April 30, 2007
Breaking News: Georgetown Public Library Ablaze
News on the DCist tip line and NBC4 is that the Georgetown Branch of the D.C. Public Library is on fire. The building, on the 3600 block of R St., NW, is currently under renovation.
Beginning at 12:45 this afternoon, we could see the smoke from the western edge of Dupont. The library was built in 1935 and has a number of historical documents and paintings which fire fighters are trying to save. NBC4 reports that it's currently a two-alarm blaze. Judging from the dozens of emergency response vehicles heading that way, and today's vicious winds, we fear that may be upgraded. Wikipedia (which should hardly be taken for gospel) also has rumors that it's in danger of collapse.
Earlier this morning parts of historic Eastern Market were damaged by fire. There's no word yet on the cause of either fire.
Andrew Wiseman contributed to this report
UPDATE: DCist Sommer here. I was just walking out of my office building on Wisconsin Ave. in Glover Park when I noticed the cause of the surge of fire truck and ambulance sirens just a few minutes before. The Georgetown branch of the D.C. Public Library is on fire. From my vantage point up the hill, I could see flames and smoke billowing up over the treetops that surround the library building, and it appeared as though the roof had collapsed. Fire crews and police have blocked off Wisconsin Ave. NW above S Street, and presumably below at least Q Street as well as the adjoining sidestreets, though we weren't able to get to the other side to verify to exact street closures.
Longtime Georgetown residents were standing out on the sidewalk in disbelief. The building, which opened in 1935, had been under renovation.
Image from the DC Public Library website
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Could it be a historic building arsonist? This is crazy.
What is going on in DC today!?
The Georgetown history collection there is an amazing resource - literally irreplaceable. This is heartbreaking.
I suppose you could make the case that the Eastern Market fire was an accident, what with all the vintage interiors and fire suppression systems. But does anyone else find it highly suspect that TWO historic DC buildings burst into flames within a 12-hour period?
WTOP is saying the entire roof is on fire and parts of the building have collapsed. What a shame! First Eastern Market, now this. What is happening?
this is a bad day for DC.
Now begins the conspiracy theory that it's a disgruntled developer.
...from Northern Virginia of course
What is going on around here? Did we enter the Twilight Zone at some point and I just didn't notice?
No. Probably just a jerk who likes to watch things burn. Hopefully, he's the sort of genius who videotapes his antics, complete with commentary ("Oooooh! Watch the FLAMES! It's so BE-YOOTIFUL!). Not unheard of in this locale. Anybody remember this guy?
The same way that a fire *company* has a maximum number of large scale incidents to which it can respond, a city fire department has a similar limit.
I don't know what Eastern Market was (three alarms?) but we're going to be running a ragged-ass FD if another multi-alarm fire happens.
Honestly... why is Georgetown constantly showing up the rest of the city? Friendship Heights has good shopping -- Georgetown's shopping is better. GWU makes it to the tournament -- Georgetown U. makes it to the final four. Eastern Market catches fire -- the Georgetown library's roof collapses...
This is terrible! First Eastern Market, now a lovely public library. What a loss for DC, and a loss for residents from Georgetown up to Friendship Heights because the Tenleytown branch is basically gone, too. I love the park on the hill behind the Georgetown library, and now I guess it will be roped off for months until the damage is repaired. I hope they were able to save all the historic documents.
My theory -- homeless people being careless with matches or cigarettes. But how strange that two historic buildings go up in one day.
Well, we have two non-Federal but historic DC buildings that were uninhabited due to the hour, or due to restoration. Using that criteria, can we guess what's going to be next?
WJLA and WTOP are reporting that Alan Etter has ordered all personnel out of the building. That could suggest that there was or may be a major collapse.
Just in case you need to drive around over there, traffic is completely fucked this afternoon on Wisconsin, 34th, and 35th streets as there is a huge mess to clean up. Do yourself a favor and drive around.
My guess is that this fire started due to mis-handling of construction equipment, as renovation was ongoing within the structure.
I rode past the library this morning around 8:25, and everything was seemingly normal, so I don't think that the "ne'er do wells lighting fires in dumpsters" argument makes full sense.
Of course, this is all rote speculation.
But the fact that the library is atop a hill, in full exposure to winds, and whatnot, is not going to help the firefighters' cause at all.
Wow Adrian. Incredible that you so quickly decide that the person(s) responsible are homeless... Because homeless people are the only ones who smoke and are careless with cigarettes and matches...
This is a real loss though.
WOV - in the event of another multi-alarm incident trucks from MoCo, PG, and NoVa are able to cross the District line and come help depending on where the incident occurs. No need to panic just yet.
Nice...blame it on homeless people...what an a**hat you are!
I believe that they have actually already called down a truck company from MoCo to provide staffing in Northwest until some of the truck companies on the library fire get released.
Not to disparage the severity of the possible loss of the important irreplacable stuff that is stored inside the building, but in what universe does 1935 constitute “historic?” By that categorization, what percentage of buildings in D.C. would be considered historic? 89%? 91%?
to building shmilding,
you can apply for a building to become listed as a historic place with the national register once it is 50 years old. if it is not yet 50, there are more stringent requirements to get it listed.
clearly there are more criteria that make a place historic aside from age, but since that is what you asked for...
i would suggest looking at the national register's website with the park service for more info.
Thanks, Silverspringer - but our mutual aid agreements are somewhat spotty and informal (in particular I think the one with PGFD was signed only in early Spring.)
So it ends up having to be ad hoc and doesn't extend to, you know, automatic dispatch, sharing maps and preplans, door codes and the like. Believe MoCo is more of a standard mutual aid agreement so it should be better in NW.
1935 is definitely historic, it was a fine example of Colonial Revival architecture, and sadly one of the better-stocked/staffed branches in the DCPL system. But it's not about the building, but rather the irreplaceable documents, maps, photographs, etc in the Peabody Room. This is bad, bad, bad news. A sad 24 hours for DC.
Well actually I would agree that a pretty damn high percentage of buildings in DC would be considered historic. Who cares that that percentage is so high?
But beyond that, it's not just the age of the building, but also the quality of a building that qualifies it as historic. The Georgetown library is (was?) a beautiful example of colonial revival architecture.
Thats IT Adrian. Must be smokers - and homeless at that!!!! Gee! Lets let a Republican think for you...Building undergoing renovation?....welding on site?....use of torches inside building?...happened during construction working hours?.....flammable construction materials?..... wonder what it could be? Yep, must be homeless smoking fiends sneaking into an active construction area without anyone noticing and taking a smoke break from their busy schedule. Yeah, thats the ticket. No brain no pain huh. We must now ban homeless smokers. It's for the children.
Thats IT Adrian. Must be smokers - and homeless at that!!!! Gee! Lets let a Republican think for you...Building undergoing renovation?....welding on site?....use of torches inside building?...happened during construction working hours?.....flammable construction materials?..... wonder what it could be? Yep, must be homeless smoking fiends sneaking into an active construction area without anyone noticing and taking a smoke break from their busy schedule. Yeah, thats the ticket. No brain no pain huh. We must now ban homeless smokers. It's for the children.
That's IT, Adrian. Could not be due to the fact that there was renovation going on. Welding? Torches? Cutting sparks? During construction hours? Nope, he has to blame smokers because he has been brainwashed to do that. Not bad enough? Homeless smokers sneaking into an active construction area, without being noticed, while putting cigarette burns in flamable construction material. Must be it, huh!
Not to be a pain (because i think you guys got it from NBC4), but isnt the library on the 3200 block of R Street? 3600 block is closer to where Duke Ellington is.
True enough, WOV. MoCo does have a standing agreement but I was just thinking that if there was a catastrophic meltdown of some sort that the various departments would probably show up whether they currently have an agreement or not.
>Lets let a Republican think for you
Whoa there Boston Ray, two things:
1) there is no reason to believe that the homeless comment above is somehow "Republican;" and
2) calling someone else an idiot is more effective if you don't triple post* in doing so.
*your third post was different, and left out the Republican-bashing, so kudos for that.
According to the DCPL site, the renovations were exterior only, repointing brickwork, trim, windows, etc. The library remained open to the public through the work, so unfortunately that means the archives remained on-site. No word on the cause of the fire so far.
From WaPo: "Onlookers gasped as D.C. firefighters carried out item after historical item. Most were severely damaged: a warped 1840 oil painting of a freed slave, a soot-covered copy of a D.C. atlas from a century ago, a photo left unrecognizable by flames.
All afternoon flames could be seen. They ate through the precious Peabody Room, the key source for original historic materials about Georgetown. The second-floor room was named after the financier who in 1867 provided seed money for a library for Georgetown.
"The second floor is gone," said branch manager Mary Hernandez."
So, so very sad.....
Did not intend to triple post but I kept receiving a generated notice that my post was not being received by the server. Actually I was stating that Republicans think things out as opposed to fear mongering against the homeless.
I am a card carrying Republican and very proud to say I am.
I still have unreturned library books from there from when I was a kid. So sad!