire started at 6:30 p.m. inside the museum's live-animal room after an
electrical malfunction inside a glass tank containing turtles, said City of
Lancaster Bureau of Fire Battalion Chief Brian Klugh. Firefighter Frank
Pritz saved two turtles from the burning tank.

Smoke set off the museum's fire alarm. Franklin & Marshall College security
and museum employees initially attempted to put out the fire as they rescued
the reptiles. Firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire within minutes.

Damage is estimated at $12,000.

The room where the fire started housed snakes, lizards and turtles. None of
the reptiles was injured, Klugh said.

That Fish Place employees traveled from the Centerville Road store to the
400 College Ave. museum to help move the reptiles into storage tanks. They
will be kept in a different room until the damage is repaired.

The fire-damaged room will be closed for about a week, said Margie Marino,
North Museum's executive director.

The museum is expected to reopen at 10 a.m. today. 

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