In the year since the serious fire in the basement of Zimmerman Library, large portions of the building have been reopened to the public. The entire 257,000 square foot building has been cleaned and the first floor just above the fire scene has been redesigned, rebuilt and once again enjoys intensive use by students.
“I think this fire raised the level of awareness for life safety issues on campus,” said Acting UNM President David Harris.
Financial cost of the fire and repair of the damage to Zimmerman and its contents will total nearly $17 million. Investigation into the origin of the fire, which has been termed suspicious by the State Fire Marshal, is still underway.
The fire burned more than 13 racks of bound journals, some of them quite rare, and caused smoke and soot damage throughout the library. The cost of removing the burned book racks, carpet and ceiling tile, sending the damaged books for cleaning and repair in Texas, and storing books and furniture while the basement is redesigned and rebuilt will be about $5.5 million.
Replacing the burned and damaged books and journals will cost about $4.5 million. Complete replacement will not be possible, and in some cases journals will be replaced digitally rather than in printed form.
The cost of redesign and reconstruction of the basement will be about $6.5 million. This includes installing a sprinkler system on the first floor and basement levels, and rebuilding the fire alarm system. The price tag also includes replacing carpet, furniture and bookshelves.
In addition, and not included in the fire total, the university has agreed to a complete installation of a fire suppression system in the west wing, tower, and second and third floor areas of the library at an estimated cost of $1.2 million. Those areas were built before fire suppression systems were required by building codes and were not damaged in the fire.
Reconstruction of the basement is expected to begin in June 2007. University Libraries hopes to reopen the basement in time for the spring semester 2008.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu