Milton Keynes Museum closed after fire breaks out in the middle of the night


Firefighters were called to the museum, which is on the outskirts of Wolverton, shortly after 2am this morning and they remained at the scene for hours.
It is understood the blaze started in an electrical space in the area where old telephones are exhibited.
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Hide AdThe fire crews managed to get it under control quickly before it spread to other areas and destroyed the thousands of precious exhibits.
Meanwhile the museum is closed today (Wednesday) and put an announcement of social media saying: “We will share updates in due course.”
Last month the museum celebrated its 58th birthday with the opening of a new gallery, where exhibits include the fossilised remains of Iggy, a 180-million-year-old ichthyosaur sea creature dug up in Milton Keynes.
Bill Griffiths, the museum's director, said at the time: "At a time when museums are struggling with drops in revenue and hindered further by significant running costs, we really hope this gallery invigorates and entertains all who come to see it."
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Hide AdThe new gallery has not been affected by the fire, which is understood to have caused just “minor damage”.
However, it was a different story in 1996, when on New Year’s Day a serious blaze broke out at the museum, leaving it almost totally gutted.
It needed to be rebuilt and this took a year before it could open again.
Last night’s fire prompted National Grid to remove the fuses from the nearby electricity sub station for safety, leaving dozens of properties with power. Power is now being restored.
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