Internet Archive California Office Damaged by Fire

Nov. 7, 2013
The Internet Archive office in San Francisco, and an adjacent apartment complex, were damaged by fire that spread quickly.

Nov. 07--SAN FRANCISCO -- The office of the nonprofit Internet Archive in San Francisco's Richmond District caught fire early Wednesday, destroying equipment and damaging several apartments next door.

The blaze began about 3:45 a.m. in the single-story Clement Street office, between 12th and Funston avenues, and spread to an adjacent three-story complex, firefighters said.

About eight residents of the next-door building were evacuated, but no injuries were reported. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 5 a.m.

The Internet Archive, which hosts the website archive.org, is an online library that provides users free access to a collection of digital books, videos, music and old websites. The site has 3 million daily users.

About 10 people work at the Clement Street office, one of 30 offices nationwide, digitizing books and other material. The fire is not believed to have caused major disruption to the website. No data were stored at the San Francisco site.

""Luckily, we're not aware of the loss of any collections," said Brewster Kahle, the nonprofit's digital librarian.

The fire is believed to have started when a scanner sparked, Kahle said.

The cost of the damages is not yet known. Red Cross officials are providing help to the displaced residents.

"It's going to be really expensive to rebuild, but it's really important to the Internet landscape," Kahle said.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected]. Twitter: @kurtisalexander

Copyright 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

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