Last Updated on August 10, 2023, 1:59 PM | Published: August 10, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — An early-morning laundry room fire in the Oklahoma County Detention Center is being investigated by an arson investigator with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
According to a press release, “no detainees or staff were in the laundry area or injured during the fire.”
As of publication, no cause has been determined.
Jail spokesperson Mark Opgrande told Free Press that video surveillance of the room did not show any people in the laundry room over a 12-hour period.
Opgrande said that the fire occurred in one of the rolling hoppers used to collect detainee clothes for washing.
“At this time, it appears the clothes in the bin spontaneously combusted,” said a news release from Opgrande.
The fire suppression system “put the fire out shortly after it started,” read the press release.
Laundry services for the Jail will be suspended for the day, according to Opgrande.
Free Press will continue to update this report as we gain reliable information.
Conditions in the Jail have been suspect for years and came under even more scrutiny after the Oklahoma County Jail Trust took over operations of the Jail in the late summer of 2020.
Since then, the first administrator resigned and a new one was hired. And, a multi-county grand jury released a scathing report that said the Jail Trust had failed so badly that they should “self-terminate.”
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
