A fire broke out in the Old Executive Building on the White House grounds Wednesday, damaging sections of the vice president’s offices and forcing top security officials to scramble for safety.

The blaze originated on the second floor at about 9:30 a.m., in an electrical closet or telephone bank in the second floor, a White House spokeswoman said. Vice President Dick Cheney was in the West Wing with President Bush and not in the building when the fire started.