Cheney's office was damaged by smoke and water from fire hoses, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said. 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. The fire broke out on the second floor of the building around about 9:15 a.m. and was under control within a half hour, District of Columbia fire department spokesman Alan Etter said.

Afterward, 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.

I don't envy my brothers in the Washington D.C. Fire Department. As someone who works near some of our Nations most historically significant landmarks as well as the seat of local government I know a little about high profile incidents and buildings. Quite frankly it's a pain in the you know what. Nowhere in the world can it be worse than Washington D.C. with all the ego and trappings of power that exist in that town.

A fire in a building like this presents many challenges if it doesn't have sprinklers. I don't know if this building did but it doesn't appear so judging from the intensity of the images. First off the building itself is historically significant so there is probably quite a lot of historically significant contents inside. Anything from furniture to records to works of art are at risk when fire breaks out. If they get wet they can be restored. If they are consumed by the fire it's over. So there's a lot of pressure to get things in order quick.

So the firemen have their work cut out for them not just evacuating the workers, but saving the contents as well. Adding to the problems are the security issues present in most Government buildings. Working with the Feds can be difficult sometimes as the missions between Departments can sometimes be at odds.

For example the Secret Service has a need to keep a building secure. The Fire Department on the other hand has a need for access. If the supervisors don't establish a joint command pretty quickly, the whole situation can develop into a fiasco as the building burns to the ground while the players stand around arguing. In this case things seem to have gone well with the fire contained quickly and only minor injuries reported. All in all a good job by the D.C. Fire Dept.