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Blaze at White House Office Building
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ShareDecember 19, 2007 9:54 AM
ABC News' Ann Compton, Jon Garcia, Jonathan Karl, Karen Travers, and Jack Date Report: A fire broke out Wednesday near Vice President Dick Cheney's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building -- a government building beside the White House.
President Bush and Cheney were in the Oval Office in meetings at the time of the fire, White House Deputy Press Secretary Scott Stanzel told reporters.
As thick, grey smoke billowed from the second floor, firefighters could be seen pouring water on the blaze, moving furniture from the office building onto a balcony. Some of the bullet-proof windows of the office building were broken and scorched.
As the fire broke out, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was vehemently complaining in a briefing with reporters about a New York Times story that said more members of the White House staff allegedly knew about the pending destruction of CIA interrogation tapes.
The Secret Service said the fire started on the second floor, but was quickly contained by firefighters. Officials evacuated the entire five-story office building as a precaution.
Darrin Blackford, spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service tells ABC News there was one minor injury, a laceration, which was treated at the scene by White House doctors. Otherwise, everyone was safely evacuated.
The Washington, D.C. fire department told the WMAL radio the fire started in an electrical or telephone closet. There was a great deal of smoke but no serious damage, a fire department spokesperson told the station.
The fire appeared to be under control within an hour.
Over 1,000 staff members have their office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building because there is not enough room inside the West Wing of the White House. Numerous staff members could been seen evacuating the office building, calmly walking down the steps of the building bundled in their winter coats.
Cheney uses his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for staff meetings and talks with visiting dignitaries and large groups.
The commanding office building, which was original built for the State, War and Navy Departments between 1871 and 1888, houses the Office of Management and Budget and staff of the National Security Council and other agencies.
The fire and its aftermath didn't stop the president, who left the White House in a motorcade shortly after the fire was contained for the Department of Energy, where he signed into law new energy legislation.
Bush later came over to the office building to shake hands with the firefighters who helped to put out the blaze.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
December 19, 2007 in Romney, Mitt | Permalink | User Comments (28)
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spontaneous combustion of the bags of coal that Santa was hiding for twiddle dee and twiddle dumb
Posted by: old geezer | Dec 19, 2007 10:58:05 AM
I think it is an ordinary fire only, no tape destruction, no cloaking of administrations errors (we all know them...? If not watch the hidden edges of the internet... xd)
Posted by: Andy | Dec 19, 2007 11:24:40 AM
Is someone buring tapes????
Posted by: BronxBoy7117 | Dec 19, 2007 11:25:20 AM
What does this have to do with politics?
Posted by: LeGrand | Dec 19, 2007 12:33:11 PM
It was Dick Cheney's boss making a sudden appearance at the Christmas Party... but then Ol' Scratch's pitchfork accidently jammed into the wall socket and caused the fire.
Posted by: Maria | Dec 19, 2007 1:15:24 PM
I am sure this is just an innocent fire. This happened back in my old country a lot during the war. We should just go on living our lives and not worry about it and the administration will round up the usual suspects.
Posted by: Herman Spanberger | Dec 19, 2007 1:36:12 PM
I always felt a 'new' and 'improved' government should relocate the so-called 'white house'. Give it a new location; give it a contemporary design; and fill it with good spirits.
Posted by: Mary | Dec 19, 2007 2:22:25 PM
"Looks like the administration is destroying more evidence."
Well, at least BushCo wasn't so brazen as to send a Presidential Advisor into the National Archives to steal and destroy highly classified and incriminating documents on the eve of a very crucial investigation.
Oh wait.....that's already been done.
Posted by: Paper Chase | Dec 19, 2007 5:11:53 PM
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