Norwich library fire remembered 30 years on

On 1 August 1994, a huge fire damaged Norwich’s Central Library.

It destroyed thousands of historical documents and more than 100,000 books with 150 firefighters tackling the blaze at its height, and smoke seen 20 miles away.

The shock and deep sense of social and cultural loss to the city was widespread.

Speaking to the BBC as he watched on helplessly, the then-head of Norfolk’s library service Hilary Hammond said that it would "take centuries to reconstruct" the precious collections of historic books and documents.

The fire, which started at about 07:15 BST, is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault

But it was only seven years before a replacement library was opened in its place, at The Forum – a new building constructed on the site of the old one.

The fire, which started at about 07:15 BST, is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

The flames quickly spread and BBC Radio Norfolk reporter Matthew Gudgin was sent in the station’s radio car to broadcast live from the scene.

"We’ve got a huge pall of black smoke over the Norwich city centre," he told listeners. "It’s a terrible situation here."

But the fire made an impact much further afield than Norwich or even Norfolk.

Thousands of books were rescued but many were destroyed

BBC Radio 4’s World at One and PM programmes reported on the blaze, as did television’s Six O’Clock News.

"If you’d said that there’d been a major fire in the National Gallery, it’s the same for Norfolk," Hilary Hammond explained.

There was an international aspect, too. When the library had been opened in the early 1960s, an important element had been the United States 2nd Air Division Memorial Room.

This was funded by donations from some of the thousands of American service personnel who had been stationed in Norfolk during World War Two, and housed books about the unit, American culture and history, as well as the division’s roll of honour.

The Forum, designed by Sir Michael Hopkins, is built on the site of the old Norwich Central Library and houses the new Millennium Library

Like the lending, children’s and reference libraries it was completely destroyed, and had to be assembled again from scratch. But this was achieved, and it exists today as the American Library at The Forum.

Some of the other losses were not as bad as first feared, and many of the irreplaceable ancient documents stored in the library’s basement survived the fire.

A large number of precious books were removed while the fire was still being fought, although most had to be specially treated afterwards not just because of exposure to the flames and smoke, but due to water damage from the fire hoses.

One collection which had to be entirely rebuilt was the local studies section, and here the people of Norfolk stepped in to assist.

Some 150 firefighters tackled the blaze at its height with many also rescuing ancient documents

BBC Radio Norfolk ran The Great Norfolk Book Hunt, with librarians coming on-air to appeal for copies of specific rare volumes.

Journalist Jill Bennett, who was part of the radio station’s management team at the time, said: "I asked them to give me a list of the 25 books they most wanted to replace in the hope that someone in Norfolk had them perhaps on a bookshelf or in the attic.

"And by about three o’clock on the first day we’d got all but one."

The impact of the loss was felt most keenly by those who had used the library to simply borrow books, who for seven years had to use branch libraries and a temporary facility in the city.

In November 2001, the new Millennium Library opened, ahead of an official opening by Queen Elizabeth II the following summer. Ever since it has consistently been one of the most-used libraries in the country.

On the evening of the fire, journalist Melissa Jackson ended her report on it for BBC Look East by telling viewers that "the events of the 1 August 1994 will go down in the library records as another chapter in the history of this city."

It is certainly true that the event is a major cultural touchstone for Norwich – still vivid in the memory for almost everyone who was living there at the time.

The fire is still remembered by those living in Norwich at the time