By Dylan Pichnarcik News Editor A fire in the Henry Whittemore Library on Oct. 9 caused $9,488 in damages, according to Millie Gonzalez, library dean. Gonzalez said that up to 50 books were singed or damaged. Eight books were damaged beyond repair. After consulting with her colleagues at other libraries, Gonzalez contracted with BELFOR, a disaster restoration company, to clean the damaged books and remove the smell of smoke from the lower mezzanine level. According to the BELFOR website, their mission is to “deliver proactive support and turnkey solutions for clients across all industries.” Gonzalez said a technician from BELFOR came to the library during the week of Oct. 14 to assess the damages. She said, “[The technician] noticed things that I didn’t notice. A couple of things he pointed out were several books that were damaged and that were singed. “There was also smoke in the air that he could smell, and there’s also smoke that’s permeating the books. Then when they sprayed the fire extinguisher, that chemical was throughout the whole area.” Gonzalez said Facilities staff completed an initial cleanup of the affected area following the incident. According to Gonzalez, the money to pay for the repairs and cleanup will come from the Facilities Office's annual budget. On Oct. 22, BELFOR returned to the library to begin “cleaning the air, just to really remove any smoke residue, and then you’ll have cleaners that will essentially take out all the books and clean them individually,” said Gonzalez. BELFOR completed the clean up on Oct. 23 and the area is ready to be used, according to Gonzalez. She said the books which were damaged beyond repair were discarded and the acquisitions librarian will evaluate if they should replace the specific titles. She said some of the books damaged beyond repair included a portion of the library’s print indexes which librarians “were going to remove anyway. They were covered in the spray so we just took advantage of the situation” and discarded the indexes. She said during her 18-year tenure at Framingham State, she has not seen a fire in the library. At the time of the fire, Gonzalez said she was in her office and initially thought “it was just another regular fire alarm due to someone vaping in the stalls.” Gonzalez said during the evacuation, she noticed “there was a distinct heavy odor.” She said once she was out of the library, she “knew it was something a bit more serious when, number one, the smoke, but they were telling us to move away from the entrance. “That’s when I heard University Police talking about there being a fire.” Gonzalez said, “We were very lucky because I mentioned there were some books that were singed and the fact that none of them caught fire … was significant because I think it could have been a whole lot more serious. “I just thank God that the students who were in the classroom were able to leave and it wasn’t something more serious.” According to a fire report from Framingham Fire Department (FFD) filed on Oct. 9 and written by Lieutenant Luke Moro, FFD arrived at Framingham State at 12:05 p.m. Moro’s report said the Engine One company found an electrical odor as soon as they entered the building. According to the report, the Engine One Company proceeded to the lower mezzanine where they found Officer Aric Emond of the Framingham State University Police Department (FSUPD) with a “dry chem[ical] extinguisher. He reported that he found a ceiling-mounted fluorescent light on fire and put it out with the extinguisher.” Moro’s report said the responding officers “found no visible fire, but there was charring on the ceiling, melted plastic on the bookshelf below the light fixture, and a light smoke condition.” According to Moro’s report, additional FFD fire companies used fans to ventilate the building. The companies used meters to confirm the building was safe to occupy, according to the report. According to a report filed with the FSUPD on Oct. 9, written by Emond, FSUPD dispatchers notified Meg Nowak Borrego, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, about the fire at 12:12 p.m. Nowak Borrego sent a notification about the fire via email to the campus community at 12:34 p.m. According to Emond’s report, the library was cleared for occupancy at 12:40 p.m. FFD left campus at 12:43 p.m. 38 minutes after their arrival. Kirsten Hoey, campus visit experience manager in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, said a regularly scheduled tour was set to depart during the time the library was closed. “Normally as a part of the tour route, we go into the library, but with the fire, we had to take an alternate route. We still wanted to mention the library and the services they provide.” Hoey added before the tour departed, she instructed the tour guides to “go out and get a scope of the situation and see what was going on in that area. So we didn’t interrupt things. “We just planned accordingly and took an alternate route while still discussing the library.” Senior Gabriella Florio, a circulation desk attendant, said since the fire, the library has been “a bit unorganized because when books are placed on hold that were in that section, we couldn’t fulfill the hold, and we couldn’t cancel the hold, either. She added, “The same thing happened for the books that were checked back in from that section. We couldn’t put them back, so we just had books accruing.” Junior Lauren Martinek expressed concern about fire safety on campus “considering it’s the second fire” this semester. Martinek said they were surprised to see “a video of people laughing at the fire instead of calling the police.” Junior Zen Crosby said it was “sad” books were lost in the fire, but added the response from the University “makes me feel like this institution is a well-oiled machine and gets things done when they want to.”