Well this certainly wasn’t what I expected when I visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts yesterday to view its new Art of the Americas wing!
Just as the museum was closing this afternoon at about 4:40 p.m., while my husband and I were on the coatcheck line, an alarm sounded and the museum was hastily evacuated. I still have not been able to find out from the museum whether there was an actual fire. I’ll update when I learn more.
One thing’s for sure: The museum really needs to improve its public address system, so that you can actually understand what they’re saying. I finally found out from a guard that it was a fire alarm and we had to leave the building immediately.
As you may remember, I also unexpectedly witnessed (and videoed) a fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square at the start of my recent trip to China. Do I bring bad luck when I visit new places?
Here’s what happened in Boston:
UPDATE: The BMFA has just gottten back to me this morning, Here’s the explanation from media relations manager Meg Blackburn:
The alarm was activated by food that was being
prepared in the museum’s kitchens for an event later that evening, which
triggered the heat sensor. The alarm was turned off, and staff were
allowed back in the building shortly after. The event was held as
planned.