The fire at the Museum destroyed priceless collections

The colonial agronomy laboratory was devastated by flames. The fire we reported yesterday, which broke out the other night in the Museum buildings at the Jardin des Plantes, caused significant damage. It was not brought under control until 4:00 a.m.
The fire devastated the first floor of the "Baleine" building, a building that had been granted to Professor Chevallier several years ago for the eminent scholar to set up a colonial agronomy laboratory.
Professor Chevallier, who devoted more than thirty years to the study of flora, fauna, hunting, and entomology during his travels throughout Indochina and West Africa, had collected invaluable documentation there. The fire destroyed most of it.
How did the disaster begin? Are we lost in conjecture? At 8:30 p.m., we know that a first fire broke out near a cabinet containing chemicals. Firefighters from the fire station on Rue de Poissy quickly brought the fire under control and left the premises around 11:00 a.m. At 1:00 a.m., another alarm, this time more serious... A caretaker saw flashes before he sounded the alarm; flames were shooting up above the building, on the opposite side from where the first fire had started. Had the fire smoldered and "spread" through an old floor beam of this building, which dates back to 1800? It's possible.