The Rockcastle County Detention Center is closed today following an overnight fire. Several inmates and staff were treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation. No serious injuries were reported.
State Police Trooper Lloyd Cochran says the jail fire in a ventilation system sent 16 inmates and two staff members to the hospital. He says none had life-threatening injuries. Cochran says the cause has not been determined, but it appears to be arson. Rockcastle County Judge Executive Doug Bishop agrees, “We don’t think it was electrical or anything in the building, that it was from natural causes is what the first indication appears, but we’re waiting for the final report.”
More than 100 inmates have been taken to the Laurel County Correctional Center. Bishop says jail employees handled the fire incident well. “In the middle of the morning and a rainy morning to remove over a hundred inmates from our jail and get them safely transported and all of them accounted for is a big feat for us and something we’re very proud of,” added Bishop.
It’s unclear how long it will take to make repairs to the Rockcastle County detention center.?
