BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A spokesman for the University of Vermont says it’s going to be some time before officials can assess damage to the 300,000 plant samples in the Pringle Herbarium, the third largest such collection in New England and the largest repository of Vermont flora in the world.
Spokesman Enrique Corredera says no injuries were reported in the fire that began about 8:10 a.m. Thursday.
Photographs taken Thursday morning show heavy flames on the outside of the third floor of the three-story building.
Two-thirds of the plant specimens were housed on the third floor.
The building also houses on the second floor the Zaddock Thompson Zoological Collection. The status of that collection is also unknown.
The building was constructed in 1863 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
(Copyright (c) 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)