Aerial view of the Pentagon, home to the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters, in Arlington, Virginia, on May 31, 2026.
Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images
Some Pentagon employees were told to evacuate to designated areas Thursday after systems inside the massive building detected air quality problems, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
MS NOW reported in an email to Pentagon officials that employees in hallways 4 to 7 on floors two through five were told by email to remain in their offices until air test results were completed.
A person familiar with the situation told CNBC that the Pentagon guards were wearing gas masks.
The Hazardous Materials Team from the Arlington County Fire Department in Virginia is “currently active at the Department of Defense in support of the (Department of Defense Defense Agency) Hazardous Materials Team during hazardous materials incidents,” the agency said in a post to X.
MS NOW reported that there was no law enforcement at the Pentagon in connection with the incident.
“The Department of Defense has sophisticated systems in place to ensure the safety of buildings and their occupants,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
“These systems have detected an air quality issue and precautions are required until we can determine its significance,” Parnell said.
“The department is implementing standard protective procedures, including shelter-in-place orders for affected areas. Response teams are deployed and ready to assist building occupants.”
The second largest office building in the world, the Pentagon is the workplace for thousands of military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense.
This large complex is located on the eastern edge of Arlington, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.
This is developing news. Please check the latest information.
