Library Flooded by Burst Pipe

will be closed indefinitely as town officials attempt to wade through the water damage caused by a pipe that burst at some point either Sunday or Monday in the building's small kitchen area.

Little damage was done to the library's book collection, although North Hampton Fire Chief Dennis Cote said "probably about 85 percent of the flooring was completed soaked" by the pipe, which was discovered by the library's cleaning crew around 8:25 p.m. Monday.

Cote said it's unknown exactly when or why the pipe burst, as the library is closed on Sundays and was closed on Monday due to , although he said it was apparent that the water had been running for a while due to the volume of water saturating the carpeting and padding in most of the building.

"It probably broke some time [Monday] morning or afternoon gaging the amount of water in the building," he said. "In some areas there was probably two inches of water in a couple of the rooms. Most of the carpeting and padding is going to have to be removed or dried thoroughly."

Crews from Servpro are currently in the library working to remove all the water, and the town is in the process of getting insurance adjusters down to fully assess the damage, which Cote said also includes several computer CPUs and ceiling tiles but not the majority of the reading materials in the library.

Town Administrator Steve Fournier said the full extent of the damage and whether everything will be covered by insurance is unknown. He also said it's unknown how long the library will be closed because officials are "still assessing that."

"It could be a couple of days to a week," said Fournier. "We're not exactly sure yet."

It's unclear whether the library will attempt to conduct its business in a different town building during the cleanup, as Fournier said the town and library is "still trying to assess what we can and can't do."

Library officials are reportedly inside the closed building today assisting with damage assessment and cleanup, although they couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Cote said the cleaning crew "immediately" came over Monday night to the , which is two doors down from the library on Atlantic Avenue, when they noticed the burst pipe in the kitchenette.

The fire department was on scene Monday night for roughly an hour to help Servpro remove the water using squeegees and wet/dry vacuums, he said.

Stay tuned for additional information, as well as pictures from inside the library.