Texas Gov. Rick Perry and First Lady Anita Perry are traveling in Europe and have been notified that a catastrophic fire has heavily damaged the Greek Revival Governor’s Mansion. The residence was once home to President George W. Bush and his family, during his tenure as Texas governor. Arson is suspected.
The 152 year old structure was under renovation at the time of the blaze, which was first reported to Austin Fire Department early Sunday morning. Department of Public Safety security officers, who reportedly patrol the property around the clock, saw flames at the front of the house at 1:45 a.m. and called for help. More than 100 firefighters battled the four-alarm blaze with hot spots still reported six hours later.
The residence has been under renovation since last September. All of the artwork, furniture and historical artifacts had been removed for the project, which included the removal of asbestos and the installation of all new plumbing.
The governor’s press secretary Robert Black said:
“It will be close to catastrophic. It’s an extraordinary amount of loss. We do not know how it started.”
A complete investigation will take place to determine the origin of the blaze. Building engineers were hampered in their inspection process by fire officials who are concerned about a possible roof collapse.
Later in the day, Texas Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado said:
We have some evidence that indicates that we do have an intentionally set fire, so we believe that we may be looking at a criminal act here.”
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was sending in a team to help investigate according to Maldonado. He did not give details on how the fire may have been set or whether there was a suspect, but said there were security cameras on the premises.
Governor Perry and his wife are in Stockhom, Sweden with a Texas delegation to attend an American Chamber of Commerce event on wind energy. That event is planned for Tuesday. They have decided to continue their trip as planned and return later next week.
See front view of Texas Governors Mansion below.