The fire, which ripped through the library Friday evening, destroyed 2,000 square meters (about 2,400 square yards) of the building and caused part of the roof to collapse, according to an official statement. The Russian emergency situations ministry said the fire was particularly hard to put out because of the high temperatures, narrow passageways and the risk of the building falling down.
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A source at Moscow’s Interior Ministry told the Russian news agency Tass that the fire spread so quickly because it was not reported quickly enough. No one was in the building but guards at the time of the fire.
