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| 240 NJ inmates moved after prison fire |
| By AP |
| Published: 08/15/2003 |
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An early-morning fire at N.J.'s Southern State Prison on Wednesday forced 240 inmates to evacuate their dormitory-style quarters. A corrections officer was taken to a hospital after coming in contact with foam from a fire extinguisher, but no inmates were injured. The fire was reported in Unit 11 at 2 a.m. and was put out just before 9 a.m., said state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer. The cause was under investigation. The 120 inmates in Unit 11 and an equal number of inmates from an adjacent unit were taken to a gymnasium at the medium-security prison in Cumberland County. Southern State was locked down Wednesday but inmates scheduled for release were being moved out, Fedkenheuer said. There would be long-term space for most of the displaced prisoners in a new minimum-security unit at Southern State, Fedkenheuer said. Other inmates would probably be moved to nearby Bayside State Prison. Southern State was built in 1983 and houses about 1,700 inmates. It was the first adult prison in the state to house all its inmates in dormitories rather than individual cells. |
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