Inmates Displaced By Jail Fire

KRDO NewsChannel 13 has confirmed there was a fire at the Bent County Jail in Las Animas Tuesday night.

The fire was first reported around 5:15 p.m.

Chris Sorensen with the Bent County Sheriff’s Office says the fire was contained to one pod, or grouping of cells, within the facility.

The fire started in the A Pod. The Las Animas Volunteer Fire Department extinguished the fire, which was confined to a single cell.

There were 4 people being housed in the pod when the fire started.

Those people were moved to another location within the jail, and the Las Animas Fire Department was called to put out the flames.

The four inmates, along with one staff member, were transported to Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center in La Junta for evaluation. All have been released.

All four will be temporarily re-located to the Prowers County Jail. Sorensen says it’s because of a lack of available space at the jail in Bent County.

Inmates from a second pod were also temporarily relocated within the facility, but were returned to their cells later in the evening.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Bent County Sheriff’s Office, The Las Animas Police Department, and The Colorado Bureau of Investigation; however it is believed to be intentional.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 will continue to monitor this situation and bring you new information as it becomes available.