By
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Library of Congress has severe fire safety problems that not only threaten human life but leave some of the library's "most valuable and irreplaceable collections" with the worst fire protection, a congressional inspection shows.
A perfect copy of a Gutenberg Bible and Thomas Jefferson's personal library are among the threatened treasures. The Library houses one of the first baseball trading cards, magician Harry Houdini's files, Adolf Hitler's book collection and contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated.
The fire hazards, similar to those previously documented at the Capitol a block away, are "not only apparent violations of federal law governing employee health and safety, but also a serious potential threat to human life," the congressional Office of Compliance said in a report obtained by The Associated Press.
"Some of the most valuable and irreplaceable collections in the library have the worst fire protection," according to the agency, established to bring Congress into compliance with the health, safety and environmental laws that apply everywhere else.
The most serious problems are in the national library's Jefferson Building. The domed, 103-year-old structure has busts of great thinkers, gold-leaf ceilings, paintings, sculptures, grand staircases, an ornamental fountain and the resplendent Main Reading Room under the dome.
Officials said many safety hazards cited in the report could be remedied quickly, but it will take years, major disruptions and more money to bring the Jefferson Building up to modern fire code standards.
"When the Jefferson building was constructed around the turn of the century, fire systems were not on anybody's mind," Bob Browne, the Library's safety officer, said.
"When they did a renovation in the mid-1990s, they added a lot of fire protection to the buildings. But there were some areas where they did not (add the protection), because of concerns about the impact on the historic structure," he said.
The 12-year rehabilitation project ended in 1997.
The compliance office's fire inspection was the most extensive in the library's history. Among other findings was that the Main Reading Room, where thousands of people peruse objects every year, lacks both sprinklers and a modern smoke-removal system.
Smoke detectors, designed to protect miles of book stacks, are 35 years old and untested. Some portable fire extinguishers, removed after their discovery by inspectors, dated from 1955, the report said.
Other problems:
- Lack of fire barriers to prevent the spread of fire, smoke and toxic gases.
- Absence of fire doors to protect exit stairwells.
- Inadequate exit signs and emergency lighting.
- Compressed gas cylinders, containing acetylene and propane and capable of blowing up a building, stored in poorly ventilated areas.
The library's 62-year-old Adams Building and the 20-year-old Madison Building also were cited for fire safety problems, but they do not have the Jefferson Building's historic architecture that makes renovations more difficult.
"Most of the issues identified in Library of Congress buildings can be remedied in an expeditious manner with existing resources," the library said in a written statement. "However, as is true of other Capitol complex buildings, some hazards will require extensive design and construction remedies that will require additional funding."
The report found that fire-suppression equipment protecting 11 rooms that house rare books relies on Halon gas, no longer manufactured or imported because it destroys the ozone layer.
The systems "are not properly tested and maintained in the manner the manufacturer requires, so ... it is impossible to know whether they are fully operational," the report said.
"Some of the rare books are stored right next to the nozzles of the units which emit the fire extinguishing agent with great pressure, which will cause irreparable damage to the books," the report said.
The library's main book stack areas also lack pull alarms to release emergency exit doors, which creates the possibility that employees "would be trapped inside the stacks if a fire were to start there."
Ken Lauziere, fire protection chief for the Capitol architect's office, which maintains the library and other congressional buildings, disagreed with some findings.
He said the ceiling of the Main Reading Room is too high for sprinklers to be effective, but a smoke-control system will be installed.
The 45-year-old fire extinguishers were accidentally missed when the library received new extinguishers. They since have been removed, as have the hazardous cylinders. And the Halon gas is being replaced with a modern substitute in the rare book area, Lauziere said.
