1 Firefighter Killed, 1 Missing In Blaze At Tulare County Library

PORTERVILLE (AP) — A firefighter was killed and another went missing Tuesday while battling a fire at a Central California library, officials said.

The blaze was reported at about 4:15 p.m. at the Porterville Public library in Porterville, north of Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley, fire officials said.

Staff called 911 when they noticed flames in the children's section of the library, which has about 77,000 books, city librarian Vikki Cervantes told the Visalia Times Delta.

Flames shot through the roof of the library, which is located about a block from the local Fire Department.

The 1953 building was deemed historic by the building and there were no sprinklers inside, the Times-Delta reported.

More than 50 state, county and city crews continued to battle the stubborn blaze hours later.

A Porterville city firefighter was killed and a second was missing, Tulare County Fire Cpt. Joanne Bear told the Fresno Bee.

There was no immediate word on how the firefighter died or what caused the fire.

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