'Intentional' Fire Damages Odessa Bush Home
| Staff Reports Midland Reporter-Telegram |
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From Staff Reports ODESSA -- A fire that damaged the Odessa home of both Presidents Bush and their family is under investigation by fire officials.
The fire was reported at 3:04 a.m. Thursday when both a passerby and an Odessa police officer noticed the flames, Odessa Fire Marshall Detra White said. The home turned museum is located next to the Presidential Museum at 4919 E. University Blvd. on the University of Texas of the Permian Basin campus. The museum property is leased from the university, White said. The modest wooden green house was charred around the front door and edges of the roof Thursday. The fire completely destroyed the front door and its surrounding area and the attic sustained heavy fire damage, as well, city of Odessa Public Information Coordinator Andrea Goodson said. The remainder of the home sustained smoke and water damage, she said. Four engines and additional fire department officials responded to the scene and extinguished the fire within minutes, White said. Goodson and White said it was determined the fire was "intentional," but that they did not have any details beyond that as the investigation is ongoing. White said investigators are following up with any possible witnesses and that evidence from the building will be sent to labs for testing. By Thursday afternoon, the front door and window had been boarded to prevent anyone from wandering in and a security guard stood outside the home through the night, museum administrator Lettie England said. "It could have been worse," England said. "They didn't burn it down. It's salvagable." After receiving the call about the fire, England said her first reaction was disbelief. "When I came and saw the damage, I just wanted to fall down on the sidewalk and boo-hoo," England said. Artifacts inside, which were from 1947, suffered smoke and water damage, she said. England said the museum has contacted a company that specializes in restoration "I'm placing my faith in their skills to get them back to their original condition," she said. White said fire officials estimate the house suffered about $2,000 in structural damage. This figure, though, doesn't account for the historical value of the home or for the artifacts inside that were damaged, she said. The single-story, 800-square-foot house was restored and eight months of work on it was completed in December 2004. The Bushes lived in the home from September 1948 until April 1949 while George H.W. Bush sold drilling supplies and worked as a trainee with Ideco, according to museum information. It was Bush's first home in Texas. "We all worked on this. This belongs to the community. Hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars were spent to preserve this important piece of history and somebody desecrated that. That's what it comes down to," England said. She said she doesn't know when the house will be re-opened to the public, but that she has already had to turn visitors away, including a family of eight who had traveled from Arizona. "They come from all over the world," England said. England said the trick to restoring the house to its original condition will be finding contractors who do this particular kind of work -- something she said may be a challenge. ------ Reporter-Telegram staff writers Ruth Campbell and Kathleen Thurber contributed to this report. |