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Worker Injured in Library of Congress FireA Library of Congress staff engineer working in a Madison Building sub-basement suffered burns on his hands and face April 30 when a short circuit in a backup power generator started a small fire. The employee was hospitalized for three days. There was no damage to the collection. “When there’s an explosion in the library and you smell smoke, it’s scary,” Associate Librarian for Library Services Winston Tabb told American Libraries, explaining that the fire department and a rescue squad responded to the emergency. Although power was lost to one-quarter of the building, within two-and-a-half hours employees in parts of the facility were back to work. However, the building was closed to the public until May 3. The Capitol Hill publication Roll Call reported May 6 that the four unions representing LC workers planned to file a complaint alleging problems with the library’s fire-safety systems and procedures. They charge that the building’s central alarm system was inoperative, forcing police officers to pull manual alarms on each floor, which were inaudible in some areas. Posted May 10, 1999. |
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