Baltimore firefighters put out a fire on the fifth floor of the city’s downtown jail on Wednesday — the second fire at the facility in six months.

Responders were called at 11:40 a.m. to the Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Center, at 550 E. Madison St.

“We put out a small fire along the window seal in the building and everyone was told to shelter in place,” said Baltimore Fire Department Chief Duane Hull.

AFSCME Council 3 President Patrick Moran, who was on the scene, said the fire broke out as work was being done in one of the cell blocks.

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“There were some maintenance people welding in an uninhabited cell and something caught fire because of the work going,” said Moran. “And we believe one employee was escorted due to possible injury.”

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services confirmed that no one was injured during the incident. And the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal will continue to investigate the fire.

Firefighters also responded to a fire set by inmates in January on the same floor. It injured two dozen inmates, sending three inmates and one correctional officer to a local hospital.

penelope.blackwell@thebaltimorebanner.com

Penelope Blackwell is a Breaking News reporter with The Banner. Previously, she covered local government in Durham, NC, for The News & Observer. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Morgan State University and her master’s in journalism from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. 

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