Fire Sweeps Through Historic City Library

A major fire erupted this morning in Los Angeles’ historic Central Library, threatening millions of dollars worth of books and archives along with the architectural landmark that has been a source of civic debate for many years.

The flames that started about 11 a.m. on the library’s second floor were still burning out of control at 1 p.m. despite the efforts of more than 125 firefighters from 24 companies and three salvage trucks. Twelve firemen suffered injuries, including three that required hospital treatment.

Tens of thousands of downtown workers and residents viewed the lunch-hour spectacle from the nearby streets and buildings, and traffic snarled on 6th, 5th, Hope, Flower and Grand streets. Gray and black smoke poured from third-floor windows and roof apertures but the structure appeared intact.

“Judging from the color of the smoke, it looks like it’s primarily books and papers,” said Inspector Ed Reed, a spokesman for the Fire Department.

“There is an enormous supply of magazines and the books, what we call a heavy fire--a lot of things to burn.”

400 Flee Building

The fire started in the southeast corner of the second floor of the library, at 630 W. Fifth St., Reed said. An alarm enabled the 200 library workers and 200 patrons to exit the building. There were no known injuries to workers or patrons.

Flames raced through a second-story reading area filled with magazines, books, newspapers, periodicals and microfilm and burned into the third-floor offices.

The fire was believed isolated in the southeast quadrant of the building, which houses about 500,000 volumes, according to Bob Reagan, a spokesman for the library. “Many of them are priceless,” he said.

The 61-year-old library, a topic of debate for years between preservationists and those who wanted to see the site developed, has been cited often for fire safety violations related to the structure of the building, Reagan said. Four columns of book stacks that rise from the basement to the third floor can act as a chimney for flames, Reagan said.

Smoke Damage

Smoke permeated the building, causing more damage and creating a problem for firefighters who entered the building to attack the flames. “They’ve had to slowly inch their way through the heavy smoke to find the actual flames,” Reed said. Other firefighters broke through skylights to get at the fire.

Firefighters are concerned that water may also damage books and other materials in the library, Reed said.

“The injuries they suffered have come as a result of our firefighting methods in this blaze,” Reed said. “We are trying to be careful to save as much material as we can. . . . We are trying to find the source of the fire before we use water.”