|
|
| Deadly N.C. Jail Fire Spurs Statewide Jail Inspections |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/25/2002 |
|
In the six months since a jail fire killed eight inmates trapped in their cells, North Carolina inspectors have overhauled safety programs and increased pressure on local officials to improve their lockups. ''It's the nightmare you didn't want,'' said Robert G. Lewis, who heads the Jail and Detention section of the state Department of Health and Human Services. ''The whole ball game changed'' with the May 3 fire at the Mitchell County Jail, he said. The evening blaze began in storage room where a wall-mounted heater apparently ignited a leaning stack of cardboard. Seven inmates died still behind bars on the second floor of the jail. Prosecutors investigated the response by authorities and cleared both the jailer and sheriff of any wrongdoing. The May 3 blaze was the first fatal jail fire since North Carolina began its jail inspection program 35 years ago. Still, Lewis immediately began calling managers of the 22 jails built before 1967 the year minimum jail standards were introduced by the state and ordered fire and building inspections. The inspections found hundreds of problems, including faulty or absent smoke detectors and improper storage of wood, paper and other combustible materials some of the same problems found in Mitchell County after the fire, the state Labor Department said. Many of those types of problems have been corrected, but Lewis wants counties to do more. Ideally, each jail would have a sprinkler system, though Lewis says that would cost tens of thousands of dollars that counties don't want to spend on aging jails. So he is asking every county without a sprinkler system to install ventilation systems that can suck smoke out. When local sheriffs haven't been able to persuade county officials to pay for safety improvements, Lewis has gone to the meetings himself to lobby for money. He told Montgomery County commissioners in September to replace their 1927 jail, and ordered them in the meantime to add a smoke evacuation system, alleviate crowding and put another officer on each shift. Nine of the Mitchell County inmates in jail May 3 were being held for trial. Eight were serving short sentences for such crimes as driving with a revoked license and driving while impaired. Sheriff Ken Fox and Mitchell County Board of Commissioners Chairman Harry Anderson have blamed a lack of money for conditions at the jail, which had seen few upgrades since opening in 1956. Neither responded to recent requests for interviews. After the fire, the county was fined $7,350 for violating fire safety codes in the storage area where the fire started and for failing to properly install smoke detectors. County leaders also agreed to pay $8,500 for funeral expenses for each of the dead inmates. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think