Officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hope the fire that destroyed most of a Nampa meetinghouse spared the contents of the genealogical library.
Nampa firemen were called to the building near downtown about 12:30 p.m., Thursday. Fire Chief Doug Rosin said it's believed the fire started as a construction crew used blowtorches to soften tarpaper for a roofing job.There were no injuries in the blaze, which is under investigation.
The Nampa 1st, 4th and 6th wards, at total of about 900 people, meet in the building. Firemen said the building was destroyed except for a wing that contained family history records.
The building, which is insured, is considered a total loss, except for the library, Rosin added. An exact monetary value was not known.
"There's a lot of sentimentality that's going up in smoke," Stake President Kyle Blacker said.
Library director Susan Nielsen awaited updates from firefighters.
By the time crews began mopping up, it appeared the 3,000 rolls of microfilm, seven computers and numerous books may have suffered only some smoke and water damage.