FLEMINGTON, NJ - An electrical fire at Hunterdon County Jail forced prison officials to relocate 124 inmates and close the prison Saturday afternoon.

"The jail is going to be out of commission for an undetermined amount of time," county director of public safety George Wagner said.

Officials reported no injuries to prisoners, prison staff or firefighters. Fourteen inmates considered weekend prisoners were released from custody. The rest of the inmates were going to be transferred to jails in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The fire started at 2:30 p.m. in a basement electrical room. County officials said a corrections officer put out the fire. Fire officials don't know what started the fire, and the investigation was continuing.

"Somehow moisture got in the main electrical panel," County Freeholder George Melick said.

That knocked out power to the whole building and cut off essential services, such as cooking, ventilation and pumping out sewage.

"We can't use a generator because it would go back into that panel and short again," county freeholder George Muller said. "We think if we can get a new panel we can be back up and running again by Tuesday."

The area where the fire broke out sits below where 34 work-release inmates are housed. The entire male population was taken to a center courtyard then to a daytime recreation room. The 15 female inmates were kept in their cells, where officials said there was no danger.

Wagner said emergency plans call for the prisoners to be taken to the adjacent courthouse via an underground tunnel. They could not do that Saturday because of the smoke in the lower levels of the prison.

Wagner said the jail houses 14 maximum security inmates, including Thomas Anderson, who was recently sentenced to 10 years in state prison for manslaughter and was awaiting transfer.