Fire broke out on the top floor of Wellesley (Mass.) College's Clapp Library around 10 a.m. on March 24, but prompt action by town firefighters kept damage to a minimum. "About 150 volumes in the language and literature section ended up being damaged," College Librarian Micheline Jedrey told American Libraries, "but most of these only had slightly damp edges that can be air-dried."
Firefighters placed tarps over bookshelves in the area and doused the flames with carbon-dioxide foam rather than water. Jedrey said the blaze was apparently caused by a spark from a blowtorch on the roof, where workers were preparing the building for a major renovation in the summer.
Posted March 29, 1999.