Iconic Phoenix library assesses storm’s toll

The day after a violent monsoon storm tore through central Phoenix, the city’s iconic Burton Barr Central Library remained closed as crews assessed the extensive flood damage from a burst pipe.

All five floors of the library flooded Saturday night after the storm caused a fire-sprinkler pipe to burst, according to the city. Water rained down on bookshelves and ran through the building like a stream.

City officials spent Sunday assessing the damage and answering questions about how it happened.

While officials are still evaluating what went wrong, they said it appears the water came from the burst sprinkler pipe.

Phoenix fire Capt. Reda Bigler said a pipe in the ceiling of the building’s fifth floor ruptured when the storm lifted the roof and caused it to move in a wavelike fashion.

“When it (the roof) slammed back down, it broke a sprin-

kler pipe,” Bigler said. “That caused about 50 to 60 gallons a minute of water to start flowing through the building.”

To put that in context, Bigler said a fire hydrant typically sprays 90 gallons of water per minute.

Phoenix architect Will Bruder, who designed the library, was there Sunday morning to survey the damage. He said that while roof tiles were disheveled, it didn’t appear that rain had breached the roof.

“The major flooding came from one sprinkler head, as far as we can tell,” Bruder said Sunday. “I have no evidence, right now, to say that any rainwater got in the building last night.”

The downtown library, located on Central Avenue near McDowell Road, opened in 1995. One of the building’s more unique features is its “floating” roof, filled with round skylights that cast sunlight down on a central atrium.

Bruder said the steel-and-concrete roof is designed to be flexible in case of a major storm like Saturday’s microburst. But fire sprinklers, he said, aren’t so flexible.

Fire crews responded to an emergency call at the library around 8 p.m., after maintenance staff spotted what the city originally described as a leak in the roof.

Firefighters quickly shut off the building’s water system and worked to preserve valuable items and as many books as they could, Bigler said.

On Sunday, cleanup crews brought in 300 drying fans and at least 30 dehumidifiers.

“They were fast, professional and so caring,” Lee Franklin, a spokeswoman for the library system, said of the firefighters.

Councilman Michael Nowakowski, who represents the area, on Sunday praised city employees for working overnight to mitigate the damage. He said the city will reopen the library as soon as possible.

The library boasts a rare-book collection with more than 5,000 special items, as well as a room filled with Arizona historical archives. Luckily, the portion of the building where those items are housed received little damage.

“As we were pleased to see last night, minimal water was able to get anywhere near it,” Franklin said.

The pipe that burst is in the ceiling above the northwest corner of the library’s fifth floor. That area holds reference books and some nonfiction works.

Bruder said much of the rest of the library’s collection and computer spaces were “in pretty good shape.” He said about half of the building was affected by the incident, as water ran down staircases and through utility ducts.

The library remains closed indefinitely. But city officials said they are working hard to reopen the building in phases, as quickly as possible.

Franklin noted many people depend on the library for refuge during the hot summer months. On Sunday, about a dozen homeless people slumped on benches and sidewalks outside.

“We are very aware of that responsibility,” Franklin said. “We’re more than books on shelves.”

In the meantime, residents can use any of Phoenix’s 16 other libraries. Locations and hours can be found at phoenixpubliclibrary.org. Checked-out library materials can be returned to any location.

All events and room reservations at the Burton Barr library have been canceled until further notice.

City officials said they didn’t have a cost estimate for the damage. The city will examine whether its self-insurance pool or an external insurance policy can cover those costs.