Fire at White House office building

Emergency vehicles raced to the White House Wednesday as a fire gushed thick black smoke from windows of an office building near the West Wing, which houses US President George W. Bush's office.
The blaze appeared to be raging near US Vice President Dick Cheney's ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but aides said Cheney had been with Bush in the West Wing when the fire began.
Authorities evacuated several hundred staffers from the venerable grey edifice, according to White House spokesman Scott Stanzel, who told reporters that there were "no injuries that we are aware of." Fire-fighters could be seen smashing windows and tossing chairs onto the balcony, apparently clearing the room affected by the blaze, whose origins were unclear.