BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Many people might not know this, but at Beale Memorial Library in downtown Bakersfield, there is a room where important historical documents pertaining to Kern County, like old school yearbooks, newspapers, and photographs.
Library employees, including marketing and promotions associate for Kern County Libraries Fahra Daredia, call it "the vault."
"The vault is really such an interesting space to be in. It's where we house one-of-a-kind documents, to anywhere from photographs to maps, to local history items," said Daredia. "Pretty much anything you couldn't find in Kern County."
There had been some concerns raised about how well protected from fire those irreplaceable documents are, and now, thanks to a new non-flammable gas fire suppression system at the library, those pieces of Kern County history will be better protected.
According to Daredia, the system needed to be replaced after an issue was discovered in the tanks for the previous fire suppression system.
"They had a leak in them, and that's not going to help us if there is a fire in the building, so these new tanks they have put in, it's a whole new system, so there's no leaks in the tank or anything lie that, and it will make sure to contain the fire," said Daredia.
The new fire extinguisher system is estimated to cost around $115,000 dollars, which will be provided by the county.
Steven Kouklas, a fire alarm technician for Siemens, explains how the new system will work.
"It can either go off from the smoke detectors, and it takes two smoke detectors to trigger the system, or a manual pull station," said Kouklas.
Once the detectors are triggered, the fire extinguisher system then releases a non-flammable gas to smother the fire.
Daredia says that it was crucial to have the new system in order to protect Kern County's historical documents.
"These are some of our local histories that we don't want to lose here in Kern County, and so it's super important for us to preserve these items," said Daredia.
The new fire suppression system is expected to be fully installed and operational by the end of January. Once the system is in place, the room will be reopened to the public on weekday afternoons from 1:00 to 5:00.
