Fires and Other Emergencies at the White House

'There is no terrorist attack'. Those are the words of Washington's Fire Chief Kenneth Crosswhite when explaining to the press the fire that burned part of the white house compound on December 19, 2007. The fire was limited to Vice-President Dick Cheney's Ceremonial Office, Room 274, which is not inside the White House itself, but is located in a building next to it. There were no reported injuries from the blaze, and at the time of this report, the cause is not yet known. That fire is not the first one seen by the White House.

In 1814, during the war of 1812, the British set fire to the White House. Only the walls remained of President James Madison's White House after the Brits were done. A thunderstorm was a timely savior in preventing complete destruction of the landmark.

Another fire occurred at the White House in 1929, during the presidency of Herbert Hoover. Located in the West Wing, the fire occurred during a dinner party. The president gathered some important papers while the party continued during the blaze. An interesting note about this fire is that it was in December, Christmas Eve to be exact, and it resulted in the President using room 274 as his temporary office.

The White House has been the scene of other emergency situations as well. On February 7, 2001, just following a presidential speech on the White House lawn, a gunman fired shots at the White House. He was captured by Secret Service Agents, and suffered only one gunshot wound to his knee.

In September of 1994 a light plane crashed on the lawn of the White House just under the President's bedroom window. The pilot did not survive. Security is tight around the White House, including snipers located on the White House roof. Any aircraft invading White House airspace may lawfully be shot down. In this instance, the plane crashed without the assistance of snipers.

Multiple other security breaches have been attempted at the White House including a stolen helicopter; a man in a karate suit scaling the fence, and an armed man scaling the fence. Other suspected attacks on the White House and White House personnel have included various individuals with weapons of various types being caught just outside the White House grounds. One such individual claimed he was the 'Messiah' and that he had a bomb strapped to his body. Later it was discovered that 'the bomb' was really just a number of ordinary flares he had strapped to himself.

SOURCES:

"It's Not a Terrorist Attack". IOL
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20071219183157488C817165
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

Fire Breaks Out in the White House Compound. VOA News. December 19, 2007.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-12-19-voa51.cfm
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

A Short History of White House Fires. Amanda Ripley. December 19, 2007. TIME.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1696435,00.html
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

White House Facts. The White House [official website]
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/facts.html
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

White House Facts: Presidents. The White House [official website]
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

White House Gunman in Custody. February 8, 2001. 8:41 GMT. BBC News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1159690.stm
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

New York and Region News Summary. September 13, 1994. New York Times.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E4D6173BF930A2575AC0A962958260
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

White House Security Scares. Kevin Anderson. February 7, 2001. 21:49 GMT. BBC Online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/americas/1159300.stm
(Accessed December 19, 2007)

Fire in a White House Office Building. Patrick J. Lyons. December 19, 2007. 10:01 a.m. The Ledge.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/fire-in-office-building-next-to-white-house/?hp
(Accessed December 19, 2007)