NEWS LIBRARY DISASTERS: FIRE

[Note: This article was previously published in News Library News in the Spring 1989 issue.]

The company library is located on the third floor of the building near a stairwell which on a lower floor opens into the visitors gallery for the press. Smoke rising through the stairwell resulted in heavy smoke damage to the library.

The book collection on open shelves was covered with soot and oily residue. The smoke also entered file cabinets where clippings and photographs were stored. Damage varied from slight to heavy in these files.

The initial cleanup of desks, tables, the outside of file cabinets, etc., was done by the library staff the day following the fire. The next day the real fun began. The book collection had to be cleaned one volume at a time, using a procedure suggested by a researcher at the Library of Congress. This cleaning took approximately 20 hours of steady work.

Clipping and photograph files had to be examined one file at a time to determine condition. Some we left, some can be cleaned, and the rest will have to be retyped. As of March 27, we estimate this will take a minimum of four to six weeks.

One of the most frustrating parts of this whole experience was not being able to locate anyone who had been trhough this befodre and who could give us some guidance. As a result of this experience Barbara Semonche, librarian at the Durham, NC Herald-Sun and I are trying to gather as much information as we can on newspaper library fires, their prevention and their cleanup.

We would very much like to hear from anyone who has been through a fire such as this, OR who has done any research on this subject. When and where was the fire, and what kind of damage did the library suffer? Who can be contact for information on the fire? We want either printed information or leads to people who can give us personal information.

CUTLINE CAPTIONS

• All file drawers had to be emptied and cleaned because of soot which had settled in the inside of the drawers.
• Clipping which had been laid out in preparation for micorfilming had been left on top of the file cabinets. There were heavily damaged.
• Smoke seeped into file drawers and damaged clip envelopes and photo folders. While some of these can be cleaned, hundreds will have to be retyped.

[Editor's Note: Much of the cleaning of paper files was undertaken with the aid of special "chemical sponges" which absorbed the oily residue.]

This page was created by Barbara P. Semonche and Kathy Graham. It was last updated May 1997. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact Barbara here.