Fire destroys vehicle at Sheriff's Office, none hurt

Aug. 4—A vehicle fire caused a ruckus, but no serious injuries at the Kings County Jail Tuesday.

According to Kings County Assistant Sheriff Dave Putnam, the incident started on Tuesday morning between 6:30 and 7 a.m., when one of the detention deputies in the transportation unit was on his way back to the jail from a follow-up at the hospital. While driving back into the sally port, the deputy noticed the black-and-white vehicle was acting strangely, as if there was a wiring issue.

With the County shop opening at 8 a.m., the deputy parked the vehicle in the sally port so it could be taken to the shop later to be looked at. But as the vehicle sat in the port, personnel in booking noticed smoke coming out of the right rear of the wheel well. Employees tried to put out the vehicle fire with extinguishers and a hose, but to no avail. The Hanford Fire Department was called in and they were able to put it out.

Some employees were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation as a precaution, but Putnam says they were cleared to return to work the same day.

"We'll get it replaced as soon as we can and we insure our stuff," Putnam said. "So hopefully it doesn't delay us in anything we do."

The incident was also brought up by Sheriff David Robinson at the Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting, in which he addressed concerns about potential criminal activity being involved in the vehicle fire.

"I'm just putting some rumors to rest — we don't suspect any foul play, we're not releasing any inmates because of the fire, and everybody's going to be okay," he said.

Robinson thanked the Hanford Fire Department for their prompt response.

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