The Berkeley Public Central Library is closed today, Sunday, after a small fire in a restroom on Saturday caused sprinklers to flood a public area of the building.
The book returns are open, however, and Donna Corbeil, Director of Library Services, says the library plans to reopen at its regular time on Monday.
Today crews are cleaning up the water damage which was prompted by a fire alarm setting off automatic sprinklers.
The fire ignited in a public restroom on the second floor. It is not known how it got started. Nobody was injured and the public and staff were evacuated.
Berkeleyans showed just how much they appreciate their city’s library with many contacting both the library and Berkeleyside expressing concern when they saw fire engines outside the building on Kittredge Street.
Berkeleyside reader BerkeW_berk wrote in our Comments: “I stopped by to return books shortly after it happened and could see a tremendous amount of water cascading on to the 1st floor. Library employees and the Fire Dept. seemed to be working hard to protect the books on the shelves. Staff were out on the steps to hand-collect my (slightly overdue) books — nice grace under pressure!”
Also worth noting: the library’s branch van is out for maintenance until further notice. Branch van holds can be picked up at the central Library.
Related:
Central library closes because of water damage [03.17.12]
