Fire hits Brazil's Latin America Memorial

11/29/2013

Smoke pours out of the Simon Bolivar auditorium at the Latin America Memorial in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. The fire department of Brazil's biggest city says a fire swept through the large auditorium that is part of the political, cultural and leisure complex designed by famed architect Oscar Niemeyer. No casualties were reported. Two firefighters had to be treated for smoke inhalation. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAO PAULO — The fire department of Brazil’s biggest city says a fire swept through a large auditorium in Sao Paulo’s Latin America Memorial, a political, cultural and leisure complex designed by famed architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Fire officials tell reporters that the 1,600-seat Simon Bolivar auditorium was empty at the time. Two firefighters had to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The extent of the damage today was not immediately known.

The memorial occupies an area of some 9,000 square feet and was inaugurated in 1989 to promote the cultural, political, social and economic integration of Latin America.

The headquarters of the Latin American Parliament is part of the memorial. It was not damaged by the fire.