Updated | Firefighters rushed to the suburban New York home of Bill and Hillary Clinton on Wednesday after a blaze broke out on the second floor of the house.
The fire reportedly started in the bedroom of the Chappaqua, N.Y. home, and spread to the attic, but was extinguished quickly.
The extent of the damage is unknown, and it is unclear whether the former president and the former secretary of state were present during the incident. There were no reported injuries from the fire. Helicopter footage from the scene did not show any visible damage to the house. Firefighters could be seen working in the building's second story.
100x75 2 story, wood fire on the 2nd floor with extension to the attic.
— Kempter's Fire Wire (@KempterFireWire) January 3, 2018
CMD reporting main body of fire has been extinguished. Crews checking for extension
"Main body of fire knocked down. Crews checking for extension," the fire department reported.
It was unclear at first if the main structure of the building was on fire or if the blaze had begun in a guest room. Police later said in a statement that the fire was not in the "main residence."
Some political pundits took to Twitter to joke that the fire must have errupted because the Clintons were burning books or destroying evidence of wrongdoing. In November, a federal judge dismissed a pair of lawsuits from conservative groups that sought to force the State Department to continue its search for former Secretary of State Clinton's emails. Conservatives have consistently called for Clinton to be imprisoned.
Breaking - A fire has been reported at the Clinton's house in Chappaqua (are they burning evidence?) https://t.co/TLfti51YUw
— MARK SIMONE (@MarkSimoneNY) January 3, 2018
The five-bedroom home was built in 1889, and the Clintons purchased it for $1.7 million in 1999. In 2016, the family also purchased the house next door for an additional $1.6 million.
The Clintons spent 18 years of their life living in government housing, including the Arkansas governor's mansion and the White House. The Clintons also own a home in the Washington D.C. neighborhood known as embassy row, which they paid $2.8 million for in 2000. They own another home in their home state of Arkansas.
The fire occurred as the White House experienced its own mini-meltdown after lengthy comments by the president's former political strategist Steve Bannon were published in excerpts from the forthcoming Michael Wolff book, Fire and Fury. Bannon called President Donald Trump's son's meeting with Russian officials at Trump Tower "treasonous," and the president followed by saying Bannon had "lost his mind."
Story was updated to include more details about the fire.
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