Basement fire at British Library

Date: 2003-07-23, Publication: The Guardian

A fire broke out last night at the British Library, home to billions of pounds' worth of irreplaceable books and manuscripts, it was confirmed today.

An electrical fault is thought to have sparked the small blaze in a basement maintenance plant area at the new library building in St Pancras, London, at about 11.30pm last night.

A contractor was taken to hospital after suffering an electrical shock, although his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The London Fire Brigade said the fire was out before firefighters arrived, and the library insisted there was no danger to any of the treasures.

The Magna Carta, Lindisfarne gospels and Diamond Sutra - one of the oldest Oriental manuscript texts - are included in the most valuable collection of its kind in the world.

A library spokesman said: "The fire occurred in the plant area so no books or valuable collection items have been damaged although there is a lot of smoke in the area.

"Procedures have been put in operation to ensure that there is no risk of fire spreading to any other area. There is no danger to the collection. The most valuable collection items are kept in special storage areas. It is unlikely smoke could have caused any damage to those areas."

The new British Library building in Euston has been open for five years. It has six storeys above ground and eight below.

Back to Articles