By Kristen Taufer
An electrical shortage in the Harold B. Lee Library caused a power outage and triggered an alarm the morning of Friday November 9.
The library was evacuated between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m. after an electrical breaker began smoking, said Cali O”Connell, a manager at the library.
No one was in danger and the evacuation went smoothly, O”Connell said.
The short occurred during a routine pipe check on one of the upper floors when water leaked to an electrical panel on the first floor creating a short, said Carri Jenkins, assistant to the president for University Communications.
No apparent damage was done to the electrical panel, said Fred Nelson, the safety director of Risk Management at BYU.
“There was some sort of explosion,” said Ruben Urias, 25, a senior from Buena Park, Calif. majoring in history. “Then all the lights went off.”
The new section of the library will open at one, and the old section has not been scheduled for opening, O”Connell said.
The library staff is working on a plan to retrieve students” belongings, said Adam Ash, a library security guard.
