A fire outbreak at Liberty County Jail last night has resulted in the hospitalization of three correction officers due to smoke inhalation, authorities reported. Captain David Meyers from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office indicated that the fire, believed to have been started by one or multiple inmates, necessitated a swift evacuation of nearly 45 to 60 inmates to a secure area within the facility, as reported by abc13.
The incident unfolded around 9:20 p.m. when the fire erupted on the west end of the jail, specifically above an office in the roof area. Despite the amount of smoke generated, the Liberty County Fire Department managed to bring the situation under control shortly before 10 p.m. No inmates were injured in the incident, and efforts were made to effectively ventilate the building and remove the smoke. Captain Meyers told abc13, "Once all the smoke was out, checked levels on the inside to make sure it was safe to move inmates back into the west end of the building."
The situation led to immediate action by the authorities, with the inmates being rapidly moved to safety. The Liberty County Sheriff's Office and firefighters responded to the scene to extinguish and manage the aftermath of the fire. The evacuated inmates have since been moved back into the west end of the building.
As investigations into the fire's origin continue, the sheriff's office has yet to provide specific details regarding the cause or the inmates involved in starting the blaze, as noted in a Click2Houston report.
The condition of the hospitalized correction officers, who were transported as a precaution has been described as stable, with all three officers now OK, as per reports from abc13. The sheriff's office is expected to release more information as their investigation proceeds.
