Staff reports
Published: May 1, 2008

Orange Volunteer Firefighters responded to a call at the James Madison Museum early Monday morning.
According to Orange Volunteer Fire Company Chief Buckshot Clements, local dispatchers were alerted to an incident in the museum by the museum’s alarm system.
Law enforcement officers and firefighters were dispatched to the Orange institution.
“When we got there, the police thought they smelled something, and we could see smoke coming out of the louvers in the front of the building,” Clements said.
With no one around to open the building at 3:30 a.m., the firefighters accessed the buildings interior through the very louvers venting the smoke.
“We used our thermal imaging camera and it told us immediately where the fire was,” Clements said.
Firefighters determined the fire was electrical and were able to contain it without damaging any of the museum collection.
Clements said once power was cut to the building, firefighters used a special foam solution that negated the fire and protected the building.
He said there was little or no damage to the building, except some charred beams in the museum attic.
“The guys did a really good job,” he added.
The museum was open for business as usual later that morning.