California firefighter killed, another missing battling library fire
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One firefighter was killed and another missing Tuesday evening after a fire broke out at a public library in Porterville, Calif., north of Bakersfield.
The firefighter has not yet been identified, pending notification of family, KSEE-TV in Fresno reported.
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“We also have one additional firefighter who is currently unaccounted for at this time,” Tulare County Fire Chief Charlie Norman said. “We’re working through suppression, and when it’s safe to operate, we will get back in the building and hopefully find that firefighter in very short order.”
Dozens of firefighters from the Porterville Fire Department, Cal Fire and Fresno County Fire reported to the blaze just after 4 p.m.
Officials didn’t say whether anyone was in the library when it started, but the building usually closes at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays.
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“It’s heart-wrenching,” Tameran Anzivino, who works at the library, told KSEE. “It’s sad, this is the beloved Porterville city library. It’s the hub of the city and its heartbreaking to see it go down like this.”
The library was built in 1953 and doesn’t have a sprinkler system.
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The cause of the fire is under investigation.