|
|
| Prison complex siren tested |
| By Erin Julius |
| Published: 04/16/2009 |
|
HAGERSTOWN — Nancy Forsythe knew corrections officials this week were testing a whistle designed to notify residents of an emergency at the state prison complex on Roxbury Road south of Hagerstown. Forsythe, who has lived near the corner of Roxbury Road and Md. 65 for 50 years, said she heard the siren Wednesday from her lawn but couldn’t hear it from her kitchen. People working at the side of Rockland Woods Elementary School nearest the prison complex didn’t hear the whistle, Washington County schools spokesman Richard Wright said. The three prisons at the complex — Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagrstown, Maryland Correctional Training Center and Roxbury Correctional Institution — house more than 6,000 inmates. The complex’s emergency notification system was questioned after convicted murderer Kandelario Garcia-Ramos scaled two fences and escaped from MCI-H on the morning of Jan. 17. He was captured five days later when a clerk at Sheetz at U.S. 40 and Md. 66 east of Hagerstown called 911 to report a suspicious man loitering in the store. Some area residents who live near the prisons questioned at the time why they didn’t know a convicted murderer was on the run. Prison officials have said a siren was sounded to alert people in the surrounding area of the escape. None of those interviewed by The Herald-Mail a few days after the escape said they heard the siren. The siren was tested Tuesday and again Wednesday. It was described by a corrections spokesman as a whistle that is activated by high-pressure steam. Openings allow the whistle to sound to the north, south, east and west, Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services spokesman Mark Vernarelli said in an e-mail Wednesday. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think