Injured in Jail Explosion

This was posted by a friend of mine who works the night shift in booking. He was on National Guard duty or he would have been at work when the explosion occurred. The injuries for this man are life-changing.

http://www.gofundme.com/8thhj4

Here's what mystifies me. The news reported that some of our sheriff's deputies smelled the gas hours before the explosion and their reaction was to go find a fan to blow it outside.

What genius.
Don't these guys have to be over 12 years old to be deputies? Because most people over the age of puberty know the smell of a gas leak and that you do not mess around with such a thing.

The explosion did not have to happen.

I agree 100% Otter but that does not help the people that were injured.. The ACA or regular county employee insurance should cover the medical bills. The 1 person who should be fired is the one in charge who didn't sound the alarms and get the ?leak? fixed or people evacuated before the explosion..

Well you know how them convicts lie..gas, yeah sure....BOOM ! I would hate to be locked in a cell smelling gas screaming for a guard to pay attention and the attitude of the guard being, shut up jailbird you talk when I say you can....

"Open a window"... yeah, right!

This is such a tragedy. I agree - the gas leak should have been checked out. I can't imagine why it wasn't.

Still, I feel for those who were injured. One of the guards is a close friend of a friend.

TEOTWAWKI wrote:

Well you know how them convicts lie..gas, yeah sure....BOOM !  I would hate to be locked in a cell smelling gas screaming for a guard to pay attention and the attitude of the guard being, shut up jailbird you talk when I say you can....

So the correctional officers wanted to prove a point to the inmates even though they themselves were injured?...One of those officers is paralyzed from the waist down...so his (and other guards') attitude was the problem?...What ridiculous comments you made about this tragedy...If the warnings/complaints went up the chain of command then it will be identified and the responsible person is certainly accountable for their actions/inactions....but to attempt to blame the perception of guards' attitudes is right out of the tabloids...

The County is stonewalling.  Nothing will be "identified".  Their account appears to be one of denial.

Eric wrote:

The County is stonewalling.  Nothing will be "identified".  Their account appears to be one of denial.

 
    And you know this how?....They called in ATF a few days ago and the investigation is ongoing...Can we even allow the investigation to conclude before the conspiracy/stonewalling theories begin?...Guess the corrections officers are in the same category as all law enforcement...nobody's any good...The you tube video proves there was an explosion nothing more.

There were inmate interviews in the paper today and mentioned that they were interviewed by investigators. The S/A said criminal charges could be coming if the leak was reported and nothing was done or wasn't reported...This is 'stonewalling'?...Again...allow the investigation to conclude and release their results....

One thing is certain, the lawyers in this town are drooling over all the lawsuits sure to come. I'll bet His Own High Sheriff Morgan is ecstatic he dumped the jail off onto the county several months ago.....

nochain wrote:

One thing is certain, the lawyers in this town are drooling over all the lawsuits sure to come. I'll bet His Own High Sheriff Morgan is ecstatic he dumped the jail off onto the county several months ago.....

He mentioned that several times in his press conference....No doubt the lawyers have been chasing down family members probably minutes after the explosion...

In addition to the ones NOT takling action before the blast, lets go all the way back to the engineer and building inspector that approved the initial construction of a gas system with a non-working safety..  When I had gas, I know if MY power went out, the pilot light went out and the valve closed..  It's a fail safe engineered into the furnace and stove I had at the time..  Others with electronic ignitors automatically close the gas valve if the power goes out..

Jake92 wrote:

In addition to the ones NOT takling action before the blast, lets go all the way back to the engineer and building inspector that approved the initial construction of a gas system with a non-working safety..  When I had gas, I know if MY power went out, the pilot light went out and the valve closed..  It's a fail safe engineered into the furnace and stove I had at the time..  Others with electronioc ignitors automatically close the gas valve if the power goes out..

Guess that the investigation will take some time to ask exactly the questions that you've posted and conduct a through investigation...it's not like tv where this can be done in an episode...some can be so impatient...

It takes seconds to determine WHO had the authority and did nothing to prevent the deaths and injuries.. Where is the integrity??

Jake92 wrote:

It takes seconds to determine WHO had the authority and did nothing to prevent the deaths and injuries..  Where is the integrity??

In a perfect world if one neglected their duties they should step forward and be held accountable/responsible ...That's why the investigation has to cover all the angles from as you posted possible building violations etc.,... to the complaints passed along and where they ended along with actions taken or not taken...Again, not defending anyone but just allow the investigation to move on and get some answers...

mediawatcher wrote:

 
    And you know this how?....They called in ATF a few days ago and the investigation is ongoing...Can we even allow the investigation to conclude before the conspiracy/stonewalling theories begin?...Guess the corrections officers are in the same category as all law enforcement...nobody's any good...The you tube video proves there was an explosion nothing more.

    There were inmate interviews in the paper today and mentioned that they were interviewed by investigators.  The S/A said criminal charges could be coming if the leak was reported and nothing was done or wasn't reported...This is 'stonewalling'?...Again...allow the investigation to conclude and release their results....

From the same PNJ article probably.

Quote :

State Attorney Bill Eddins said late Tuesday that criminal negligence charges were a possibility.

"That is an issue that clearly has to be examined," he said.

Eddins said an assistant state attorney and an investigator from his office have been assigned to work with the Florida fire marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as they comb through debris and try to find cause of the blast.

The investigation will likely take months and that criminal charges would only be filed if, after careful review, it is found that any jail authority was grossly negligent by not acting to ensure the safety of people in the jail, Eddins said.

Inmates have told the media, attorneys and family members that they smelled gas hours before the explosion. Escambia County denied a request for recordings of phone calls made from the jail by inmates prior to the explosion, saying they are part of the ongoing investigation. The county also denied requests to view surveillance video recorded by the jail before and during the explosion.

The County was quick to try to limit their liability by saying there was no evidence that anyone had been notified. Their actions sure look like STONEWALLING to me.

Very good that assumption of stonewalling can be made from that article.  The "investigation will likely take months and criminal charges would be filed if, after careful review, it is found that any jail authority was grossly negligent by not acting to ensure the safety of the people in jail," Eddins said.  The S/A will act upon the investigation of the agencies that are doing their jobs.
        Inmates have told the media, ATTORNEYS, and family members that they smelled gas hours before the explosion...Doesn't sound like the county is attempting to keep anyone from making their statements.  Those investigating aren't speaking to the media either but that doesn't mean they are stonewalling or covering up anything...Not attempting to say there was no negligence but to rush to judgement and start with the stonewalling allegations just may be a little premature...There will be trials...out of court settlements coming up and that may be the reason why you don't run the trial through the media...
 
        IF those that are found to have done something wrong then by all means it needs to be taken care of at the conclusion of the investigation.  Would just be a little difficult to think that the county can control/obstruct an investigation from the State Fire Marshal and the ATF.  Those folks thankfully draw their conclusions on facts pertaining to the case rather than allegations and/or assumptions.

Will agree that the [unnamed county official(s)] that said there were no reports of gas leaks 24 hours prior to the expolsion was wrong in talking or speculating about an on-going investigation. Not to cover-up anything but he/she/they should have allowed the PIO to handle all contacts with the media. Too bad this official(s) was unnamed.

It's simple enough to me. Gas smells. It smells a long time before it explodes. According to the inmates interviewed in today's paper, not only were the guards notified of the smell but they blamed it on the gas generators that were being used because the power had gone out.

Here's a little thought: Why did they let inmates go to sleep in their beds that night even if the guards just thought gas fumes from generators was leaking into their cells? Gas fumes from generators have killed thousands of people after disasters like this one. It doesn't matter that it turned out to be a different form of gas, as Nancy Reagan used to say "Just Say NO" to gas fumes. Period. They were morons.

I think there will be mass firings over this issue, I think the county is going to pay a big price for the screw up, and I think Sheriff Morgan got his hiney out of the jail business at just the right moment.

Within a day or two, the County was QUICK to say that no one was officially notified of a gas problem at the jail. This implies that they had conducted their investigation and had come to the conclusion that they were free of responsibility.

Pure and simple, it appears that there is an effort to head off their liability. Now that the State's Attorney and other attorneys are involved, they're suddenly "conducting an investigation"... using that excuse to delay fact seekers and give them time to obfuscate the evidence and to concoct a story that minimizes their liability.

Otter, I believe it's NOT the (propane, natural, or gasoline) fumes from the fuel the generators use that has killed people, but the CO (carbon monoxide) in the exhaust from the generators.... Most deaths from generator exhaust fumes are from people running a generator inside the garage or next to an open window during power outages.. CO is tasteless, odorless, and colorless to humans, but is poison to animals, including humans.. Miners used to use birds that can detect CO inside mines to alert them to CO fumes..

Jake, I agree about the CO. For that reason, it is dangerous to use a barbecue grill using brickettes... CO.

People with CO poisoning don't turn blue (cyanotic), their skin turns reddish. It makes people think that they got plenty of oxygen, when in fact they didn't.

And, Otter... I think that Sheriff Morgan is ecstatic that he isn't in charge of the jail.

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I heard reports that the jail may be torn down. With all the damages from flooding that are hitting the County Cash Cow, how in hell are we going to be able to fund a new jail building... a new Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) initiative?

I'm sure they'll be asking for a local option sales tax to rebuild, but I'm not so certain the voters in this county will want to go along with it if they find out the destruction of the jail could have been avoided.
The problem with all these taxes is that even if they are about to expire, the county always comes back and says they need the money for something else.
We have a lot of gullible voters in this county though that seem to go along with whatever is on the ballot.

Jake92 wrote:

Otter, I believe it's NOT the (propane, natural, or gasoline) fumes from the fuel the generators use that has killed people, but the CO (carbon monoxide) in the exhaust from the generators....  Most deaths from generator exhaust fumes are from people running a generator inside the garage or next to an open window during power outages..  CO is tasteless, odorless, and colorless to humans, but is poison to animals, including humans..  Miners used to use birds that can detect CO inside mines to alert them to CO fumes..  

You are right, I remember that now. I have a CO detector in my hallway and anyone who has a gas fireplace or gas generator should have one. Whatever the excuse was, inmates should have been moved or something should have been done when the smell got so strong that they had to bring in fans to blow it away. And of course it didn't turn out to be a problem with the generators anyway.

Fire/smoke detectors are common and detectors for Carbon Monoxide are common, but I don't recall a detector for consumer product that detects the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) of flammable gasses.  

Years ago, when I regulated gas stations, I carried several instruments that were capable of determining LEL, but they were expensive.

Do they make a consumer-grade detector for natural gas... besides the human nose?  Methane is colorless and odorless, but they add mercaptan (tert-Butylthiol (t-butyl mercaptan)) to make it smell like rotten eggs.  

SMELLING the gas should be enough proof of a leak.

If you are incarcerated you are helpless. Your guards are responsible for your life and safety as long as you are under their control. If they fail in that they should be fired and incarcerated themselves for dereliction of duty and allowing harm to come to someone in their charge. It's bad enough the cops beat and shoot people and their dogs everyday. I hope the prisoners get big bucks.