Fire Breaks Out at Flight 93 Memorial Complex

3 buildings burned, but memorial itself is OK
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2014 5:02 PM CDT
Fire Breaks Out at Flight 93 Memorial Complex
Smoke rises in the background as firefighters respond to a fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial Friday in Shanksville, Pa.   (AP Photo/Daily American, Dylan Johnson)

A fire that broke out this afternoon at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania has seriously damaged three administrative buildings at the site, but not the memorial itself, reports AP. The cause isn't known, and no injuries have been reported. At least seven local fire departments were at the scene in Somerset County, reports the Tribune-Review. The park's headquarters and administrative building, located about 2 miles from the complex's memorial wall, sustained heavy damage, say fire officials.

It's possible that some artifacts related to the crash of the plane on Sept. 11, 2001, were destroyed, reports CBS Pittsburgh. “It’s very heartbreaking, it really brings you back to that day,” says Ken Nacke, whose brother was on the hijacked plane. “We gave a lot of personal stuff to the memorial, that we wanted to be shared with everyone; the more and more I think about it, the more heartbreaking it becomes." A visitors' center still under construction has not been damaged in the fire. (More United Flight 93 stories.)

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