Eisenhower Executive Office Fire

[CNN said this bldg. housed records and offices of the Prez, VP, David Addington's staff, WH speech writer, and National Security Council. It is across the street from the WH and is considered part of the WH "campus". Looks like a WTC7/SEC=type thing to me...]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/...ire/index.html

Fire hits building next door to White House

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Firefighters battled thick smoke and flames inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Wednesday.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is across the street from the West Wing of the White House. It houses a majority of offices for White House staff.

Smoke could be seen from the White House driveway.

Video showed firefighters breaking a window and spraying flames with a hose.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Firefighters battled thick smoke and flames Wednesday inside the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, which houses the vice president's ceremonial offices. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/POLITICS...window.cnn.jpg Smoke billows from a window in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Wednesday.

They used axes to break windows on the third floor of the ornate building shortly after the blaze broke out after 9 a.m. [Ed: CNN/Alan Etter stated one Marine was injured breaking out a window]

The fire started near the vice presidential offices, CNN's Kathleen Koch reported. [Ed: hmmmmmmm......]

Fifteen firetrucks, including three ladder trucks, responded to the call. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/...tabs/video.gif Watch smoke pouring from building »

The entire building was evacuated, a D.C. Fire Department spokesman said.

Within an hour, smoke had stopped pouring from the building.

Vice President Dick Cheney's working offices are in the West Wing of the White House, and he was not in the EEOB at the time of the fire. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/...c/tabs/map.gif See how close building is to the White House »

There were no reports of injuries from the blaze, which appeared to be confined to the third floor, perhaps in an electrical closet or a telephone bank, said D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter. [Ed: well, that would certainly be convenient to rig from DC telephone voltage and remotely initiate... ]

The building, built between 1871 and 1888, is also called the Old Executive Office Building. It was originally built for the State, War and Navy Departments and is an example of the French Second Empire style of architecture, according to a government Web site.

The building is the site of a number of events, including ceremonial signings, news conferences and photo opportunities.

Every time something odd like this happens to this White House regime, I wonder if I'm being paranoid when I think, yes, they really would do something like that?

Then I remind myself of everything they have done.

agreed. The timing of this fire is too god damn coincidental.

Cheney's office damaged in fire
Fire at White House Compound Under Control, Struck Cheney's Ceremonial Offices

http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila..._12192007.html

TERENCE HUNT
Dec 19, 2007 16:37 EST

Thick smoke billowed from a fire Wednesday in Vice President Dick Cheney's suite of offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House.

Cheney's office, known for its historical furnishings and ornate decorations, was damaged by smoke and water from fire hoses, officials said. There was concern about water damage to the floor, made of mahogany, white maple and cherry and considered to be very delicate.

The adjacent office of the vice president's political director, Amy Whitelaw, was heavily damaged by fire, said Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride.

The vice president was not in the building at the time; he was in the West Wing of the White House with President Bush.

More than 1,000 people who work in the building were evacuated as the second through the fifth floor of the building filled with smoke. The fire broke out on the second floor of the building about 9:15 a.m. and was under control within a half hour, District of Columbia fire department spokesman Alan Etter said.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the blaze appeared to have started in an electrical closet or a telephone bank.

The building was reopened Wednesday afternoon and Cheney walked through to see the damage. The set of offices contains the vice president's ceremonial office, used for meetings and press interviews, and the offices of his staff. His primary office is across West Executive Avenue in the West Wing.

Earlier, Bush and Cheney appeared on West Executive Avenue, between the White House and the damaged building, to thank District of Columbia firefighters. A fire tanker nearby still had its ladder extended to a window on the blackened second floor.

District of Columbia firefighters poured water on the blaze, broke windows and moved furniture onto a balcony.

There were no reports of serious injuries, Etter said. A U.S. Marine stationed at the building smashed a fifth-floor window to escape from the smoke and had to be rescued from the ledge, he said. The man suffered a minor cut to his hand.

The extent of water, fire and smoke damage was unclear.

Investigators were working to determine the cause of the blaze, Etter said.

Since 1960, Cheney's office has been occupied by every vice president from Lyndon B. Johnson, with the exception of Hubert Humphrey, who used a room on the floor below. Since its restoration in the 1980s, it has been considered a "ceremonial" office.

It contains a desk first used by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 and later by Presidents Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower. The inside of the top drawer has been signed by the various users since the 1940s.

The Executive Office Building, a commanding structure with a granite, slate and cast iron exterior at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street, houses the Office of Management and Budget and staff of the National Security Council and other agencies.

Think of all those important documents conveniently destroyed.

To bad Dick was damaged by smoke/water.