Employees at the State Secretariat here were panicked after a fire broke out at the Home Department in the morning on Monday. Sources said the employees noticed smoke billowing out from the store section of the department at about 10.45 pm. As soon as the news spread, all employees came out of the Secretariat. Following information, senior police officials rushed to the spot. A fire brigade unit doused the flame within 15 minutes after breaking open the door of the store section. Sources said some files and documents in the store section were destroyed while the firemen managed to bring out the remaining documents. Though the exact cause of fire was not yet known, the firemen suspected short-circuit could be the reason. The Home Department has sought a report from the fire brigade about the cause of the fire.