ARLINGTON, Va. — Portions of the Pentagon were placed under a shelter-in-place order Thursday after building monitoring systems detected a possible air quality issue, according to defense officials.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the building’s safety systems detected the issue and triggered precautionary protocols while officials worked to determine the source and significance of the problem.
“The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants,” Parnell said in a statement. “Those systems have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance.”
Parnell said the Department of Defense was carrying out standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area. Response teams were in place to support building occupants.
The Arlington County Fire Department said its hazardous materials team responded to the Pentagon to assist the Pentagon Force Protection Agency’s Hazmat Team during what officials described as a hazardous materials incident.
According to Reuters and Axios, the situation involved portions of the building being locked down while officials investigated the air quality concern. It was not immediately clear whether an actual hazardous substance was found or whether the alert was precautionary.
The Pentagon remained under standard safety protocols as testing and response operations continued.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
