Inmates were locked in cells during April fire that injured 20 at NYC’s Rikers Island, report finds

By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A report by a city oversight agency has found that inmates at New York City’s Rikers Island were kept locked in their cells for nearly half an hour while a fire spread through one of the nation’s largest jail complexes this past April. The city Board of Correction also found that the affected unit’s sprinkler system had been shut off for at least a year and that regular fire safety audits had also not been conducted during that time. The city Department of Correction, which operates city jails, said it will review the report and its recommendations.