Eisenhower Library in Harwood Heights flooded after pipe burst.

Mark Braun, in green at left, and Elizabeth Ringelstein, both trustees of the Eisenhower Public Library in Harwood Heights, and Ross Sidor, an employee, clean up after a sprinkler and pipe burst and caused flooding. Courtesy of Eisenhower Library.

The Eisenhower Public Library in Harwood Heights experienced flooding after a sprinkler and pipe burst on Tuesday evening, Jan. 16. Image courtesy of Eisenhower Library.

Eisenhower Public Library in Harwood Heights reopened its adult reference section Saturday after a sprinkler pipe exploded and flooded parts of the library 40 minutes before closing on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 16.

“We were still open,” said Julie Stam, spokeswoman for the library. “One of the sprinklers gave way. It flooded our Answers workroom and seeped into the public area, marketing office and head of references office.”

The library was closed on Jan. 17, but reopened partially the next day with the adult references department still closed, Stam said.

The pipe burst and leaked slightly at 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, but within minutes water started pouring out, she said.

“All of a sudden there was something wrong in the sprinkler system,” Stam said. “The pipe burst at the sprinkler head. The sprinkler system caused the water to damage the Answers workroom and cause flooding.”

After the initial leak, Tiffany Lewis-Arima, head of children’s services for the library, called security, Stam said. After the pipe began spraying water, the library’s fire alarm activated and the fire department arrived within minutes, she said.

“They were able to get the water shut off, but there was quite a bit of water in the library at that time,” Stam said of firefighters.

Lewis-Arima immediately evacuated patrons who were still using the library, Stam said.

“It was crazy,” she said. “Myself and a few others came. A couple of library trustees came. We were here until about 11 p.m. to try to get cardboard boxes off the floor and move things out of the way.”

Library officials found as many wet/dry vacuum cleaners as possible and began vacuuming the water, Stam said.

“ServiceMaster were here pretty quick,” she said. “They took over vacuuming up the rest of the water from the carpet and set up fans and dehumidifiers.”

Stam said she was not certain how many patrons were using the library at the time of the incident, but Lewis-Arima “did a great job of getting them out of the library.”

“She definitely did a good job,” Stam said. “She called the director. The director and head of security were on their way here when it went from a trickle to a deluge of water.”

The Answers workroom houses the adult reference department, where all adult materials are stored and reference materials are requested, she said. Many of the staff’s desks are located behind that area, Stam said.

“Right now that space is not usable,” she said Friday. “(The adult reference department) is set up in the teen space as a temporary work room.”

The water, which had not flowed from the pipes since the system was installed many years ago, initially came down over one desk, Stam said.

“It was not pristine, clear water,” she said. “It happened to be over one desk. We put a tarp over it. Once (the pipe) gave way, it was that desk and the desks surrounding it.”

Stam said Friday the library was still waiting on an insurance adjuster for an estimate of the cost of the damages.

“A few things were damaged,” she said. “Overall, the collection is fine because it did not happen in a public area where all the books are shelved.”