Smoke Forces Library To Close

A burned out furnace motor forced the evacuation of more than 100 people from a Spokane County Library branch Tuesday.

Employees said they smelled smoke for about 10 minutes before the library’s fire alarm went off at 4:55 p.m.

“We had a lot of people in there and everybody just got out,” said Ellen Miller, who manages the library at 44 E. Hawthorne Road in north Spokane. “We weren’t sure what the situation was.”

Fire crews spent nearly an hour trying to find the source of the smoke, while employees sipped hot chocolate in the parking lot. Customers returning books to the library dropped them on a metal cart outside.

The smoke was cleared from the building shortly after 6 p.m. and the library reopened.