Extensive work needed to reopen Meadville Public Library

Feb. 06--When it comes, the reopening of the Meadville Public Library is likely to be long overdue, according to John Brice, the library's executive director.

"It's going to be a long haul," Brice said Monday as he worked with other library officials to develop an alternative plan that would allow them to continue library services even as the building remains closed.

"We'll have some type of presence in Meadville," he said. "Where it will be and what it will look like, I don't know, but we're working on it right now."

A fire in the library's boiler room on Jan. 31 was quickly put out and contained to the small basement space that housed the furnace. Smoke from the fire permeated the entire structure and water from efforts to extinguish the fire puddled in the basement, which also houses the children's area, computer servers for the county library system and offices.

Trooper Jason Sider, the Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal who investigated the blaze, said the cause of the fire was not suspicious but was likely to remain undetermined.

The fire originated in the area of a corner workbench of the boiler room, Sider said, not in the furnace itself or electrical panels also housed in the room.

"I'm not sure of the cause due to the extent of the damage," Sider said. "It was a small area, but a concentrated level of damage."

Brice described an aluminum wrench in the maintenance area where the fire started as having been "bent like a pretzel" by the intense heat.

Immediate damage was contained to within the boiler room, which functions as a containment room, according to Mike Grill, city code inspector.

"The boiler room did its job," Grill said after having seen the effects of the fire. "It did a wonderful job in fact."

Despite the smoke and water that affected the library's other areas, the books are safe, according to Brice.

"The good news is there's nothing wrong with collection," he said. "There was no damage there, outside of just having to clean it."

Cleaning was underway on Monday, Brice added, and the books would be ready to circulate soon.

A temporary heating system had also been set up and the library's computer system, which the other branches in the county rely on, was up and running as well, he said. The same couldn't be said for the phones or the building generally.

"It's a lot more damage than we originally thought," Brice said. "Every time we look at something, it gets worse."

Brice's immediate concern was coming up with the library's "Plan B," which would likely involve an alternate site. People would be able to request books online, he said, but staff members we're still figuring out how to get the materials to the patrons.

In the meantime, library materials can still be returned to the outdoor book drop or people can hold on to them until the alternative plan is finalized. Until then, fines will not accumulate on any overdue materials.

Reopening the 92-year-old building at 848 N. Main St. has become more of a long-term goal, according to Brice, though at this point exactly how long depends on his state of mind.

"The optimist in me says four to six weeks, and the realist says eight to 12," he said. "The pessimist says, 'Sometime this year.'"

A specific timeline for recovery is unavailable at this point, but it seemed clear that the library would need extensive and costly work in order to reopen.

That work will likely involve improved fire prevention equipment in the boiler room, according to Grill.

The fire was discovered by a staff member who saw smoke and then pulled an alarm, Brice said, not by any sort of automatic detection device -- a situation that was cause for reconsideration.

"You always second guess yourself when something like that happens," he said. "We're going to do things differently in the future, I'm sure."

The fire was discovered less than three hours after library officials posted news that the recently completed 50th-anniversary Patrons Drive had raised nearly $52,000. On Monday, Brice was confident that insurance would cover costs associated with repairs.

He was also confident that the library would be back in the business of lending books soon, if not operating out of its usual home. The original hope of reopening the building this week will need an extension, but it too will be back, he said.

"We've been in business in Meadville since 1868," he said. "We're not going anyplace."

Mike Crowley can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.

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