The Mission Library on Second Avenue is closed indefinitely due to flooding after a pipe burst on the weekend (Dec. 23-25).
The library was closed on Friday and Saturday, so City of Mission staff checked the location to make sure everything was good in the aftermath of the inclement weather. However, they found a water pipe had burst.
“It made a bit of a mess,” library manager Deborah Kendze said. “I’m not sure of the measurement, but when you walk, it splashed.”
No books, computers or other library materials were ruined. However, the building itself suffered some damage, primarily to the east side of the library. The water impacted the meeting room, staff room and library work room with damages to carpets, furniture, walls, and baseboards.
“It was a tiny little piece of the pipe that blew out even though it was double insulated,” Kendze said. “It’s very strange and it shouldn’t have [happened].”
The library will be closed for the rest of the week but the branch is working with the restoration company and the city to determine when it can reopen.
“It’s going to have an impact on the community because there’s not a lot of places where [people] can access computers or printers,” Kendze said. “It’s a free environment where somebody can come in even if they wanted to stay warm or that kind of thing.”
The public can keep an eye on the city’s website and the Fraser Valley Regional Library website to keep up with closure updates. There is signage on the doors as well.
“We have no opening date, because we just we just don’t know yet,” Kendze said.
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dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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