FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On Sunday night, the Fayetteville Public Library suffered from a rooftop fire. The culprit? The Fayetteville fire marshal says it was an ember from a smudge pot left on outdoor rocks used by the volunteer library beekeeper.
Executive Director David Johnson says what could have been a complete nightmare has resolved quickly with the help of a strong team and community members.
"They don't teach you how to do this in a library school," Johnson said.
Johnson has worked for the Fayetteville Public Library for over 12 years. He says this was the first time he's experienced a disaster, but he adds that uncertainty quickly turned to confidence with the help of the community.
"I can't say enough about our police and fire departments. Everyone in this community should rest assured that they are top notch professionals, and they reflect the leadership of both of those organizations," Johnson said.
Fire crews were able to contain the fire after about two hours. While there was no water damage from sprinklers, the thick smoke caused problems.
"When we came in here, the smoke was thick," Johnson explained. "That admin office, the smoke was so thick that you couldn't really see into it at all."
He adds the biggest challenge will be getting rid of the lingering scent of smoke and removing all the soot off surfaces.
For the scent, that means removing all flooring, ceilings, and using high power machines to cleanse the air.
As for the soot, to Johnson's surprise, volunteers have helped staff clean faster than expected.
"We've had volunteers come in. We're going the full mile to make sure every item gets sanitized. So we're cleaning it all."
Johnson says the staff and community volunteers' eagerness to help all boils down to one reason: "Everybody loves their library, and they want it back open. You know, they want to be able to come back in."
The library says they are expecting repairs to cost upwards of around $250,000 dollars.
Johnson says they hope to have all repairs completed in the next month and the full library back open to the public by next Monday.
To read 5NEWS' original report on the incident and see pictures from the scene that night, click here.
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