On February 3, 1916, near 9pm, a small fire started in the Commons Reading Room. It soon grew to a raging blaze that claimed the lives of seven people, and reduced the majority of the Parliment Building to a charred shell. What was left was the Library and the northwest wing. The Library was saved thansk to the quick thinking of an employee, who closed the iron doors to the Library saving thousands of priceless books and the original wood carvings. Some of the features of the room are the patterned floor made of cherry, oak and walnut; the masks, flower and mythical creatures carved in white pine; domed room; and a white marble statue of Queen Victoria.
