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Sheriff reports jail fire, repairs and review of inmate tablets after battery‑related ignition
Summary
Sheriff Scott reported a fire at the county jail caused after an inmate breached an approved educational tablet’s battery. The jail was evacuated, inmates were temporarily housed in a neighboring facility, and staff are evaluating the vendor tablet durability and insurance implications.
Beaufort County Sheriff Scott briefed commissioners on a recent fire at the county jail, the facility response and subsequent remediation work.
Scott said staff re-entered the facility once it was safe, evacuated inmates without major injuries, and completed cleaning and maintenance work while in temporary housing. He described cooperation with a neighboring sheriff who waived housing and feeding fees while Beaufort County inmates were held off-site. "She was able to waive the fees for the room and board… and the food," Scott said. County maintenance led remediation and painting work in the building.
According to Sheriff Scott, the ignition source was a battery removed from an approved in‑cell educational tablet that had been penetrated. The sheriff said the vendor has been asked for a durability assessment and that, for the moment, the tablets have been removed from the jail pending vendor follow-up. "They did penetrate that tablet, break it open, and get the battery out," Scott said.
County accounting staff reported the county raised its buildings deductible to $50,000 on July 1; cleaning costs already reported were about $51,000 and an insurance claim is expected once the county compiles all costs. The county finance/administration staff said they will present a budget amendment (May or June meeting) to reflect insurance recoveries and expense allocation once claims are documented.
Commissioners asked whether tablets will remain available to inmates; Scott said tablets are removed until a vendor durability report is returned and staff decide whether to reinstate them. Commissioners also asked about ICE screening and the sheriff explained that fingerprints are uploaded to the law‑enforcement database used by federal partners; he said the jail does not run a separate immigration screening process but that fingerprints make individuals discoverable in shared systems.
Ending: The sheriff said staff are continuing the damage assessment, vendor follow-up and insurance coordination; the board will receive budget documentation and any recommended changes after staff complete the claims process.
