Legionella Detected in Fallon Federal Building Water, ICE Detainees, Childcare

Legionella bacteria have been detected in the water system of the George H. Fallon Federal Building in downtown Baltimore, a site that houses an ICE field office with short-term holding rooms and an on-site child care facility, officials and lawmakers say. The General Services Administration conducted a baseline test that confirmed the presence of the bacteria in November, and the agency used a hyperchlorination treatment, but Maryland Democrats in Congress say tests still show Legionella is present and have demanded more information.

The Fallon Building also contains offices for the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Justice and Veterans Affairs, as well as federal courts, amplifying concerns about exposure across multiple tenant groups. Citing CDC guidance, reporters and officials note that Legionella spreads through water systems and can lead to severe respiratory illness, including pneumonia; most exposed people do not get sick, but higher-risk groups include smokers, people aged 50 or older, and those with health conditions such as cancer and diabetes. Washington Times reporting adds that Legionnaires’ disease is fatal in about 10 percent of cases.

Maryland’s congressional delegation, described in one account as the state’s nine Democrats in Congress, sent a letter addressed to General Services Administrator Edward Forst asking for testing data, treatment schedules, steps taken to alert building occupants and a specific timeline of treatments. The letter warns, “We are particularly concerned by this development in light of reports of overcrowding at the Baltimore Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office’s holding rooms, as well as the presence of a child care facility, in the building.” The lawmakers wrote that “the presence of these bacteria, and the lack of clear direction from GSA, poses a serious health and safety threat for all users of the Fallon Building.”

The delegation tied the water-safety concern to previously reported conditions inside the ICE facility. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who visited the ICE site last month, described “one room where 55 people were in a room he said shouldn’t have housed more than 15,” adding, “People were just shoulder to shoulder; they sleep there on the ground.” The office of Rep. Kweisi Mfume called the facility one that has “repeatedly held people in unsafe, overcrowded conditions and for detention periods that far exceed those that temporary holding rooms are equipped to accommodate.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen told WBAL, “we need to get answers.”

Reporting shows GSA carried out hyperchlorination and deep cleaning efforts, but lawmakers and some news outlets say the bacteria remain detectable after those treatments. The Banner reported, “The GSA conducted a baseline test that confirmed the presence of the bacteria,” and that GSA told lawmakers it used hyperchlorination; the Banner also reports that “U.S. General Services Administration says it’s committed to protecting tenants’ safety.” WBAL reported some building tenants were unaware an outbreak had occurred. The Washington Times noted it has reached out to GSA for comment.

The Fallon detection follows a string of local Legionella events: several State Center buildings in Baltimore were closed for flushing during a late 2024 into 2025 response, and three courthouses—the Baltimore City District Court on East Fayette Street, the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse on Calvert Street and the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse on Calvert Street—tested positive and were closed for two days in December 2024 for remediation. Federal precedent also exists: GSA’s inspector general reported detecting Legionella in water sources in a half-dozen federal buildings in 2023.

Advocacy around detention conditions has been active in Baltimore, with a couple hundred people rallying outside the Fallon Building on Aug. 25 in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a protest documented in a file photo by William J. Ford of Maryland Matters. For now, Maryland’s congressional Democrats have asked Administrator Edward Forst for full test results, remediation timelines and records of tenant notification as oversight continues and public-health officials watch for further developments.