{ "id": "2018-05-22-kansas-state-university-hale-library-fire", "slug": "kansas-state-university-hale-library-fire-2018-05-22", "institution": { "name": "Kansas State University", "shortName": "K-State", "state": "KS", "type": "public-r1", "alertSystemName": "K-State Alerts" }, "incident": { "date": "2018-05-22", "type": "fire", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "headline": "Roof fire at Hale Library forces evacuation; water and smoke damaged 85% of building", "headlinePublic": "Roof fire at Hale Library forces evacuation; water and smoke damaged 85% of building", "summary": "Shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, a fire broke out on the roof of the historic 1927 section of Kansas State University's [Hale Library](https://blogs.k-state.edu/hale/2018/06/19/the-hale-library-fire/) in Manhattan, Kansas. Alarms sounded, employees reported smoke, and the 550,000-square-foot building was safely evacuated. Though the fire was confined to the roof, [hundreds of thousands of gallons of firefighting water and pervasive smoke damaged all five floors of the old section and about 85% of the library](https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/12/09/when-disaster-strikes-library-fire/), launching a multi-year recovery.", "outcome": "No injuries were reported. The accidental roof fire caused extensive smoke and water damage to roughly 85% of the library; every volume needed cleaning for smoke. Hale Library underwent a roughly three-year renovation, reopening floors in 2021.", "resolution": "confirmed-threat" }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestampApprox": "Shortly after 4:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, May 22, 2018", "channel": "sms", "verbatimText": "Fire crews have responded to a call at Hale Library. Smoke was reported and the building has been evacuated.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://www.kstatecollegian.com/2018/05/22/hale-library-evacuated-closed-due-to-afternoon-fire/", "sourceDescription": "The Collegian (K-State student newspaper), quoting the K-State Alerts notification", "annotations": [ "The Collegian reported K-State Alerts sent this notification at 4:45 p.m. CDT on May 22, 2018, about 45 minutes after smoke was first reported on the roof of the historic 1927 portion of the 550,000-square-foot library.", "The same two-sentence text was carried across local outlets including KSAL and The Mercury, consistent with a single short official alert message.", "Notably, the message reports the evacuation as already complete rather than instructing recipients to evacuate. Fire alarms inside the building had already emptied it." ], "characterCount": 108 } ], "context": "Hale Library is the central library of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas (Central Time). On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, an [accidental fire started on the roof of the historic 1927 section](https://blogs.k-state.edu/hale/2018/06/19/the-hale-library-fire/) of the 550,000-square-foot building shortly after 4 p.m. The building was evacuated safely, and the Manhattan Fire Department and mutual-aid crews contained the fire to the roof. But, as [American Libraries Magazine](https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/12/09/when-disaster-strikes-library-fire/) detailed, hundreds of thousands of gallons of firefighting water and pervasive smoke damaged all five floors of the old section and roughly 85% of the library; every book in the collection needed cleaning for smoke inhalation. [WIBW](https://www.wibw.com/content/news/3-alarm-fire-reported-at-K-States-Hale-Library-483387271.html) reported the three-alarm response, and K-State relocated 87 Libraries staff, 38 IT staff, and others into 13 temporary locations. Volumes were shipped to recovery centers in Manhattan, Kansas City, and Fort Worth; the library underwent a roughly three-year renovation, with floors reopening in 2021. It stands as one of the most significant academic-library disasters in recent U.S. history and a vivid example of a fire-evacuation emergency notification.", "keyFindings": [ "An accidental roof fire at K-State's Hale Library began shortly after 4 p.m. CDT on May 22, 2018, prompting a safe evacuation with no injuries", "Though contained to the roof, firefighting water and smoke damaged all five floors of the historic section and about 85% of the library", "Every volume in the collection required smoke remediation; books were shipped to recovery centers in three cities", "The fire forced some K-State online systems offline that night and launched a roughly three-year, multi-location recovery" ], "sources": [ { "title": "After the Hale Library Fire: What's past is prologue - K-State Libraries Hale Library Blog", "url": "https://blogs.k-state.edu/hale/2018/06/19/the-hale-library-fire/", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "When Disaster Strikes - American Libraries Magazine", "url": "https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/12/09/when-disaster-strikes-library-fire/", "type": "other" }, { "title": "Fire leaves extensive smoke, water damage at K-State's Hale Library - WIBW", "url": "https://www.wibw.com/content/news/3-alarm-fire-reported-at-K-States-Hale-Library-483387271.html", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "One year after devastating fire, Hale Library renovation is underway - Kansas State University", "url": "https://www.k-state.edu/news/newsreleases/2019-05/haleupdate52019.html", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Hale Library closed, university services down due to fire - The Collegian", "url": "https://www.kstatecollegian.com/2018/05/22/hale-library-evacuated-closed-due-to-afternoon-fire/", "type": "student-newspaper" } ], "confidence": "medium", "tags": [ "fire", "emergency-notification", "kansas", "hale-library", "evacuation", "historic", "library-disaster", "water-damage" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-28", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-17", "addedBy": "ingestion" }