Broken Sprinkler Causes
Burlingame Library Flood
The Burlingame (Calif.) Public Library was flooded February 17 when a sprinkler valve apparently burst on the top floor of the three-story building. City officials estimated water flowed into the library for at least eight hours before it was discovered, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
The library had been closed for President’s Day, but a woman walking by that evening called 911 when she noticed water coming from under the door, the San Mateo County Times reported February 18.
“We have lost some historic materials, some historic books—local history, that sort of thing—which were right in the pathway of the water,” City Librarian Al Escoffier said in a February 18 report by San Francisco’s KPIX-TV.
Clean-up crews used water vacuums and air blowers to salvage as much material as possible. Officials said the library would be closed for at least a week.
Posted February 24, 2003.
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