Page 16 - March 2017

State Police Museum Facing Difficult Rebuild
The Massachusetts State Police Museum & Learning
Center suffered damage to the museum building, located
at 44 Worcester St, Grafton, when a fire began in a second
floor conference room on Feb. 25. The Grafton and Sutton
Fire Departments responded to the two-alarm blaze at
the Museum at 9:30 p.m. The fast response and decisive
actions of firefighters in covering the museum artifacts
during the firefighting process saved all the memorabilia
and historical artifacts which date back to the formation of
the Massachusetts State Police in 1865.
The State Fire Marshall’s investigation revealed that oily
rags, disposed of improperly by a contractor doing painting
work in the Museum, spontaneously combusted and began
the blaze. The conference room was destroyed and the
entire building suffered smoke and soot damage, leading
to the removal of all the original horsehair plaster walls in in remuneration compensation and has engaged legal
the building. All of the historical uniforms at the museum
have been sent out for professional cleaning and many
documents and photos require extensive expert care to
clean and restore.
The good news -- the saving of memorabilia, some of which
dates back 150 years -- is offset by the recent revelations
that the building must now be brought up to current
building codes, a cost that insurance companies are already
balking at.
The Museum is housed in the former State Police Barracks
in Grafton, which was built in 1931 and closed as a
functional barracks in 2006. Because of the age and use of
the building there was no sprinkler system installed, and
many of the systems, including electrical and heating, were
Pictured is the conference room at the Museum which was destroyed in the fire
French·and·Electric·Blue·March·2017·page·16
never updated. Furthermore, the building lacks an elevator
to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The
damage cause by the fire has mandated updates to conform
with current building codes and laws relative to the use of
the building.
Museum Director Charlie Alejandro stated “The elevator
alone is likely to cost almost a hundred thousand dollars”
while talking about the extent of renovations that would be
required. The Museum is still working on estimates for the
rebuild, but initial costs are feared to be in the hundreds
of thousands of dollars. The Museum has already incurred
costs for temporary storage of the artifacts that have been
removed and the use of an onsite trailer where work is
now being done. Contractor estimates put the reopening of
the Museum at least a year away. The Museum is engaged
representation to guide and assist with the process.”
The Massachusetts State Police Museum and Learning
Center is a non-profit organization that survives solely
on donations to keep the history of the Massachusetts
State Police alive. The Museum has set up a GoFundMe
account, www.GoFundMe/mspmlc, to raise money for the
restoration. An account has also been set up at Unibank and
can be sent direct to the Museum Rebuild Fund, Unibank,
89 Worcester St, North Grafton, MA 01536.
Department members can contribute $3 per pay period
to the Museum by filling out the payroll deduction
authorization form on Docushare under Payroll Forms, State
Police Museum Payroll Deduction Form.