Experts ‘Have Handle’ on Library Fire

Fire officials believe they know the cause of the blaze that destroyed thousands of books at the Central Library, but will not say what it is until they complete their investigation, authorities said Thursday.

“We pretty well got a handle on it, but we want to make absolutely certain that we got it,” Capt. Tony di Domenico said.

“On a fire as big as this, we want to be sure. Physical evidence is being scrutinized as closely as I have ever seen it.”

Di Domenico refused to comment on whether arson is suspected in the fire that raged out of control for more than six hours Tuesday, destroying or damaging about 20% of the landmark downtown library’s collection of 2.3 million books, rare manuscripts and photographs.

Announcement in a Few Days

“We’ll make our announcement within the next few days,” he said.

Di Domenico said fire inspectors have advised Mayor Tom Bradley on “the general direction” of their investigation.

The fire is believed to have started in a storage area in a southeast corner of the building that is inaccessible to the general public.

Di Domenico said it is too early to estimate the cost of damage to the 60-year-old library’s contents or structure, although officials agree that damage is in the millions of dollars.

He also confirmed earlier reports that the three-story library suffered no major structural damage in the fire.

Portions of the mezzanine floors collapsed in the west wing, and firefighters jackhammered holes into the concrete floors of the third floor to spray water on the fire, but that damage is repairable, Di Domenico said.

Public Contributions Sought

At a news conference in front of the library Thursday afternoon, Bradley announced that a fund has been established to accept public contributions.

“The library is still assessing its needs, but your help is needed and very much appreciated,” Bradley said. “It is obvious that the spirit of Los Angeles is shining clearly in this all-out community effort to help the library.”

Bradley’s office is accepting donations addressed to “Friends of the Library,” and a special hot line has been established for telephoned pledges.

At Thursday’s meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Fire Chief Donald Manning criticized the City Council for the first time since the fire for ignoring nearly two decades of warnings that the building was a fire hazard.

“It’s their economic versus safety issues that concerns me,” Manning said. “We knew there were problems. Clearly, hundreds risked their lives on this fire.”

Forty-six firefighters suffered burns, smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion in the blaze and about a dozen remain off duty to recover from their injuries, fire officials said.

Manning said that had the building been equipped with a sprinkler system, the fire damage would not have been as severe.

“If it had been sprinklered, we might have had a few hundred books damaged--we might have had a few thousand dollars damage,” Manning said.

Library officials have opposed the installation of sprinklers, fearing that water damage could be worse than fire damage.

City officials said they hope to continue with plans for a $110-million renovation of the library that were already in the works.

Donald Spiveck, a senior administrator for the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, said undamaged books will be stored temporarily at the Convention Center.