A fire that sent three inmates to a hospital last Saturday isn't likely to happen again after Pearl River County, Miss.'s new jail opens this fall, officials said.
The fire likely was caused by an electrical short in a fan that was allowed in a cell to help cool inmates, said Sheriff Joe Stuart. The county's new jail, to open early this fall, will meet guidelines set by state and federal authorities, and fans won't be needed, said Stuart.
Eleven inmates were in the cell when the fire started around 5:20 a.m. last Saturday. Firefighters found a mattress on fire as authorities evacuated the cell. The fire was put out quickly, but destroyed one mattress and a fan and damaged another fan and two mattresses, officials said.
Three inmates, Decarlos Frazier, 32, Randall Sheffield, 22, and Dewayne Jones, 20, were taken to Crosby Memorial Hospital in Picayune. They were treated for smoke inhalation and released later that day, said Stuart.
It wasn't clear if the blaze was started by a frayed cord or a malfunctioning fan motor, Stuart said.The new $9.1 million jail, under construction in the Millard community, will house about 400 inmates and will have high-tech security equipment and a water and sewer system capable of handling light industrial needs, Stuart said.
The building is set for completion Aug. 15, but it will take about a month to hire 30 more workers and train everyone on advanced systems.