Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — State and local fire investigators began work Friday to determine the cause of a two-alarm fire at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson.

Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Ricky Davis says investigators were on the scene Thursday night and remained to start going through the debris Friday. He did not give a timetable to complete the investigation.

Davis says the results of the investigation would be released by the Jackson Fire Department.

Greg Travis, spokesman and chief arson investigator for the Jackson Fire Department, said Friday that it is believed the fire started in a barn at the museum site, but he said that would be determined from the investigation.

Travis said firefighters brought the blaze under control about an hour after they arrived at the scene.

"It was pretty serious," Travis said. "I think out people did a great job. They kept the damage confined to the two buildings and limited the amount of property loss. And they did it with the high wind blowing around."

Travis said the fire department would release the cause of the fire when the investigation is completed. The fire started about 5 p.m. Thursday. More than 50 Jackson firefighters battled the blaze.

State Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith said in a television interview from the scene that a maintenance shop and barnyard were destroyed, and one worker was being treated for an arm injury that was not life-threatening. Hyde-Smith said aside from losing thousands of dollars in equipment, no lives were lost. Animals that live at the museum, including mules, goats and horses, were rescued.

"The main thing is our employees are safe, the animals are safe and you know, we've got some broken hearts, but we're going to be OK," she said.

As far as what happens next, Hyde-Smith said it's too early to assess just how much it will cost to rebuild the two buildings and equipment that were lost.

Activities at the museum have been canceled at least through the weekend.

The 39-acre museum is near Interstate 55 and another busy road in north Jackson. The fire burned during rush hour as thousands of commuters drove home.

The tourist attraction has dozens of buildings, many of them wooden. They include a dozen replica and historic wooden buildings set up like an old-fashioned small town. The museum features an old church, machinery from a cotton gin built in 1892 at Cannonsburg, near Natchez, and a general store built in Camden in 1905. Replica buildings include a printing press.

The complex cost $3 million to build on land donated in 1978. Half the money came from the state and half from private donations, according to the museum's website.

The museum is a popular spot for school field trips, and several of its buildings are used for parties, charity events and other social gatherings.