By: Laura Lane
The building, which was being used as a temporary home for the library while a new structure is built just to the north on Merrick Avenue, had closed as usual at 5 p.m. At 10:15 p.m., the Merrick Fire Department received an automatic alert that the library wing was on fire. When volunteers arrived, flames were pouring out of the rear and sides of the building.
"We call this a heavy fire because we could see flames, and the windows had been blown out," said Alan Lapp, the Merrick Fire Department's public information officer. "Many times we just see a lot of smoke."
Under the direction of the Merrick department's chief, William Gies, 50 firefighters in 12 trucks responded to the blaze. The Bellmore and Freeport fire departments and Bellmore-Merrick EMS provided mutual aid.
No one was in the building when the fire broke out. One Bellmore firefighter suffered from heat exhaustion and was taken to the hospital. Lapp said the volunteer was released that evening.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in 10 minutes, but volunteers remained at the fire site until 12:30 a.m. to put out any remaining pockets of fire.
Library Director Ellen Firer said the fire was devastating. "One room was gutted, and there is considerable structural damage," she said. "The computers were damaged, and all of the reference section and most of the children's section too were destroyed."
Firer hopes the community will assist the library in finding a new temporary location. It will take at least six months to reopen the library wing. "We still have to work out, physically, shelf by shelf, to see what is lost," she said. "It takes the staff a long time to put these collections together. It really has a life of its own. To see it disappear is very upsetting."
Because the temporary library had been heavily used this past year, Firer has already called other local libraries to work out an agreement under which Merrick Library patrons can reserve books. A plan had not been worked out at press time, but Firer believed it would be forthcoming. "We had tremendous use here and such community support," she said. "And we had a very high circulation, too. It was only this week that someone mentioned how impressed they were that we got so much into the temporary location and how happy they were that we had so much to offer."
The Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire, which is not believed to be suspicious.
Firer suggested that patrons go to the library's Web site, www.nassaulibrary.org/merrick, for more information. Library books can be returned at the railroad station office, 2151 Sunrise Highway, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday, and Monday to Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. Anyone who can provide a temporary location can contact Firer at (516) 965-4504, or e-mail her at merricklibrary@yahoo.com.
Firer asks that patrons refrain from making online requests for materials over the next two weeks. New library cards may be applied for at the railroad office, and will be mailed to patrons' homes.
Registration for Storytime sessions will be forthcoming. Storytime will be held at Congregation Ohav Sholom.
