Spencer jail violates fire codes

A series of fire code violations has Van Buren County Jail on the brink of being shut down as the sheriff said his office is scrambling to address the problems before the state steps in and closes the jail.

‘We have 30 days to answer the findings,’ said Van Buren County Sheriff Barney Evans of the state fire marshal’s inspection which found 18 fire code violations. ‘We’re acting on what problems we can right now but after 30 days there is a chance the state could come in and shut us down.’

The jail, located in downtown Spencer, is presently housing 28 inmates in its tiny facility, a number the fire inspector said must be trimmed to 26 by next inspection.

‘We used to not have but a handful here, but things have stepped up recently,’ Evans said of the growing inmate population.

Some violations are easily correctable, while others aren’t, according to Evans.

Among the easily correctable items are: replacing trash cans to be made from non-combustible materials, replacing worn mattresses which have become fire hazards, storing personal property in metal, fire-rated lockers, not using extension cords as permanent wiring, and removing grease build up in the kitchen.

Items in the more difficult-to-address category are: more appropriate wiring for emergency lights, reduction of inmate population to no more than 26, and removal of sleeping material from the floor which could slow evacuation from main cell. Items which will require a good deal of work include: installing a fire alarm system, using fire-rated storage rooms, improving boards and paneling to a fire rating, and installing an approved sprinkler system.

Given the violations, the fire inspector has ordered the jail have at least two employees on duty at all times and that a fire watch and log be kept every hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

While working on the required upgrades, Sheriff Evans said should the worst happen and the jail be shut down by the state until modifications are made, prisoners would have to be contracted out to other jails such as Warren County. Contracting out prisoners, however, usually costs a great deal more than holding them in a local facility.

‘We’re trying to bring it up to codes,’ Evans said, noting some of the items on the list have been corrected already.