Although fire doors saved second floor exhibition halls from the flames, ash and soot found their way in, but with the exception of a thick layer of soot covering and blackening the walls of the exhibition halls and the life-size dioramas depicting life in prehistoric villages, little lasting damage was done. Fortunately, many of the earthenware and clothing exhibits were protected by glass display cases.
Museum staff gave up any hope of finding surviving artifacts after several days spent sifting through the ashes. The staff is now busy cleaning the walls and dioramas, a task that according to museum authorities should be completed within the next month or so.
"With the exception of the metal boards which held explanations of the exhibits and a few display racks, nothing survived the blaze," continues Liu. "In the adjacent rooms ash got absolutely everywhere. We spent about a week taking everything out of the adjacent rooms for cleaning and storage elsewhere. Removal of several of the larger diorama models for cleaning caused the biggest problems, they were so caked in black grime."
In the meantime, a basement storeroom is acting as a temporary home for the 600 or so artifacts that were removed from the second floor exhibition halls not gutted in the blaze. It is hoped that with the exception of the two-gutted exhibition halls, the second floor will be reopened to the general public on Oct. 1.
As for the devastated Austronesian exhibition halls, museum authorities don't expect renovation on either of these rooms to be completed until early next year. It won't be until April or May of next year, however, that new exhibits will be installed in the rooms and the doors reopened to the public.
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