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| Fire forces county jail evacuation |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/29/2004 |
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A fire at the Ben Hill County (Ga.) Jail - where prisoners are still allowed to smoke cigarettes - forced the evacuation of 84 inmates last Sunday night. The blaze began after inmate Derrick Derrell Young, 23, gave jailers "a hard time," prompting him to be separated from the others, said Sheriff Thurman Ellis. The jail is in Fitzgerald, 155 miles south of Atlanta. There were cardboard boxes and trash outside the cell where Young was isolated, Ellis said. Young had cigarettes and a lighter and he lit a ball of toilet paper on fire and shoved it under the cell door, igniting the trash, Ellis said. Young was serving nine months on minor traffic violations and criminal trespass. "Had he not given us any trouble, he'd probably be getting out in four and a half months," the sheriff said. "He won't be getting out for a long time now." The trash was sitting outside the cell because trustees are not allowed to take the trash out without supervision. The trustees were waiting for a supervising officer before disposing it, Ellis said. Young has been charged with first-degree arson, criminal damage to government property, aggravated assault, reckless conduct and terrorist threats and acts, the state insurance commissioner's office said last Monday. Eight prisoners were taken to the Fitzgerald Dorminy Medical Center with minor injuries. The one prisoner still in the hospital Monday suffered injuries from falling down while being evacuated. Eighty-three prisoners, including the seven released from the hospital, are being housed in 10 different jails in South Georgia. The jail was holding 102 prisoners. Eighteen trustees volunteered to help clean the jail. Most of the damage at the jail was caused by smoke, although Ellis said some windows and light fixtures in the jail will have to be replaced and certain areas will need painting. Several agencies were called in to help with the fire and evacuation. |
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