National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979 (1979)

Record Details:

Title:
National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979
Date:
1979
Publisher:
Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
Volume:
National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979
Leaf #:
000509
Language:
English
Subjects:
Washington National Records Center. Building A, Motion picture film collections
Collection:
Books and Government & Law
Format:
Books
Contributor:
Prelinger Library
Sponsor:
Internet Archive
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
Date Added:
July 19, 2022
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483 14 23. In a statement submitted for the record, William McHugh, the Archives employee representative on the investigating committee, said that fellow members of the committee were uninterested in examining the theory that the fire resulted from spontaneous combustion. In particular, Mr. McHugh said that Mr. William Murphy of the Archives "expressed the view that dwelling on such matters would only make the agency look bad." What is PBS' response to this statement? Mr. McHugh is well aware that the committee thoroughly examined the theory that the fire resulted from spontaneous combustion. Mr. McHugh was and is disappointed that the preponderance of expert opinion determined that spontaneous combustion was so highly unlikely under the prevailing conditions at the time of the fire as to be virtually impossible. The committee did not rely solely on internal expertise on this question. Opinion was sought and received from Alan Cobb, retired Safety Director of Eastman Kodak, and William Doyle, Chairman of the National Fire Protection Association Committee on Storage, Handling, and Transportation of Hazardous Chemicals, the committee responsible for NFPA 40, Cellulose Nitrate Motion Picture Film. Both agreed that conditions at the time of the fire made spontaneous ignition extremely unlikely, and contractor operations highly suspect, as cause of the fire.