Minor fire at Madison County jail

No major damage occurred Wednesday when a fire broke out in a crawl space at the Madison County Jail.

Workers installing an air conditioning unit on the roof sparked the 3 p.m. fire when a blowtorch they were using caused a piece of hot metal to drop into the four-foot space above the ceiling of the laundry, Deputy Chief Eddie Belvedresi said. The fire did not spread.

“It couldn’t have happened at a better time,” he said. “It was right at the shift change so a lot of officers were already on the scene.”

No one was injured, but the 144 inmates housed on the other side the building, which also includes the visiting center, were moved to another unit.

“No cells were affected by this,” Madison County emergency management director Butch Hammack said.

Belvedresi said the federal and county inmates housed in the building weren’t aware there was an ongoing fire as they were being shifted. Even after they learned of the blaze, “they were real calm,” he said.

The fire was extinguished by the Canton Fire Department in about 30 minutes. The inmates were expected to be returned to their cells in the building later Wednesday evening after the water was mopped up and the smoke cleared away.

The county will have insurance adjusters in to assess the damage, Belvedresi said. There appeared to be no damage to the roof, he said.

Clarion Ledger