Henry Co. inmates set jail on fire

HENRY COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – Inmates at the Henry County jail set it on fire early Wednesday morning.

Henry County Sheriff Richard McCorkle says no one was injured in the blaze.

McCorkle says fires have been a reoccurring problem at the jail.

In the past, the cell doors were able to be opened by setting a fire inside rubber tubing. The rubber tubing would be weakened by the fire and that would trigger an emergency setting that would release the locks on cell doors. Inmates would then be free in their bay area by simply sliding the doors open manually.

The Sheriff’s office has been working on the doors for the past six weeks, installing copper wiring to try to circumvent the inmates setting the fires.

Inmates used newspaper and toilet paper to set the fire by putting it in the microwave in the cell area.

When inmates tried to set the fire overnight, it didn’t work because of the new copper wiring. The doors weren’t triggered and the inmates weren’t released from their cells.

The fire did create a large amount of smoke, filling the cell area. The smoke caused the jail to evacuate the inmates.

The males were put into the recreation area and the females were put into the library.

The New Castle Fire Department responded to the fire. It is now under control and the inmates have been returned to their cells.

McCorkle said no one escaped during the fire.