Small fire reported at Library of Congress

WASHINGTON, March 11 (UPI) -- The James Madison building at the Library of Congress in Washington was evacuated briefly Friday morning because of a fire in the depths of the building.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Gavin said the fire in a sub-basement, was reported about 9:40 a.m., The Hill reported. By 10:30 a.m., it had been extinguished and employees were allowed to return.

"The word is that it was in an electrical room, and there was a power surge," she said. "But it's out, and the building was successfully evacuated. I'm not aware of any injuries."

Sgt. Kimberly Schneider with the Capitol Police said the fire was in a feeder line being used by Potomac Electric Co., which had a crew working on the building's electrical system.

The library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill connected by underground passages.