Texas Governor's Mansion damaged by arson fire

By Jim Forsyth

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Arson is suspected in a fire that severely damaged the unoccupied Texas Governor's Mansion in Austin, home to the state's chief executive since before the U.S. Civil War, fire officials said on Sunday.

By midday on Sunday, no arrests had been made in the blaze, which is being investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the state's fire marshal, said Krista Piferrer, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry.

Forty-one governors, including Texas independence hero Sam Houston and U.S. President George W. Bush, have lived in the Greek Revival mansion, which opened in 1856.

The mansion was home to Bush and his wife, Laura, from 1995 to 2000, until a month before he became president.

No one was injured in the vacant 9,050-square-foot (840-square-metre) mansion in downtown Austin, Piferrer said.

The mansion was undergoing maintenance and renovations, including the overhaul of plumbing installed in 1914. Perry and his wife, Anita, have been living in a rented house because of the renovations. Perry was traveling in Europe on Sunday.

Passersby noticed a fire on the mansion's porch about 1:45 a.m. CDT (0645 GMT) on Sunday. Within four hours, firefighters contained the blaze, which had spread to the second-floor roof, Piferrer said.

She said video surveillance had given officials enough evidence that the fire was caused by arson, but she declined to say if it offered a clue to suspects.

"We are going to get the person responsible for this damage," said Paul Maldonado, state fire marshal.

Maldonado said much of the roof collapsed but that he believed the structure could be salvaged.

Piferrer said officials hoped to rebuild.

Historical pieces, including the furniture, paintings and china, had been removed because of the renovations and were safe, she said.

(Additional reporting by Bernard Woodall in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney)