Evacuated Prisoners and Staff Return to Santiam Correctional Institute

The prisoners and staff at the Prison east of Salem returned to a normal schedule at 1:15 PM.

(SALEM, Ore.) - It is business as usual at the Santiam Correctional Institute in Salem, where a hazardous materials call led to the evacuation of between 250 and 300 people earlier today.

Spokesperson for the state prison Susi Hodgin, says the number of people evacuated was lower than earlier estimates of 450, as work crews were out of the facility when the incident happened and fire crews rolled in.

"A lot of our crews were out, so the building wasn't exactly full," she said, adding that having a number of the inmates out working eased the strain, at least to some degree, and evacuations were orderly and well executed.

She says three corrections officers from Santiam were sent to Salem Hospital for observation and as a precautionary measure, and all three have been treated and released.

The fire was apparently related to a bad mix of chemicals. It started with people complaining of feeling light headed, Bill Holmstrom with Salem Fire said. Hodgin says fire crews were quickly called in to deal with the problem.

"We still have to go through our debriefing. What we know right now is that orderlies were cleaning bathrooms upstairs and they mixed a couple of chemicals. At this point it doesn't look like it was intentional, and I don't know exactly what the chemicals were."

None of the inmates at the facility were injured.

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