Fire at Flight 93 National Memorial in Pa. may have damaged 9/11 memorabilia

[Rhiannon12866]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A fire erupted Friday at the headquarters of the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, memorial to United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed on September 11, 2001, officials said.

"There is a potential for 9/11 memorabilia loss due to a fire," according to a statement from the National Park Service, but the extent of the damage is not known yet.

NPS spokesman Mike Litterst said 10% of the archives and museum collection was stored in the damaged buildings, but much of it was kept in a fireproof safe.

Among the items in the damaged buildings was a U.S. flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol on the day of the terrorist attack. The flag was given to the Flight 93 National Memorial last September 11. Its status was not known.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/us/pennsylvania-flight-93-memorial-fire/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

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Smoke from a fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial can be seen from a distance near Shanksville, Penn. WTAJ

[blue neen]

1. That's heartbreaking.

I wonder what happened.

[davidpdx]

2. +1

[Rhiannon12866]

5. They don't yet seem to know how this started, but terribly sad, especially for the families

Ken Nacke, whose brother Louis was on Flight 93, said many 9/11 artifacts -- including notes and other mementos left at a temporary memorial at the crash site -- were being stored in the area where the fire burned.

He said he had spoken Friday with the head of Families of Flight 93 shortly after the group president was contacted by the memorial's superintendent.

"I think stuff has been lost," Nacke said. "I just don't know what has been lost. I know the layout of the buildings and I wouldn't be surprised. It's heartbreaking that we spent all this time to have this happen. All the blood sweat and tears that went into building this."

Nacke helped raise funds for the Flight 93 National Memorial and advised in its planning.

"At the temporary memorial, people would leave cards, T-shirts and handmade stuff that was very comforting to us," he said. "That's why it's heartbreaking. I hope none of this stuff is lost."

[Warpy]

3. Deja vu

It looks a little like still photos of the crash site on 9/11/01

[SoapBox]

4. Oh no...

How sad.

[gerogie2]

6. Since 9/11 ~143,000 have died from a homicide in the US

We human beings are weird. A few people get killed in an airplane crash or have their heads cut off in the Middle east and it is the top of the news. Meanwhile in your own states thousands are murdered every year and a few might get listed in a one paragraph story similar to, "45 people were shot in the Chicago area this weekend."

[EX500rider]

7. 150,000 people die everyday worldwide..

....and only 100,000 of those are from natural causes. So 50,000 people die everyday needlessly....not surprising only a few get attention.

[Cooley Hurd]

8. This, of course has nothing to do with the OP...

The OP was about a fire at a memorial. If the fire was at the Lincoln Memorial, would you feel it prudent to re-litigate the Civil War?