A second arson hit Columbus civil war museum, fire marshal says
The blaze that destroyed a storage shed behind the Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum early Monday was the second one set there over the weekend, authorities said.
Firefighters responding to a 1:05 a.m. call found the open-air shelter in flames from an “incendiary fire” with “multiple points of origin,” said Columbus Fire Marshal Ricky Shores.
The structure behind the 1002 Victory Drive museum was a metal roof supported by poles apparently preserved with creosote, which continued to smolder Monday. It had no walls, but was enclosed by a chain link fence with locked gates.
In September 2018, the shed sheltered artifacts such as the Civil War blockade runner CSS Virginia and the fantail of the ironclad CSS Jackson, according to Ledger-Enquirer archives. “That’s what that shed was built for,” former museum board member Tom Gates said Monday of storing the Virginia.
Shores said the arsonists forced their way inside the fence and set fires in various spots. “That was very clear,” he said.
It was the second time in three days someone had set a fire there. The first attempt was reported at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, he said. That fire did not spread.
Shores said investigators had yet to get an estimate of the damage and loss from the museum, where administrators were not immediately available for comment.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 12:46 PM.