Parts of Rock County Jail evacuated due to small fire

JANESVILLE, Wis. — Parts of the Rock County Jail were evacuated Saturday morning after a small fire was discovered in a kitchen exhaust fan, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office said.

A fire alarm at the jail began sounding at 11:23 a.m., prompting officers to call the Janesville Fire Department. Crews quickly extinguished a small fire, but smoke began to spread into inmate housing areas, a news release said.

Inmates from all four of the jail’s secure housing areas were evacuated to other areas of the facility, the release said. Officers from Janesville, the town of Milton and the Wisconsin State Patrol helped evacuate the jail.

Police said the inmates were escorted back to their housing sections around 12:05 p.m. after the smoke cleared, the release said. The jail was then briefly placed on lockdown while officials conducted a cell-by-cell check to make sure everyone had returned to the proper place.

No one was injured in the incident, which officials said was handled smoothly.

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