Two firefighters die in blaze at California library: sheriff

(Reuters) – Two firefighters died as they tried to put out a blaze at a library in central California late on Tuesday, the sheriff said.

Crews reached the library in the city of Porterville soon after 4 p.m., emergency services said.

“Prayers for the Porterville City Fire Department. They have lost two brave men,” Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux wrote on Facebook.

The 1950s building did not have a sprinkler system, a spokeswoman for the Tulare County Fire Department said.