Painter’s Torch Touches Off Fire at White House

Workers using a propane torch to remove paint from an outside window at the White House on Saturday touched off a small fire adjacent to the Oval Office, officials said.

There were no injuries and damage was minimal. President Bush and his wife, Barbara, were spending the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md.

The fire began in an area of rotted wood under the window sill and spread inside the frame of the window in a small room adjacent to the Oval Office, said Deputy Fire Chief J. E. Gallagher.

Secret Service officers and the painters spotted the fire and used a direct line to call the District of Columbia Fire Department, said Secret Service spokesman Rich Adams.

The White House, Adams said, is equipped with smoke detectors connected to a monitoring station in a security control center. That allows security officers to pinpoint fire anywhere in the White House.

A handful of people, including the painters, were evacuated from the West Wing of the White House where the fire occurred.

Smoke could be seen through the front doors of the west side of the White House as fire teams worked inside with their hoses.