WASHINGTON: A hazardous materials incident put the Pentagon on lockdown on Thursday as fire officials investigated the air quality issue, defense and fire officials said.
"The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Those systems have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an email.
"The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area. Response teams are in place and ready to support building occupants."
The building was under lockdown, with people evacuated from several floors, CNN reported, citing unidentified sources. Floors two through five in corridors four through seven have been locked down, CNN said, citing two sources.
Another source reported seeing emergency responders were wearing full gas masks and chemical protection suits, CNN said.
A message sent by the Pentagon’s security team said additional testing was needed to determine the source of the problem, according to CNN.
The five-sided Pentagon building, hit during the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks is one of the world's largest office buildings.
