Updated: Sunday, 05 Jul 2009, 5:37 PM EDT
Published : Sunday, 05 Jul 2009, 5:37 PM EDT
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Prisoners were evacuated from the Middlesex Jail in Cambridge
after a group of inmates allegedly broke the building's sprinkler
system.
Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola says several inmates
became unruly Sunday morning after 15 prisoners were sent to area
hospitals with flu-like symptoms.
Sheriff James DiPaola says some prisoners broke the fire
suppression system, causing the sprinklers to go off and flood the
building.
The Cambridge Fire Department asked the sheriff's office to
turn off the building's power, and officials began evacuating the
inmates by bus to other facilities.
It was not immediately clear where they were headed, or how
long the jail would be closed.
The jail, located over the county courthouse, originally was
built to house 160 prisoners, but has housed up to 400.