Preventing Library Fires
What a Fire Chief Wants You to Know About
On February 18, 2020, two 13-year-old boys lit a fire in the Children’s Section on the top floor of the two-story Porterville, CA library. They fled, as did the other patrons and staff in the building, who all got out safely before the entire building was leveled by the flames. (The Porterville Library housed 77,000 books and was built in 1953; it did not have fire sprinklers.)
Unfortunately, two Porterville Firefighters, Patrick Jones, 25, and Raymond Figueroa, 35, died while fighting the blaze. One of the teenagers was convicted of arson and served three months of a six-month sentence at a juvenile facility.
This tragic story should remind all library leaders and all library employees about our collective need to pay careful attention to a fire as a rare but catastrophic event (like the rare possibility of an active shooter in the library).
We need to have written and practiced plans in place and still prepare for an unlikely occurrence. The likelihood of a library fire can be estimated on a number of factors: staff vigilance about not allowing smoking or watching for signs of arson (especially possible from mentally ill patrons or children); the age of your facility (newly-constructed buildings are much less likely to catch fire or burn); the installation or absence of water sprinklers, smoke, and heat sensors; a building-wide fire alarm system with audible alarms and a public address system to be used to notify all staff and patrons to evacuate; and the proximity of the fire department and its number of staff.
This last issue is the most surprising to people. According to a 2014 report from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), about 70 percent of America’s firefighters are volunteers, and 85 percent of the nation’s fire departments are all or mostly volunteer. The smallest communities — those with fewer than 10,000 residents — are almost always served by volunteer departments (https://bit.ly/38cfWbL). The majority of fire stations in the US are staffed by a fulltime, paid Fire Chief, one to three Assistant or Battalion Chiefs, and the rest is made up of volunteer firefighters. For rural libraries, there may be a substantial distance and delayed response time by an all-volunteer Fire Department.
As library leaders consider the vexing issue of a building fire, they should discuss and verify:
The marked location of evacuation routes, for patrons in the front and employees in the rear.
Moving children, elderly, or disabled patrons out of the building, quickly and safely.
Having more than one fire drill per year (follow our K-12 schools, who do several).
Being vigilant of any hazardous materials (Hazmat) in storage areas, janitorial closets, kitchens or break rooms.
Keeping all gas, electrical, utility, and IT Server rooms secured.
Being aware of any potential chemicals or flammables on site.
Constant awareness of children or teenagers playing with lighters or matches.
Reporting any arson threats or attempted arson by disturbed, disgruntled, or vengeance-seeking patrons to the police.
Vigilance by staff to enforce “No smoking” by patrons (cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and vape pens).
For professional advice on this issue, I consulted my colleague, Robert May, JD, PI. Bob is not only an attorney, a risk manager, and a private investigator, but he recently retired after a long career as a Fire Chief in northern California. (He had also served as a Fire Chief at two southern California agencies.)
He teaches fire leadership and emergency operations management for various fire administrations in the state of California. He is the CEO of Mainstream Unlimited, a firm that specializes in risk management consulting, onsite training, webinars, and site security assessments. He can be reached at www.MainstreamUnlimited.com
Here are Chief May’s thoughts on keeping libraries safe from fires:
“Libraries can pose a challenge when it comes to fire and life safety. The buildings are potentially high-occupancy facilities with hidden dangers. Employees and visitor safety are critical. Beside the life safety exposures, the building can house irreplaceable books, priceless valuables, and historical artifacts. It’s not uncommon when a library is involved in a fire for the damage to be significant. These buildings pose a high risk to the entity who owns and operates the building, which could be a city or county, a landlord, or a property manager. It’s important that all libraries be outfitted to prevent or reduce damage and allow the safe evacuation of employees and patrons.”
“The first step is to determine the high-risk areas of the building. This would include areas where:
Exhibits featuring highly combustible materials like paper, wood, or
textiles.
Exhibits featuring preserved specimens housed in alcohol or other flammable liquids.
Tightly-packed rooms with exhibits or bookshelves.
Rooms housing materials easily damaged by smoke, soot, or water.
An important factor in preventing a fire loss is through the maintenance of a good fire prevention program. The fire protection program and accompanying policies need to be in writing and updated periodically.
Management and staff responsibilities need to be defined, and fire prevention procedures need to be established. This program must be based on a high standard of janitorial services, housekeeping, orderliness, maintenance of equipment, and continuous staff training and awareness in both recognizing and eliminating fire hazards (ignition and fuel sources).
To help in the reduction of these exposures a fire protection plan is needed. A fire protection plan should have these goals in mind:
Preserve documents, data, artifacts, exhibits, and equipment.
Reduce smoke and soot contamination.
Reduce water damage caused by onsite protection or fire hoses.
A safety plan for evacuation of staff and visitors.
“More important than the preservation of the archive and library and its collections is, of course, the safeguarding the lives of its staff and patrons. Life safety must always come first. Library management must ensure that employees know what to do in the event of a fire.”
Make sure they know what the building fire alarm sounds like (bells, horns, chimes, speakers with recorded instructions). Fire drills should be conducted at least twice a year.
Ensure employees can hear the alarm. Extend alarms out to locations where the alarm cannot be heard and make provisions in the interim to alert employees in those areas.
Ensure all employees know their primary and secondary exit routes. Every archive and library should have an evacuation plan and provide it to all employees. Walk through exit routes to make sure they are clear and available for use. Conditions may change daily due to construction, renovations, repairs, etc.
Egress paths are not obstructed by storage, etc.
Exit doors are accessible, unlocked, and not blocked from the other side.
Exit signs are operating and visible.
Emergency lights are functional and adequate to illuminate the exit paths in case of a power failure.
Staff knows where the meeting point is outside the building so they can be accounted for.
Give an introduction to fire prevention to all new employees.
Chief May concludes by saying, “No library institution is immune from fire. Library leaders need to ensure they develop plans for dealing with the fire threat. If they do not do it, it places the building and its occupants, visitors, and collections at risk.”
Your best ally in the process of keeping your library safe is your local Fire Department. Call the Fire Chief and/or the Fire Marshal to set up a meeting and ask for a full inspection of your building. Follow the recommendations – equipment, policies, training, drills – of your fire professionals.
www.TheSafeLibrary.com
DrSteve@DrSteveAlbrecht.com