Central State Police Chief Stephanie Hill said a fire that destroyed a shed at the university’s new botanical garden was accidental.
“It was not anything that was arson or foul play,” Hill said. “(Nobody) willfully tried to destroy it.”
Firefighters responded to the shed fire around 8 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2019. Crews from the city of Xenia, Xenia Township, and Cedarville came to the scene. It took them about 23 minutes to extinguish the fire. One firefighter sustained minor injuries in the fire.
Many students assumed that someone had set the fire. The state fire marshal has opened an investigation into the incident.
The 30-foot by 30-foot shed was one feature in the university’s new $750,000 botanical garden, which the university opened as part of its land grant mission. The garden will be a place for students to see what a typical garden looks like. It will be used for students to study agriculture, to learn about different soils, and to appreciate a variety of flowers.
"The Botanical Garden is a place for people to see what a typical garden looks like," said Dr. Ibrahim Katampe, a professor in the department of Agriculture Sciences. "As a land grant institution part of what we do is educate the community on agriculture-related programs."
The garden is locked in the evenings. Police can monitor the garden remotely with surveillance cameras. "We do not want just anybody or wild animals getting inside the garden,” Hills said. “It is a wooded area, but it will continue to be open to the students, as well as the community.”
Works crews are rebuilding the shed. The university has not yet set a date for when the garden will reopen.