Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images
- An individual was captured by surveillance cameras near the back door before the fire began.
- Firefighters preserved the home and its artifacts; only the back porch was lost in the fire.
- The property was Anthony's home and the former headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
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Around 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, the Rochester Fire Department responded to an automatic fire alarm at the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House, the home of Anthony and former headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, where they put out a fire on the back porch and rescued artifacts, CNN reported.
Museum staff president Deborah Hughes said in a news release that surveillance cameras captured an individual standing at the back door before the flames broke out. Arriving minutes after a fire detection alarm was triggered, the Rochester Fire Department quickly contained the fire before it spread to the interior of the building, according to the news release.
"This might have been a tragic loss of a national historic treasure. Instead, it is a story of a job well done by first responders who care deeply about life, our community, and our cultural heritage," Hughes said in a news release.
Aside from the loss of the back porch, RFD spokesperson Lt. Jeffrey Simpson told CNN that firefighters safely relocated artifacts and stopped any fire, smoke, or water damage from entering the house. The Rochester Fire Investigation Unit has not determined a final cause of the fire but has deemed it suspicious, Simpson told CNN.
The house was constructed in 1859 and was later bought by the Rochester Federation of Women's Clubs in 1945 to create a museum, according to a timeline of the property provided by the museum.
Anthony died in the house on March 13, 1906.