A fire broke out at HMP Highpoint, a category C men's prison housing around 1,300 inmates, leading to the evacuation of prisoners. All inmates were reportedly accounted for after being moved to a safe location. Suffolk Fire and Rescue sent ten fire crews to the scene at 2:40 PM, with two additional crews from Cambridgeshire.
Crews attended from Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich East, Ixworth, Clare, Newmarket, Long Melford, Sudbury, Woodbridge and Haverhill. The East of England Ambulance Service reported no casualties but paramedics remained on site. The fire was in a timber and brick structure, and crews used thermal image cameras and a jet to prevent the blaze from spreading.
As well as extreme heat, firefighters are faced with the additional challenge of difficult access and a complex internal layout.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue described the fire as a 'larger' blaze and split it into sections for different crews. " It is not clear where the fire broke out or what caused it.