Susan B. Anthony Home: Hearth officers are investigating a ‘suspicious’ blaze on the historic residence

By admin Last updated Sep 27, 2021

The Rochester Hearth Division (RFD) responded round 1:00 a.m. to an automated hearth alarm on the residence that when belonged to Anthony, a frontrunner of the ladies’s suffrage motion. The fireplace burned via the house’s again porch.

The Rochester Hearth Investigation Unit listed the reason for the hearth as suspicious, however the closing trigger stays undetermined and remains to be beneath investigation, RFD spokesperson Lt Jeffrey Simpson informed CNN.

Cameras on the property confirmed an individual standing within the again yard and on the again porch proper earlier than the hearth began, Susan B. Anthony Museum and Home president Deborah Hughes informed CNN.

“We do not know why somebody would do that, it might have been a random or intentional act, or it might have been somebody responding to the museum being a supporter of girls’s rights since we’re in a contentious period. It is exhausting to know for certain,” Hughes stated.

Firefighters relocated artifacts right into a protected a part of the home and took nice care getting into the house, stopping any extension of fireside, smoke, or water harm from getting into the home, in line with Simpson.

“The firefighters had been so cautious with the artifacts, even shifting footage whereas preserving them in the proper order,” Hughes stated. “They had been extraordinarily conscientious about ensuring not an excessive amount of water bought into the home.”

The again porch, which was over 100 years outdated, was a whole loss and was taken right down to safe the construction and ensure the home was protected, Simpson stated.

“The harm to the constructing was purely on the skin again porch of the construction,” he added. “There was some minor extension into the constructing as a result of it broke via the door, however it was just some water and smoke harm on the primary ground.”

The house was in-built 1859, and Anthony lived within the dwelling — which additionally turned headquarters of the Nationwide American Lady Suffrage Affiliation — from 1866 to 1906, the yr she died.

“The Rochester Hearth Division has lengthy understood the importance that this property holds each to our area people in addition to the nation,” Battalion Chief Joseph Luna stated in an announcement. “An amazing job was executed by the firefighters tonight in limiting the results of the hearth on each the museum and its shows.”

Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, New York before the fire that damaged the back porch.

Anthony is known for her work for lady suffrage and her arrest after voting within the 1872 presidential election when it was unlawful for ladies to take action. She additionally spoke out towards slavery and was instrumental in getting faculties to confess girls.

“Anthony was all about making an attempt to construct a extra simply society and we simply hope that what folks get out of coming to the home conjures up them to proceed this work,” Hughes stated.

The defiant suffragist labored tirelessly for voting rights for women, however died 14 years earlier than the nineteenth Modification — later generally known as the Susan B. Anthony Modification — was ratified in 1920.

“It’s so clear how a lot this home issues to the neighborhood, our neighbors, and even our firefighters. They had been deeply moved with not solely taking the duty critically, however feeling like this can be a nationwide treasure,” Hughes stated. “What might have been actually tragic, due to the superb work of the firefighters, was a tragic loss however we shall be okay.”

The method to rebuild a again porch will start as quickly as potential, Hughes stated.