Shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday (April 10), a small fire broke out at the detention centre, which had been locked down reportedly since yesterday. The blaze was extinguished quickly but not before two people – one inmate and one employee – were taken away by ambulance.
UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): Police and fire officials are investigating a case of arson at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) that sent two to hospital Wednesday morning (April 10).
One inmate and one staff member were taken to hospital by ambulance in stable condition.
Standing outside the gates at the facility’s ‘A’ entrance London Police Service (LPS) Staff Sgt. Tom Gaffney confirmed the LPS is treating the fire, which may have taken place in a common room on the second floor, as arson.
The London Fire Department and Ontario Fire Marshall are also part of the investigation.
Gaffney also confirmed the EMDC is currently on lockdown.
Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop wouldn’t confirm any details related to the fire, saying the investigation is active and in its early stages. He said EMDC staff and London firefighters did an “admirable job in a difficult situation extinguishing the fire.”
“This type of institution would pose some unique challenges in terms of evacuation and safety and security.”
UPDATE (5:50 P.M.): A fire set at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) that sent two to hospital Wednesday morning (April 10) is just the latest product of overcrowding and unsafe conditions at the facility, according to a union representative.
One inmate and one employee were sent to hospital for treatment and were in stable condition after the fire, which the London Police Service (LPS), London Fire Department and Ontario Fire Marshall’s office are investigating.
The LPS has confirmed it is an arson investigation.
It’s just the latest incident connected to tension at the overcrowded London correctional facility, according to Dan Sidsworth, chair of the provincial Ministry-Employee Relations Committee (MERC) for correctional officers.
The guards at the EMDC are members of Local 108 of the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU), which falls under the umbrella of the MERC.
Sidsworth told London Community News the EMDC was put on lockdown after guards refused to work Tuesday evening, citing safety concerns over a plan to search the jail for sharp weapons. He said the fire was related to the lockdown.
“I would say I can confirm the fire is linked to the lockdown and tension in the facility,” he said.
According to Sidsworth a confidential source informed EMDC guards Tuesday (April 9) that an inmate had been threatened with a “sharp-edged weapon.”
Correctional officers (CO) investigated and found inmates had been threatened on a number of other occasions.
Local 108 requested a search of the EMDC be done. Negotiations with management and a risk assessment of the search took place Tuesday evening, but when the new CO shift came in, they disagreed with the risk assessment, saying the situation had changed and a new review had to be done. When management refused, they exercised their right to refuse unsafe work.
During a work refusal, managers from the EMDC and other facilities in the region take the place of guards on the floor.
The types of searches in prisons are regulated provincially. Basically the union and managers were at loggerheads over what level of search needs to take place.
The local wanted the Institutional Crisis Intervention Team, a tactical squad with enhanced safety equipment, to be activated for the search but management determined regular guards would be safe enough in protective vests.
According to Brent Ross, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the Ministry of Labour determined the COs had no right to refuse work and that they have returned to their posts. At about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday he said the lockdown was still in effect to facilitate the search.
Sidsworth said the MOL argued that there is an inherit risk in their jobs and that the dispute should be resolved internally. He said that has happened on other occasions.
“We agree that there is an inherit risk, but there are policies and procedures that aren’t being followed,” Sidsworth explained. “The pattern at Elgin is very frustrating. The management there is very rigid and doesn’t want to work with the local. The lack of information sharing and cooperation seems to be very exasperating to labour relations at EMDC.”
The EMDC is currently home to 426 inmates, about 60 percent of them awaiting trial. Overcrowding and poor living conditions for inmates and working conditions for guards there have been making headlines for over a year. The tension has led to riot-like conditions in the facility and rallies for inmate and worker rights outside its gates.
According to Sidsworth “nothing has changed on the floor” at the EMDC.
“Correctional officers still feel their concerns have not been addressed.”
