Initial reports said that there were no injuries, although several people suffered smoke inhalation. Police cordoned off the area around the building as at least a dozen fire engines attempted to stem the flames, which threatened to engulf the structure.

Eyewitnesses at the scene said the confusion has stalled an already busy Cairo rush hour, with traffic backed up for miles as police attempt to move cars and people away from the fire.

"I can see it from my office -- it's huge. Co-workers say it's between AUC [American University in Cairo] and the Ministry of the Interior," one resident employee in downtown said before the announcement that the fire was, indeed, the Upper House of Parliament.

Officials said they fear the blaze could eventually tumble the former 19th century palace.

"It is unclear right now what is going to happen, but if the fire is not stopped then it could be the end of the building," an Interior Ministry official told the Middle East Times, requesting to remain anonymous due to security concerns.

The official added that although arson has been almost entirely ruled out, "it is not necessarily out of the question completely."

Egyptian national television interrupted some of the 2008 Beijing Olympic coverage to broadcast images of the blaze. The pictures did not appear promising for the building, which is home to the mostly symbolic upper house.

The Shura Council is the less powerful segment of Parliament, which many argue is simply a rubber stamp for President Hosni Mubarak's policies.

"It tells a lot about this country when a government building can burn down in a single day," one activist said. "Just imagine what the response would be in the United States or another nation that respects the government," the activist argued.

The activist went on: "[I] hope the building burns down so we can have a means to demonstrate against the government's treatment of the people here."

No official Egyptian government statement has been made since the Interior Ministry said the fire was the result of electrical short-circuiting.

Egyptians are immediately wondering where the government ministers went during the crisis, near the heart of downtown.

"Why don't they issue a statement and tell us what is going on?" asked Mahmoud, a 22-year-old American University in Cairo student.

Located near the fire are numerous Western Embassies, including the American and British missions to Egypt, as well as the American University.

As night arrived in the Egyptian capital, helicopters began to fly overhead and drop fire resistant chemicals in a last ditch effort to save the building.

"I find it very hard to believe that a short-circuit could create such a huge fire, and if it is the case it exposes the incredibly short response time of the Egyptian authorities," American writer and editor Travis Randall told the Middle East Times as images of the blaze were painted on café televisions.

"Hopefully, it will create a need for the government to improve on their response times in such emergencies, especially when peoples' lives are in danger," he added.

With the flames unlikely to be extinguished before the majority of Egyptians go to bed Tuesday, the question remains as to what the government's next move will be, especially considering the country may wake up on Wednesday morning with one less government building.