Fire broke out inside Sierra Leone's presidential building in central Freetown Saturday, witnesses and the government said, but President Julius Maada Bio was not present.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control after five hours tackling the flames, a senior fire service official told AFP.

The fire claimed no victims but consumed documents and furniture in the building, the official added.

It broke out on the third and fourth floors of State House, and the president's office on the second floor was untouched, said an earlier information ministry statement.

The cause of the fire, which started at around 4:00 pm (1600 GMT) was not yet known, it said.

Videos posted on social media showed flames at the upstairs windows of the large white building, and thick black smoke.

Local resident Mohamed Kamara told AFP: "We saw smoke and fire billowing from the windows and the top floor of the building this evening."

Police cordoned off streets around the building and security personnel and soldiers were deployed.

President Bio is currently in Turkey attending a conference. (AFP, excluding headline)