Texas Leader Vows to Rebuild Governor’s Mansion After Fire NYTimes.com

HOUSTON — Gov. Rick Perry pledged Wednesday to rebuild the Governor’s Mansion, which was damaged by fire on Sunday, and expressed outrage that someone would set fire to such an important symbol of state history.

“Texas does not shrink from a tragedy,” Mr. Perry said at a news conference in front of the mansion in downtown Austin. “I do know that they will be caught, and they will be prosecuted for what they have done.”

No one was home early Sunday morning when fire extensively damaged the 152-year-old Greek Revival-style mansion that has housed 40 governors, including Sam Houston and George W. Bush.

The state fire marshal and investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the blaze as arson. They have refused to discuss the investigation, except to say there are no suspects. They have not released surveillance video from the grounds of the mansion.

But The Houston Chronicle on Wednesday quoted an anonymous person who said he had seen the surveillance video as saying that it showed a shadowy figure “hurling an object at the front door, an action followed by an immediate burst of flames.”

The mansion was not insured. It had been undergoing renovations, and all historical furniture, paintings and heirlooms had been moved to other locations. The renovations, which included upgrading the plumbing and installing a sprinkler system, were scheduled for completion next spring.

During the renovations the state relocated Mr. Perry, a Republican, and his family to a house in an Austin suburb for ,800 a month.

Arson is the most likely cause of the blaze, said Gerald Hurst, an independent arson investigator in Austin who has examined the 18 photographs released by the governor’s office, which show collapsed ceilings, a charred staircase and damaged walls.

An earmark of arson, Mr. Hurst said, is the V-shaped pattern of black soot on the mansion’s façade. The bottom of the V-shape is on the front porch, suggesting someone threw a Molotov cocktail, with the flames spreading up and out.

Mr. Hurst, who has studied fire for 45 years, said arson cases involving public buildings were especially challenging to solve.

“There is great likelihood of this being committed by someone you never heard of, and with no connection to the governor,” Mr. Hurst said. “Ordinarily, it’s a gang initiation or someone upset at the governor, which is probably several million people here.”

Another barrier could be a lack of evidence. The Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday that some video cameras on the property had not been working.

“If they had a clear shot of the guy, we would have seen it by now,” Mr. Hurst said.

Officials in the governor’s office said it was too early to assess how much it would cost to rebuild the mansion. Mr. Perry said some of the money could come from private sources.