Sunday, July 5, 2009

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Jail evacuated after sprinklers flood building

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A county jail in Cambridge has been evacuated after a group of inmates allegedly broke the building's sprinkler system.

Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola says several Middlesex Jail inmates became unruly Sunday morning after 15 of them were sent to area hospitals with flu-like symptoms.

DiPaola says some inmates broke the fire suppression system, causing the sprinklers to go off and flood the building.

The Cambridge Fire Department asked the sheriff's office to turn off the building's power, and officials began evacuating the inmates by bus to other facilities.

It was not immediately clear where they were headed, or how long the jail would be closed.

The jail originally was built to house 160 prisoners, but has housed up to 400.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)