HARTFORD, Conn. -- Broadcast House was evacuated on Friday afternoon due to a water-pipe break inside the building that has affected the electrical system.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News aired special abbreviated newscasts at 5, 6 and 11 with special thanks to Connecticut Public Television for their facilities and assistance.

If you have breaking news, please call the news team at 860-977-0901 or 860-977-0903.

WFSB Vice President and General Manager Klarn DePalma executed the station's disaster plan immediately, and all staff members evacuated safely outside the building by 3 p.m.

A 4-inch pipe broke at about 2 p.m. and flooded the basement of Broadcast House for about four hours. The level of the water reached at least one foot and came from a pipe that provides water to the building's cooling system.

About 600 gallons of water per minute flowed into the basement. Initial reports indicated raw sewage was mixed with the flood, but that was not the case.

As soon as crews are able to pump the water from the basement and dry off the electrical equipment, Channel 3 should be able to return to Broadcast House.

"Our goal and our hope is we'll be back up and running and we'll be broadcasting from downtown Hartford by Saturday morning," DePalma said.

"In all my time in broadcasting, we've had fire drills but nothing real like this," Channel 3's Al Terzi said. "Everybody was scurrying around. We put it all together, and we got news on the air; That's what we do, that's what we had to do."

WFSB.com was not affected by the evacuation as Eyewitness News continued to enter updates from outside the building via a wireless Internet connection.

Thank you for your patience and for watching Channel 3 Eyewitness News.

Refresh WFSB.com often and watch Eyewitness News for the latest news updates.