Mailing List:2000-03-04 01, Fire Harms National Archives Files, by Pat C. Johns
Mailing List Archives > 2000-03-04 01, Fire Harms National Archives Files, by Pat C. Johns
From: <PACJ1945 -at- aol.com> Subject: [WHITNEY-L] Fire Harms National Archives Files Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2000 14:15:46 EST Please forgive the duplicate sending of this notice, if you are a member of several lists you will receive this several times. This is of importance to anyone doing genealogy research and could affect all of us who use these records or may need them in the future. Government Front Page News Source: Associated Press Published: 3/3/00 Author: DEB RIECHMANN For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Archivists are using hot air and blotting paper to salvage hundreds of thousands of pages of government records damaged in a fire at a National Archives storage center just outside Washington. Among them were veterans' records and papers connected to a lawsuit over mismanagement of American Indians' money. The fire occurred Tuesday at the Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Md., which stores more than 3.7 million cubic feet of records. Archives officials said 3,000 cubic feet of records were stored in areas where sprinklers activated, but fewer than 300 cubic feet -- approximately 700,000 pages -- were actually damaged or destroyed. The bulk of the records were from the Department of Veterans Affairs. These are inactive files of deceased veterans who previously made claims for benefits, said Robert Knode, records officer for the veterans benefits administration. Sometimes we recall these files when somebody wants a copy for genealogical or other purposes, but there should be only a minimal effect. Another 60 boxes of damaged records were involved in a lawsuit over brought by American Indians charging government mismanagement of a $500 million system of trust accounts for American Indians. The water damage to those records was just the latest problem with documents in the case; other Indian trust records have been inadvertently shredded or found dumped in a trash-strewn shed on a North Dakota reservation. Also damaged were records were from District of Columbia government offices, the Labor Department's Hour and Wage Division and the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. The patent and trademark records were scheduled for disposal. We regret the loss of a single page, but we're not sure yet what the loss is, said Gerald George, communications director for the archives. We have some record damage and we regret that, but on the other hand, our fire system contained the fire so that it didn't do widespread damage. Conservation work is under way. Warm, dry air is being blown into the storage stacks and blotting paper is being used to extract moisture from pages, said Susan Cooper, a spokeswoman for the archives. Drying chambers have been set up and refrigerated trucks are being used to store records that are very wet. They keep the records cold to prevent mildew from forming on them, she said.
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