4 deputies released from hospital after fire in Forsyth County jail

Four deputies who helped extinguish a fire inside the Forsyth County Detention Center have been treated and released from the hospital, a sheriff’s office spokesman said.

The source of the fire was a dryer in the basement. The fire was contained, but the Forsyth County Fire Department was still on the scene at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Offices spokesman Doug Rainwater told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The deputies were close to the fire when it broke out and helped extinguish it,” Rainwater said. They suffered smoke inhalation.

No inmates were in danger. Still, Rainwater said they were checked out by nurses at the jail.

The jail was placed on lockdown while officials worked to clear the smoke from the basement area using fans. It was not immediately known who was using the dryer when the fire started or what was in it.

No one was moved out of the jail and a lockdown was enforced.

“We have systems in place where if it’s a small fire and contained, it’s much safer to keep inmates where they are,” Rainwater said. The facility, built in 2015, houses at least 280 inmates. Moving them, he said, would’ve been tough, unless it was something they had to do.

It is the first time a fire has occurred at the jail.

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