Small fire affects historic home

Edmondston-Alston House closes temporarily, damage minor

Tourists strolling along Charleston's famed Battery this week were surprised to find the historic Edmondston-Alston House closed. A minor fire last week forced the museum to temporarily shut its doors, but the house is expected to reopen in time for a planned event in December.

No major damage was reported.

The Edmondston-Alston House, owned and operated by the Middleton Place Foundation, was built in 1825 and was one of the first houses built on Charleston's High Battery.

The house stores Alston family silver, furniture, books and paintings as well as a collection of prints and other artifacts from the family's trips abroad.

The fire occurred about 9:15 a.m. Oct. 29, shortly before the house was scheduled to open for the day. Police saw smoke coming from the rear of the second floor and evacuated employees, according to an incident report from the Charleston Police Department.

One employee was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina to be treated for smoke inhalation but is now doing fine, said Virginia Mizel, the Edmondston-Alston House Museum director.

Mizel said the fire caused only minimal smoke damage and that none of the historic artifacts were damaged. "It was a very small fire," Mizel said. "They didn't even use the water."

The fire was quickly extinguished and contained within the room where it started. The cause was an apparent malfunction of a combination heater-air conditioner window unit, said Mark Ruppel, public information officer for the Charleston Fire Department.

Each January, the Edmondston-Alston House closes for regular maintenance to clean chandeliers, carpets and other areas. But after the fire they decided to move up the cleaning schedule. "There was just a little soot and smoke," Mizel said. "And since we needed to have some of the walls cleaned, we just went ahead and closed for our annual housekeeping."

Mizel said the house will open again in a couple of weeks, although an exact date has not been set. The house will open in time for its annual December event, "Christmas 1860: A Candlelight Tour."

"No matter how we look right now, we will be beautiful for those first Friday nights in December," Mizel said.

Reach Aubrey Straub at astraub@postandcourier.com.