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Inmates evacuated from prison building due to fire

Alice CunninghamSuffolk
News imageJamie Niblock/BBC Firefighters in the cage of an aerial ladder platform. There appear to be two of them. They are looking at a roof from which billowing black smoke is coming. The shot has been taken through a barbed wire topped wire fence at Highpoint Prison.Jamie Niblock/BBC
Multiple crews were sent to the prison, joined by three teams from Cambridgeshire

Inmates were evacuated from a prison building at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk after a fire broke out.

At the height of the blaze, which started at 14:40 BST on Friday, the county's fire service sent 14 of its own appliances and three additional crews from Cambridgeshire attended.

The fire was found in a timber and brick structure, and crews used thermal image cameras along with jets to stop it from spreading to an adjacent building.

While the number of crews was scaled back to six overnight, it was put out by 07:30 BST on Saturday.

The Prison Service said staff took "immediate action and all staff and prisoners are accounted for, with no injuries reported".

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson thanked the fire service for their "tireless efforts".

"The extent of the damage will be assessed as part of an investigation," they added.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC The back view of a firefighter in a hi-vis yellow jacket, standing on the top of a ladder at Highpoint Prison. The shot is taken through a wire fence. Jamie Niblock/BBC
HMP Highpoint evacuated one of its blocks after the fire broke out

HMP Highpoint is a category C men's prison and houses 1,300 inmates.

While the fire was in progress, a fire service spokesman said: "As well as extreme heat, firefighters are faced with the additional challenge of difficult access and a complex internal layout."

The East of England Ambulance Service confirmed there were no reports of casualties. Suffolk Police officers were also at the scene supporting colleagues.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC Firefighters in the cage of an aerial ladder platform. There appear to be two of them. They are approaching a roof. The shot has been taken through a wire fence at Highpoint Prison.Jamie Niblock/BBC
The Category C prison houses 1,300 inmates

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