A sign notifies museum patrons of the ongoing process of restoring sections of the museum after a Dec. 14 fire that started in a tortoise enclosure on the second floor.
Claudia Enz (left), 13, and Kathy Martin, both of Cuba City, Wis., get a closer look at animals at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium on Wednesday.
Erin Keeffer (far left), Emily Spillane and Abbie Kaiser, all of Galena, Ill., check out the variety of animals at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium on Wednesday.
A sign notifies museum patrons of the ongoing process of restoring sections of the museum after a Dec. 14 fire that started in a tortoise enclosure on the second floor.
Claudia Enz (left), 13, and Kathy Martin, both of Cuba City, Wis., get a closer look at animals at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium on Wednesday.
Erin Keeffer (far left), Emily Spillane and Abbie Kaiser, all of Galena, Ill., check out the variety of animals at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium on Wednesday.
Costs related to a December fire at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium could top $1 million, and recovery from smoke and water damage could take three months.
An early morning fire Dec. 14 burned part of a tortoise enclosure. Although fire damage was minimal and no animals were harmed during the incident, the William Woodward River Discovery Center building suffered extensive smoke and water damage. The center is one of the two primary buildings on the river museum's Port of Dubuque campus.
"It really puts it into perspective -- the sprinkler system worked, but that safety feature can cause this much damage," said John Oglesby, the museum's facilities manager.
A single sprinkler discharged water in response to the fire and continued to do so until it was turned off -- well after the flames were out.
Water drenched the second-floor exhibit area, then cascaded into the center's first-floor gift shop, located directly beneath the site of the fire.
"The inventory of our gift shop was all destroyed," said John Sutter, the river museum's marketing director.
Items on shelves were destroyed as well as inventory in storage. Smoke damaged all the stuffed animals and clothing.
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"We had to clean everything in this building, and some of the things we cleaned, we're starting to recognize need to be replaced," Sutter said.
Water eventually seeped into the building's basement.
The center opened in June 2003. The nearby Diamond Jo National River Center opened in 2010.
The museum has asked for financial support for its recovery efforts. The property of the Dubuque County Historical Society faces a $10,000 deductible, and insurance won't cover all the financial loss.
"There was an interruption of our business -- we closed half of our facility for a week," Sutter said.
Water and smoke saturated floors and ceilings, walls and interpretive panels. During the next several months, river museum visitors can expect to see scaffolding and other evidence of recovery efforts along with the exhibits.
"It's going to take time to do it right," Oglesby said.
