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Absolutely gutted Plains Museum stalwart John French surveys the damage left in the wake of a suspicious fire at the Tinwald attraction. PHOTOS JOSEPH JOHNSON 170115-JJ-51
Volunteers sift through the ashes in a bid to find anything worth salvaging. 170115-JJ-038
BY MICHELLE NELSON
MICHELLE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
Volunteers spent the weekend sifting through the burnt out remains of a storage shed at the Plains Museum, thought to have been deliberately torched in the early hours of Saturday morning. Damage estimated at $15,000 to $20,000 was caused, but nothing of heritage significance was destroyed, preservation society president Darryl Nelson said. By the time crews from the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Bri-
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gade arrived on the scene shortly after 5am, the building was engulfed. However, with the assistance of volunteers from the Methven brigade, firefighters were able to protect the neighbouring buildings, one of which housed historical locomotives. “They did a fantastic job, the fire had already taken hold on one corner of the locomotive shed,” Mr Nelson said. “If we had lost K88 (steam locomotive), or the railcar or the JA it would have been totally disappointing and dishearten-
ing, and would probably have caused the outfit to close – but fortunately it didn’t. “If you were going to set fire to a shed there, that’s the best one to set fire to. “It will have the least impact on the operation.” The storage shed contained parts for the steam powered trains and the potato growing equipment used for fundraising activities.
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