Fire Safety

Prison staff safely moved 40 inmates to another part of the facility after a fire broke out in a first floor room of a two-storey building at the prison.

A call was made to Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service just after 9 am. Around 15 firefighters attended the blaze, using a mechanical fan to clear smoke from the building and a thermal imaging camera to check for fire spread.

The fire service had undertaken a training exercise with the staff at the prison in January this year.

The station manager in charge of the incident commented: "One of the reasons for carrying out the exercise in January was to allow crews to familiarise themselves with the issues that may arise if there was an emergency situation at the prison.

"The incident today has allowed us to apply that knowledge to the benefit of all concerned.”

It is believed that the fire started accidentally.