The Lander Library continues to “dry out” after a commercial sized water heater malfunctioned and flooded its basement Thursday, June 28th.
Library Director, Janette McMahon spoke briefly at Tuesday’s Fremont County Commissioners meeting in Lander to give the public and commissioners an update on the facility.
We had a hot water heater malfunction and provided quite a bit of water downstairs. The water did not hit any of the water bugs, so it did not provide the shutoff it should have. We had water in our server room, it did quite a bit of damage to walls, ceilings, and the lower bathrooms.
McMahon credited her staff for quickly acting and preventing things from getting much worse. She thought that the flooding likely started just a few minutes before her staff arrived and found it on the 28th.
I think we did a good job of working together and getting it maintained. The staff did a beautiful job.
The library contacted Upright Construction to assist with water removal and the overall “drying” process.
McMahon said the downstairs men’s room is the current area of emphasis and says it’s “having trouble drying out” but they are “fairly confident by the end of the week it should be dry.” She also noted that there was quite a bit of flooring damage in the periodical section and under the downstairs bathrooms.
The library is looking into bids to fix the damage, and switching to a tankless water heater in the future.