Things are heating up at the Amherst Public Library

Maybe it's an omen.

John Henkel and Chase Harper first spotted the fire.

Library patrons tipped off staff today when a fire broke out at the Amherst Public Library today. “I had just stopped to talk to a friend when we spotted a burning bush”, said John Henkel.


Henkel had stopped near a parked car along the Spring Street side of the building to talk to Chase Harper. Harper ran inside the building to report the fire to library staff.

Amherst Police and Fire Departments respond to the call.

“It had really sparked up fast”, said Harper. “One minute we were just standing there talking and all of a sudden the bush was in flames and the mulch was smoldering.” Staff members responded to the fire by calling 911 while others grabbed fire extinguishers to contain the small blaze.

Cheryl Ashton was at the reference desk when she saw smoke billowing past the windows. Running downstairs she spotted Harper who pointed to the flames. “I’m wondering if we should take this as some kind of omen”, said Ashton. “You know it’s not the first time a message came through a burning piece of landscaping.”

Firemen soak down the mulch around the burned shrub.

A patron took over the first extinguisher as Ashton went back into the building for more. Don Dovala brought out a third extinguisher and the fire was contained by the time the Amherst Police and Fire Departments arrived. “Everything is so dry right now”, said one fireman. “It wouldn’t take much to set off a small brush fire. We’ll make sure it’s watered down well because the mulch has a tendency to hold in embers.”

Patrons soon returned to what they had been doing before all the excitement and some speculated to the fire’s origins. A carelessly tossed cigarette, spontaneous combustion, an ill timed promotion for banned book week?

The answers to many of life’s little mysteries are often found by looking at the library.  Checking out The Illustrated Book of Signs & Symbols by Miranda Bruce-Mitford explains many of the fundamental signs and omens that have become part of our folklore and our everyday life. Universal symbols like “mother earth” that permeate mythology across a multitude of cultures are examined as well as religious symbols and those found in nature.

 

Many books require the examination of omens and symbols. Dan Brown’s popular sequel to The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, traces back historical symbolism and secret societies that still exist today. Other authors picked up on the popular books releasing titles like Secrets of the Code: the unauthorized guide to the mysteries behind the Da Vinci Code by Dan Burstein.

Flipping through the Bruce-Mitford book it lists fire as one of the basic earth elements. Supposedly a vision of fire can lead to a deeper understanding of your place in the universe. Or maybe it means you’re going to meet a fireman. It’s elementary dear Watson.