WASHINGTON — A fire in a utility closet forced the evacuation of hundreds of employees from the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, on Wednesday and caused significant smoke and water damage to an ornate ceremonial office used by Vice President Dick Cheney, officials said.
About 9:30 a.m., when the blaze was reported, officials said, more than 100 D.C. firefighters were dispatched to the five-story granite building, constructed in the late 1800s on 15 acres at Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street NW. Although the fire was contained to the closet in the second-floor ceremonial office, officials said, smoke wafted through many areas of the building and poured from windows broken by firefighters.
The sight of thick gray smoke billowing from the 662,000-square-foot building suggested that decades of history might be going up in flames. But officials said that the fire was quickly extinguished and they expected the building would be safe to reoccupy.
“There’s a significant amount of damage to the ceremonial office on the second floor, but the damage was primarily limited to that office,” D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said. The damage was from smoke and water, not fire.
Rubin described the damage in other parts of the building as “moderate to minor.”
Asked whether any important documents or archival materials were lost or damaged, Rubin said: “That’s being evaluated.”
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