PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A basement fire at the Portsmouth City Jail forced more than 150 inmates to evacuate early Sunday morning, Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore confirmed with 13News Now.
The fire broke out at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, causing smoke to billow from one side of the building.
Sheriff Moore said the blaze appears to have started in the storage room located in the basement before moving through the elevator shaft and spreading to the eighth floor. Fortunately, the smoke did not drift much beyond the shaft.
As of 7 a.m., a spokesperson for Portsmouth Fire Rescue and Emergency Services said the scene was still active.
For now, Sheriff Moore said all the inmates are being transferred to the former Hampton Roads Regional Jail.
No other information was immediately released