After the Fire Algerian Ambassadorís Mission Is to Rebuild Embassy Chancery by Nickolas Theros Idriss Jazairy, Algeriaís ambassador to the United States, was working through lunch at his office on Jan. 11, when he smelled something burning. All the other diplomats were out to lunch, so he dispatched a member of his support staff to investigate. The initial report came back ìeverything OK,î so the ambassador continued his work unperturbed. Minutes later, the fire alarm went off. This time he knew something was wrong. Jazairy ran to the top floor of the four-story building and discovered that all the lights and electrical appliances had shut off. In relative darkness, he proceeded cautiously forward, looking for signs of smoke. ìThatís when I felt a powerful radiation,î he said ìIt was this tremendous heat without any smoke.î Jazairy said that instinct instantly took over. ìMy first thoughts were to get the staff out safely,î he said. Immediately Jazairy descended the steps of the chancery, stopping on each floor to round up any straggling staff members before quickly herding them out the building. Once outside, Jazairy and nine staff members could only watch as smoke, then fire, billowed out the top of their chancery. Firefighters would soon arriveó100 of themóand extinguish the fire but not before the flames consumed the attic and the top two floors of this historic, Tudor-style mansion and damaged the adjacent hotel in this cozy Kalorama neighborhood. The cause of the fire immediately became a subject of speculation. Jazairy recalled with restrained annoyance the initial reports suggesting foul play. One reporter, the ambassador noted, asked if the cause of the fire could be linked to an unspecified ìIraqi connectionî because the Algerian Embassy also represents Iraqi diplomatic interests in the United States. Further reports, Jazairy said, insinuated that he and the staff were being uncooperative with fire investigators and were reluctant to give them access to the charred chancery. Jazairy frowned as he dismissed the charges, saying, ìI told my staff to cooperate fully and conduct one-on-one interviews with the investigators out of my presence, so as not to feel pressure.î Further, he said, ìwe were never reluctant to give investigators access to the building Ö of course, we had to wait for my governmentís permission, but that was given without reservation.î Although the precise cause has yet to be determined, Jazairy and investigators from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the D.C. Fire Department said faulty electrical wiring in the atticís furnace room sparked the flames. The D.C. Fire Department has concluded its initial investigation, and Fire Chief Ronnie Few said in a letter to the ambassador that ìthere appears to be no foul play involved.î When the smoldering ruins cooled two days later, Jazairy and fire investigators re-entered the building to find it a complete loss. Fifteen offices housing the ambassador, his deputy chief of mission and the economic section were destroyed, and many important files were lost. The most painful part, however, said Jazairy, ìis my burned hard drive. It is as if I have been stricken with amnesia. I must now start from scratch, and I have lost any reference for my future work.î Jazairy admitted he couldnít sleep for days after the fire; however, despite the pain of this disaster, a diplomat does not have the luxury to grieveóhe has a mission to run. Displaying the proverbial stiff upper lip, Jazairy got his staff back to work the morning after the fire. ìI told [the embassy staff] that weíre back to work as usual at 9:30 a.m.,î he said. He added that his priority was to return the embassy to operational status immediately to limit any further damage to morale. The homeless diplomats immediately redeployed to several adjacent annexes housing the consular section, finance department and telephone exchange. ìThank God,î said Jazairy, because many of the most important files, and all the financial documents and embassy archives, were housed in these annexes. The day after the fire, Jazairy wrote an open letter to the 6,000-strong Algerian community reassuring it that the Washington mission was ìopen for business as usual,î and that the fundamental activities and programs of the embassy would continue uninterrupted. Optimistically, he said, ìAlgerians are usually at their best when they are confronted with a challenge.î The members of the Washington community has been a major source of inspiration, helping to confront these new challenges, Jazairy said. They have shown ìan overwhelmingî amount of moral support to the embassy and its staff. ìThere has been an outpouring of sympathy from just everybody,î he said. ìFrom people walking down the street, from the diplomatic community, from the State Department, from the local authorities, even the fire department.ÖThis more than anything else makes me feel that we are really part of this community. Their sympathy inspires us to overcome this trial.î The long-term challenge now for Jazairy and the embassy in Washington is to rebuild the mission and reconstruct their lost files. The new chancery will be built on the existing site, but a question remains regarding what the building will look like. Washington, D.C., preservationists are demanding that the Algerians preserve the original, Tudor facade of the building, built in 1923. Jazairy agrees with them but not at the expense of his staffís safety. ìAs long as the structural engineers certify that the facade is salvageable, we will preserve it,î he said. ìMy priorities [for the new chancery] are security, beauty, and functionalityóin that order.î Under the circumstances, Jazairy said that he and the staff are in good spirits. ìWe are out of the woods, and now weíre looking at the time frameî to rebuild the chancery. His outside guess is that it will be at least a year and a half before he reoccupies his old office. He sits and contemplates the future of his embassy. ìThere is no manual for this sort of thing,î Jazairy said. ìI have never been exposed to a major fire, so this is a discovery. Itís only after the fire that I took interest in the details of the clauses of our insurance policy. I am happy to say that the agreements are good, and Iím becoming an expert in insurance coverage.î Nickolas Theros is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.