1968 Fire in Defense Communications Agency HQ Building 12
In the early morning hours of January 19th, 1968, a fire broke out on the fourth floor of the Defense Communications Agency’s Building 12 at 701 South Courthouse Road in Arlington, Virginia. Only eight years old, the predecessor of the Defense Information Systems Agency had moved from its first home in Washington, DC to the Naval Service Center buildings. Building 12 served as the headquarters office building as well as the home of major electrical communications equipment.
Just after 6am on that cold morning, a passerby noticed smoke coming from the DCA. They alerted a perimeter guard who then called the Arlington Fire Department. By the time the Department arrived to...
