MANHATTAN— Fire investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Manhattan Fire Department, have determined the fire that occurred at Hale Library was accidental due to the roofing operations that were being conducted.
A damage estimate has not been created due to the unknown amount of smoke and water damage throughout the structure. Assistance from Kansas State University will be needed to determine an accurate loss amount once an assessment of the building and contents is complete.
The building has been turned back over to Kansas State University. Hale Library will remain closed until further notice.
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MANHATTAN — Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Manhattan Fire Department are continuing their work to determine the cause of Tuesday’s fire at Hale Library.
According to Ryan Almes with the Manhattan Fire Department, at 4:10 p.m, Fire crews were dispatched to 1117 Mid-Campus Drive, Hale Library, on the Kansas State University campus for a report of smoke on the fourth floor. Upon arrival, crews found a four-story section of the building with smoke showing from the roof. The fire reached a third alarm before it was contained in approximately two hours and controlled in four hours. A total of 70 firefighters responded on 12 fire apparatus with the last units still on scene Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported to occupants or firefighters. Hale Library will be closed until further notice.
Hale Library is the main Kansas State University library. It was dedicated in 1997 after a multiyear renovation and expansion project of the original campus library building, Farrell Library, which opened in 1927. Hale Library has more than 400,000 square feet of space and has more than two million books in its collection. The fire occurred in the roof of the original Farrell Library, in an area containing several large air handling units and proved very difficult for firefighters to gain access to extinguish the fire. Damage estimates are not available at this time. Fire damage was limited to a portion of the roof, with extensive water and smoke damage throughout the structure.
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MANHATTAN —Crews remained on the scene overnight of the fire at the Hale Library on the Kansas State University campus.
Fire official are working to determine the extent of damage and what caused the blaze.
The university said on its website that smoke was reported around 4 p.m. in the library, which had been undergoing repairs.
Manhattan Assistant Fire Chief Mike Kaus says 70 firefighters from four agencies responded to the fire in the roof of the oldest part of the four-story building. The fire was contained by around 6 p.m. Tuesday but crews continued working to extinguish it.
No injuries have been reported. The 400,000-square-foot building was evacuated, and the university said it will remain closed until further notice.
Due to the fire the university also brought down their online systems including HRIS, KSIS and Canvas.
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MANHATTAN —Crews have contained the fire at Hale Library on the Kansas State University campus. The building will remain closed until further notice. The university also must bring down online systems including HRIS, KSIS and Canvas due to the fire.
Seventy firefighters and emergency personnel combined were on the scene from multiple departments battling the fire at the library Tuesday.
They included Fort Riley, and Manhattan Fire Department. No injuries have been reported. The building was evacauted.
Firefighters were focused on extinguishing the top of the blaze at the northeast corner of the building.
There is no word on what caused the fire.
The library was built in the 1920s and underwent a massive remodel and addition in the 1990s.
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Fire crews from Manhattan and Fort Riley are at the scene of a fire at Hale Library on the K-State campus in Manhattan.
No injuries have been reported. The building was evacuated late Tuesday afternoon.