Wednesday, August 18, 1999
Fixes on the way for tent jail
Sheriff told of fire code violations
BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
HAMILTON — Butler County Sheriff's Department officials are taking steps to correct local building and fire code violations found at their experimental tent jail.
“Most everything that was in (the inspection) has been addressed,” said sheriff's spokesman Brad Kraemer. “Most of them were minor infractions that were easily addressed. The tent is a temporary measure that we're only using as long as the jail population demands it.”
The Army-surplus tent has housed an average of 15 inmates since being set up at minimum-security Resolutions on Hanover Street three weeks ago.
An inspection of the tent by Hamilton fire officials found:
• No permit for the tent was issued from the city.
• Sheriff's officials couldn't provide certification that the tent is fire-resistant.
• Improper use of extension cords. Fire officials want a temporary electrical service established for the tent.
• No emergency plan on site.
• A 36-inch-wide access aisle down the middle of the tent to the main exit was not maintained.
“We issued a notice of fire code violations, which is not a citation,” said Hamilton Fire Chief Lyle Moore. “None of them are that big a deal.”
The code notices were sent Aug. 12, and the violations must be corrected within 30 days or the fire department could issue a citation, the chief said, adding the inspection was prompted by a call from someone at the state level. He could not identify who called.
The tent, expected to come down at the end of August, was set up to ease chronic crowding at the Butler County Jail.
“It's just helping us get through the end of the summer,” said Capt. Norman Lewis, jail warden. “It's doing what we intended it to do. Fifteen beds isn't going to solve our problem.”
Sheriff Harold Don Gabbard wanted to set up a tent jail last year because of the crowding, but he wasn't able to get permission from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
This summer, he decided to put up the tent without seeking state approval. Plans to build a jail are in the works, but it won't be ready for at least two years.
“There's no issues that are immediately dangerous to life or health,” Chief Moore said about the code violations. “It's nothing that I would identify as imminent danger.”
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