NEWPORT — The Goodrich Memorial Library will be closed for the next two weeks after the furnace began blowing sooty smoke inside the building last week.
The incident happened on December 30, when the building’s furnace failed, causing smoke to fill throughout the whole two-story building. The smoke caused alarms to go off, and the Newport City Fire Department were quick to respond.
Firefighters worked to clear the air by bringing in large fan units.
Although the furnace has since been fixed and a replacement part is on the way, the damage the smoke left behind is going to take a while to clean up.
The soot from the smoke has left a film on just about everything, from books and walls, to a collection of stuffed birds on the second floor of the historic building that were a gift to the library in the 1920s.
The library is currently being washed room by room by Restoration Unlimited, a carpet cleaning company in Newport.
Library events, such as the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays series, have been moved to the Gateway Center.
At this time it is unknown what the total cost of the damages are. The library will remain closed until the cleanup is complete.
