Museum Fire

Chinatown museum goes up in flames.

Then afternoon,the Friday afternoon fire that raced through a building in Chinatown, house in the Chinese-American museum of Chicago. WGN's Tom Louis has the latest.

The Fire Department got a 911 call around two this afternoon, heavy smoke and flames pouring out of the Chinese-American museum of Chicago in Chinatown.

It was in the structure where exactly catched that fire but burned in the walls and floors, and under heavy smoke conditions to find isn't that easy.

The Department sent extra personnel. Ladder trucks dusted the four-storey building. The third floor collapsed entirely. And once the fire was out, the worst fears were realized.

We start from scratch, and a lot of us are volunteers, and so we put in a lot of time in here.

Barely four years old, the museum is Chronicle the history of Chinese-Americans who settled in Chicago. A rich legacy and source of pride now covered in thirt and in ash.

This is a huge step backwards. So the museum has been gathering money, and has been fortunate enough to open two exhibits.

The exhibits were currently on display on the first two levels. These included historical papers, pictures and artifacts, many unknown from private donors.

These some people all over the world, actually. And it is going to be very difficult to tell the owner of the object that were burned down,for ...

I am WGN's Tom Louis is reporting from CLTV News.