Fire alarm saves museum store room from blaze

A museum store room may have been lost to a fire had its alarm not been working, a fire service said.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue was called to an automatic fire alarm within a building belonging to Ipswich Museum on Charles Street on Saturday night.

Crews found there had been a fire in the electrical intake to the property that had spread to the void between the ground and first floor levels.

The fire service said there had been damage to the ceiling, but no artefacts being stored in the building had been affected before a stop message was received at 20:31 BST.

"Had the building have not had a working automatic fire alarm, the fire would have gone unnoticed for a considerable time and the building would have probably been lost," a spokesperson for the fire service said.

When crews arrived at the scene, they had to isolate the electricity to the property and remove the ceiling to access the fire within the void.

UK Power Networks was also in attendance and the fire service said the electrical supply would be "out for a while".

A spokesperson for Ipswich Borough Council said they were "grateful" for the fire service's quick response.

"An early inspection indicates that there was no significant damage to the items stored in this location," they said.

"We also wish to make it clear that this fire was not in the main museum building which is currently being refurbished and we do not expect it to impact on the delivery of that project."

The 144-year-old museum on High Street has been closed since 2022 for a substantial renovation to create an additional gallery, new educational space, new cafe and improved toilets.

The site was expected to reopen this year, but was pushed back to next year after Ipswich Borough Council said the project had so far been "complex and significant" and it wanted to do the work "properly".

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