A faulty air conditioner filled the Jefferson College Library with smoke Sunday morning (Aug. 31), said Assistant Chief Brian Gaudet of the Hillsboro Fire Protection District.
No one was in the building and the college was closed when the smoke was discovered, Jefferson College spokesman Roger Barrentine said.
Books and other library materials were not damaged by the smoke, he added.
“At this point there has been no damage to the books or facility itself and we haven’t lost any library hours,” Barrentine said.
A Jefferson College police officer discovered the smoke at about 8:15 a.m. while checking the building and called 911, Gaudet said.
When Hillsboro firefighters responded, they found heavy black smoke in the building, he said.
“When we arrived, we found heavy smoke in the library and even heavier smoke on the second floor with some smoke in the basement,” Gaudet said. “With the help of the onsite maintenance crew, we quickly determined the cause of the smoke was a burnt belt and bearings in the air conditioning unit.”
Firefighters ventilated the building with fans, and the college called a service to help with the cleanup, he said.
“Even before we left the scene, they had a restoration company in route,” Gaudet said.
Barrentine said it was lucky the college was closed when the incident occurred.
“That was the good thing in all of this,” he said. “If there was any time that this was going to happen, this was the best time. There were no people in the building and the building was locked because the college was closed for the holiday.”
The college is using portable air-conditioning units to keep the library cool until the damaged air conditioning is repaired, Barrentine said.