A Pentagon hazardous materials incident prompted a shelter-in-place order and the deployment of emergency hazmat crews on Thursday morning, after the building’s systems detected what officials described as an air quality issue.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that systems had identified ‘an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance.’ The Pentagon was executing ‘standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area,’ Parnell added.
Hazmat teams and fire crews respond to Pentagon hazardous materials incident
Virginia emergency crews were deployed to the site on Thursday morning, NBC News reported. The Arlington County Fire Department confirmed that emergency units, including its specialist hazardous materials team, were ‘operating at the Pentagon in support of PFPA’s Hazmat Team during a hazardous materials incident.’
The department said ‘response teams are in place and ready to support building occupants.’ Arlington Fire & EMS also posted on social media that it was responding to a hazardous materials incident at the site.
US media reported that police inside the building were wearing gas masks and full chemical protective gear as the response unfolded. The nature and source of the suspected hazardous material had not been publicly confirmed.
Scale of the affected site
The Pentagon serves as the headquarters of the US Defence Department. More than 20,000 government employees work in the building, underlining the scale of any disruption caused by a precautionary lockdown of affected floors.
Parnell’s statement did not specify which floors or sections of the building were subject to the shelter-in-place order, nor did it indicate how long protective protocols were expected to remain in place. The investigation into the significance of the air quality alert was continuing, he said.
