Fire Breaks out at State Dept., 3 Seriously Hurt District of Columbia fire officials say three people were seriously injured after a fire broke out at the State Department headquarters in Washington. Fire and EMS spokesman Lon Walls said the fire broke out at around 11 a.m. Saturday in the ductwork on the 7th floor as crews were working on the building. Workers were able to put the fire out before firefighters arrived, but not before three people suffered burns. Walls said one person suffered life-threatening injuries and two others had serious but non-life-threatening injuries. All three were taken to Washington Hospital Center. There were few federal employees in the building because of the holiday weekend.