Portion of Cape County jail evacuated due to fumes

~ Carbon monoxide gas forces limited evacuation of facility.

The Cape Girardeau County Jail was partially evacuated Sunday afternoon after carbon monoxide was discovered leaking in from a malfunctioning natural gas exhaust vent.

Sheriff John Jordan said officials determined atmospheric conditions initiated the incident. The wind and barometric pressure caused an exhaust vent to malfunction, and rather than releasing the gas, carbon monoxide was sucked into the jail's F-pod and two employee areas.

"It really was kind of a fluke of nature," Jordan said. "This has never happened before which is what's really strange about the whole incident."

Jordan said inmates in the jail's F-pod started complaining of headaches and nausea around noon. Shortly after, jail employees started experiencing the same symptoms and the smell of gas was present.

Atmos Gas Co. was notified and carbon monoxide levels were detected in several areas of the jail. Jackson firefighters and emergency personnel were also called to assist.

"The levels appeared to be higher where the employees were," Jordan said.

Sheriff's deputies transported four inmates to Saint Francis Medical Center where they were treated and returned to jail.

"Anyone that wanted to be checked out was allowed to," Jordan said. "Some wanted to go to the hospital and the doctor checked them out. He assured us that there were no high levels of carbon monoxide present."

Maintenance crews made adjustments to the exhaust pipe and Jordan said the fire department had been checking carbon monoxide levels throughout the afternoon.

"We're back at safe levels and we'll continue to check out our employees and the inmates," Jordan said Sunday evening.

Thirty-two inmates were being housed at the time in F-pod and seven employees were affected in the jail's communication and viewing areas. The jail's six other pods were not evacuated because no levels of carbon monoxide were detected.

All inmates returned to the area by 5 p.m. on Sunday and normal operations resumed.

jfreeze@semissourian.com