The top of Somerset House, a sizable arts center in central London, caught fire on Saturday.
Fortunately, firemen managed to put out the fire without damaging any of the priceless paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and other artists.
Around midday, firemen used buckets on ladder trucks to dump water on the ancient building, causing heavy smoke and flames to emerge from its top.
According to Keeley Foster, assistant commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, firefighters were anticipated to remain on the scene until Sunday as they worked to put out the last pockets of fire in the early evening.
Foster stated that “the building’s age and design proved a challenge to crews as they initially responded.”
The cause of the fire was under investigation, Foster said.
The neoclassical building was reconstructed nearly 250 years ago after the original Somerset House was demolished after becoming neglected.
The original palace was built in 1547 by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who was later executed at the Tower of London.
