A prison in Suffolk had to be evacuated following a major fire in one of the prison blocks.
At the height of the fire, 17 fire crews from Suffolk and Cambridgeshire were sent to deal with the “difficult fire” at HMP Highpoint on Friday.
Staff at the prison had already evacuated the building when fire crews arrived and confirmed that everyone was accounted for.
Firefighters located the blaze in a timber and brick structure but the service said they were faced with the “additional challenge of difficult access and a complex internal layout.”
Firefighters from across Suffolk and Cambridgeshire were sent to the prison. Credit: ITV News Anglia
As a result, the fire service split the building into sections, with “crews assigned to each section” in order to tackle the blaze.
At 2.46am on Saturday, a spokesperson for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said that a “number of holes have been made into the structure where hot spots were identified, giving firefighters better access.
“Six engines now on site, with four hose reel jets in use with fog spike attachment. Progress is being made, but this remains a difficult fire to fight.”
The prison service also set up welfare facilities for the huge number of firefighters at the scene.
The fire service said a stop to the incident was called at 7.28am on Saturday morning but that a number of crews would remain at the Category C prison to continue dampening down for hot spots.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is expected to begin later.
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