Campus Alert Archive
K-State

The Roof Fire That Soaked Five Floors: Hale Library's 85% Loss

KSfireemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

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 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, launching a multi-year recovery.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Kansas State University
Public R1 · KS
K-State Alerts
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction184 chars
K-State Alert: Fire reported at Hale Library. Evacuate the building immediately and move to a safe distance. Avoid the area. Emergency crews are responding. More information to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The fire started shortly after 4 p.m. CDT on May 22, 2018 on the roof of the historic 1927 portion of the 550,000-square-foot Hale Library; alarms sounded and the building was evacuated.
Manhattan Fire Department, Riley County EMS, Fort Riley, and Blue Township crews responded; the building was emptied safely with no injuries.
Exact K-State Alert wording and send time were not published, so this is an honest reconstruction tied to the reported afternoon timeline.
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction280 chars
K-State update: The fire at Hale Library was contained to the roof, but smoke and firefighting water have caused extensive damage throughout the building. Hale Library is closed until further notice. Some university online systems are temporarily down. Stay clear of the building.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Although the fire stayed on the roof, several hundred thousand gallons of water flowed through the building, damaging all five floors of the old section.
The incident forced K-State to bring down some online systems for several hours that night, an unusual secondary impact captured in this update.
This is an update, not an all-clear: it confirmed the fire was contained but kept the building closed indefinitely.
Context

Background

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 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 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 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.
Analysis

Key Findings

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
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.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    After the Hale Library Fire: What's past is prologue - K-State Libraries Hale Library Blog
    blogs.k-state.edu
  2. Source
    When Disaster Strikes - American Libraries Magazine
    americanlibrariesmagazine.org
  3. News
    Fire leaves extensive smoke, water damage at K-State's Hale Library - WIBW
    wibw.com
  4. Official
    One year after devastating fire, Hale Library renovation is underway - Kansas State University
    k-state.edu
Tags
fireemergency-notificationkansashale-libraryevacuationhistoriclibrary-disasterwater-damage
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion