Ohio State Prison and San Miguel Prison Chile Fires - Case Study Example

Case Study Report -Part A Ohio catastrophe: Sequence of events The first fire catastrophe took place in Ohio State in the USA. The Ohio state penitentiary was a prison that was operated beginning 1834 to 1983 in Columbus Ohio. Currently it falls in the Arena District. The conditions inside the prison were described as being primitive. The prison was later replaced by another one called the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility which is a maximum security prison located in Lucasville. It was on the 21st of April 1930 when the Ohio state penitentiary made history in the state and the entire America. On that day on an early evening a fire started in the prison killing 322 prisoners. This fire was rated as having been the worst in the history of Ohio and in the history of prisons as well. The flames and the poisonous gases produced by the lumber which was burning killed many prisoners. The fire was caused by a candle that lit up certain oily rags in the roof in the west block within a few minutes of inmates being locked up in the cells at the end of the day (Ohio history central, 1999). The fire started in section ‘I’ and moved on burning through dry timber to section ‘H’ then to ‘G’ to the upper part where there were 300 prisoners locked in cells. Section H and G had 835 prisoners. The prisoners had no other way to escape except through the doors on their cells. However the doors could not be unlocked because the guard responsible had been ordered never to unlock them in case of a disturbance. The prisoners on the upper tiers could not be saved because the keys were obtained when it was too late. Many of them were trapped and were unconscious, dying or already dead. There was no rioting because of the presence of the state and federal troopers who helped to prevent battles (Ohio history central, 1999). Police and all the fire apparatus available came to the prison after a general alarm was sounded. By that time the flames had broken through the roof of the old building. Penitentiary guards cordoned off the prison as state troopers were called in. Machine guns were put on walls and gates. The regular guards were joined by national guardsmen and they all surrounded the prison. Rescue efforts were carried out by prisoners and guards alike. The fire was brought under control at about 8 p.m. Doctors were called to minister to the injured at the scene (Ohio history central, 1999). Chile catastrophe: Sequence of events The second fire catastrophe occurred on 8th December 2010 in Southern Santiago Chile in the San Miguel prison. The fire was reported to have started because of a fight between the prisoners in the cells. The fire started at 5:30 a.m. early morning Chilean time and 1230 GMT (7:30 a.m. EST). Fire fighters were called in by the guards or a prisoner but could not access the buildings immediately since they were locked out by police for some time (France 24, 2010). About 10 units of firemen had come to control the fire. Many relatives to the inmates gathered outside the gates of the prison threatening the peace of the area during the incident. Many of them were angry and anxious. The fire was put out after 3 hours. Fire fighters worked with police to avoid getting into trouble with the prisoners surrounding them. Over 200 prisoners were shifted to other parts of the prison with others who were badly affected remaining at the area of the fire. 81 prisoners died and 14 others sustained very bad injuries. Injured prisoners were driven to various hospitals within the region (France 24, 2010). Similarities and differences Reports indicated that 81 prisoners died in the San Miguel prison fire with 20 others sustaining injuries. Compared to the Ohio prison fire, the death toll was lower. It was the deadliest incident in Chile ever to happen. The fire started at about 5:30 a.m. Chilean time on the third floor. Similar to the Ohio fire, the Chilean fire was also started by prisoners. Rival gangs while fighting set mattresses on fire. The fire was contained in three hours which was almost the same amount of time as the fire in Ohio state prison. As opposed to this fire where two guards and one fire fighter was injured there was no fire fighter or guard in the Ohio prison fire who was reported to have sustained injuries. All the fire fighters were safe (Ohio history central, 1999). Both the two prisons were reported to be badly overcrowded when the fires started. The normal capacity of the San Miguel prison was supposed to be 892 but at the time of the fire there were 1, 654 prisoners. In the Ohio prison 4,300 prisoners were being held there yet the prison was built to hold only 1500 prisoners. In these two fire incidents overcrowding in the prisons was seen as a major contributor to the problems of the inmates that started the fires. In the San Miguel fire, fire fighters got to know of the fire from a phone call coming from within the prison by a prisoner using an illegal phone at about 5:48 a.m. This contrasts with the Ohio prison case where police and fire fighters were alerted by a general alarm. Just like the Ohio case the investigations into the fire catastrophe were launched by police and the report produced indicated that the fire was started deliberately and that inmates had been fighting before it started. Police and fire fighters in the Chile case arrived at the scene 9 minutes after the fire had started and began work immediately. When compared to the Ohio incident, there is a contrast. In the Ohio fire tragedy police and fire fighters were late in coming and as reports indicated, the fire fighters could not start working immediately. This accounted for the over 300 deaths and injuries recorded as opposed to the 81 deaths recorded in the Chile fire. The losses incurred in terms of injuries and deaths were therefore different from one prison to the other. Ohio state prison recorded higher deaths when compared to the San Miguel prison in Chile (France 24, 2010). Losses incurred In both these incidents there were heavy losses incurred. The Ohio state prison had 322 deaths while the San Miguel prison lost 81 prisoners. 14 inmates were injured in the Chile incident. Besides the deaths and injuries mentioned above there were massive losses of property. The prison buildings were razed down and the damage created in the Ohio prison was much greater than what happened in the Chile prison. The destruction of the gates and the doors to the cells by fire fighters and prisoners trying to save those trapped in the San Miguel prison fire accounted for more loss of property (France 24, 2010). Main causes and theories on the incidents The two prison fires had there own individual causes which are almost similar. The theories developed after the incidents also look similar. In the Ohio state prison incident, the major cause of the fire was seen to be the deliberate act of the prisoners to cause the fire and escape in the commotion that would come after that (Ohio history central, 1999). A theory that was developed afterwards claimed that the prison facility was heavily overcrowded and this prompted the movement of the prisoners to a prison farm away in London, Ohio. When the fire occurred the holding capacity of the Ohio penitentiary had doubled. In 1931, the state legislature in reaction to this created the Ohio parole board which set free so many inmates in a short span of time. It was reported that the some inmate caused the fire so that they could escape in the commotion. Two among the three accused prisoners committed suicide after 3 months and this was used to support the claims that the prisoners started the fire. There were other claims that the fire started as an accident and that the prison officials were shifting blame to the prisoners because the prison was in poor condition and it was being run very badly. The prison officials wanted to keep off from blame because they knew they were responsible for the poor state of the prison (Ohio history central, 1999). In the San Miguel prison in Chile, it was believed that the fire broke out when rival gangs of prisoners started a fight. A burner that was nearby fell on some mattresses and they caught fire. Overcrowding was also believed to have contributed to the fire. Congestion was theorized as a major cause because the prison condition was pathetic and in such conditions a fire could start any time. The true cause of the fire in this case however was the fight between the prisoners which led to mattresses in the cells being set a blaze (France 24, 2010). Investigations into the two incidents After the two fire incidents investigations were launched immediately into each of them. In the case of the Ohio state prison fire, Governor Cooper of the Ohio State ordered investigations into the matter immediately. Investigations by police into the incident later revealed that the pathetic overcrowded conditions of the prison led to the unfortunate event. The action of prisoners lighting the fire in order to escape was cited as the specific cause of the fire. Those prisoners who died from the fire were burned and chocked in their lungs by the smoke from the fire (Ohio history central, 1999). The Ohio state penitentiary had been built to accommodate 1500 people. Overcrowding and poor conditions were the biggest problem at the facility. At the time the fire broke out in 1930 about 4,300 prisoners were being held in the jail. There was an expansion being done by construction crews and scaffolding had been put on one side before the fire started (Ohio history central, 1999). A prosecutor was given the responsibility of leading the investigations into the San Miguel fire incident. Findings showed that there was enough proof to the claim that the fire was started by prisoners rioting in the cells. Overcrowding and the poor state of the prison were cited as the cause of the fire in the San Miguel prison (France 24, 2010). Consequences of the disasters Besides the deaths and the injuries to the prisoners, fire fighters and guards there were other consequences that resulted from these incidents. The relatives of the prisoners killed in the fires were deeply affected by the losses. The reputation of the authorities responsible for these prisons was also dented because of the poor conditions in which they were in. The poor state of the prisons most likely affected the reputation of the respective governments concerned. The prison department lost a lot of property in terms of the buildings that were destroyed in the two fires. This led to many other inconveniences such as the relocation of prisoners from the destroyed buildings to other areas. There were costs incurred in repair and renovation of the destroyed parts of the prisons (Ohio history central, 1999 Case Study - Report Part B Human factors leading to the incidents The unfortunate fire disasters that took place in the prisons in Ohio State and Santiago Chile could not have ended with many deaths, injuries and loss of life as witnessed. A number of factors escalated the deaths and the destruction that occurred. The many losses of life that were recorded in the two prison fire incidents could have been avoided if certain things were done well. In the Ohio prison fire incident the cell block next to the scaffolding that caught fire had 800 prisoners and many of them were locked up for the night (Ohio history central, 1999). When the fire started and the smoke had started gathering in the cells the prisoners begged that they be released from the cells because of the smoke but their requests were not granted. Many of them were chocked to death by the acrid gases produced from the fire. According to reports from witnesses the guards refused to unlock the cells and went a head to lock up the other prisoners whose cells were unlocked. This resulted in the death of many prisoners. If the cells were unlocked immediately the prisoners would have saved their lives. When the cells were still locked up the fire had time to spread upwards to the roof which endangered the lives of the prisoners on the upper level (Ohio history central, 1999). Because of the indifferent attitude that the some of the guards displayed, the prisoners began to riot. These rioting prisoners started pelting fire fighters with stones at arrival. This greatly delayed the efforts of the fire fighters to put out the fire immediately. The antiriot police officers who came to quell the violence applied excessive force. Reports also indicated that fire fighters were also prevented from accessing the fire by the police. If they acted immediately they would have saved more lives (Ohio history central, 1999). In the Santiago Chile incident, it was reported that the prison authorities waited for one hour before they could contact fire fighters to come on the scene. Fire fighters took time before they could get through prison security. The police also obstructed the fire fighters for reasons not known to people. Prison police closed the gates in the face of fire fighters which hindered the efforts of about 10 units that had come in response to calls to control the fire. Rescue efforts should have begun immediately without any delay (American Society of Safety Engineers; 1984pp. 30). The conditions inside the prison were very inhumane and that had been the case for a very long time. The number of guards inside the hospital was less than required. Only 6 guards were present inside with 26 outside the prison. This number was not enough. Within the jail there was only one paramedic and five officers on guard. This made the rescue efforts and the work of the fire fighters very difficult. When the firefighters arrived at the prison they were forced to use wire cutters for them to go through the perimeter gates and they encountered much trouble when opening the locked doors to the cells. These entries should have been designed well for easy entry (American Society of Safety Engineers; 1984 pp. 40). Similarities and differences in human factors A look at these two incidents reveals that there are a few similarities and differences as well in the human factors leading to the high losses of life. In both of the incidents the conditions in the prisons were not good. Overcrowding and bad management of the prison are seen in both (Coppola 2007). At the start of the fire the fire in these two incidents there was unwillingness to save the prisoners from the police and the guards. Fire fighters in these two incidents had problems accessing the cells because of resistance from the police, prison security, locked cells or perimeter gates. The differences can be seen in a number of things. In the Ohio incident the guards refused to release the prisoners from the cells at the start of the fire. They even locked others up. In the San Miguel prison fire the guards did not lock the prisoners up but they were unwilling to call the fire fighters to rescue them. They took one hour before calling the firemen although certain reports indicate that a prisoner is the one who called. This is contrasted to the Ohio catastrophe because the guards there never called and the firemen and police were alerted by the alarm (France 24, 2010). In the Ohio fire the guards were there but they were indifferent but in the San Miguel fire in Santiago there was a shortage of guards since only six guards were on guard when the fire broke out. In the Chile incident fire fighters were obstructed from accessing the burning buildings for some time by the police. However in the Ohio fire incident the fire fighters were resisted not only by police but by prisoners pelting them with stones as well (France 24, 2010). Lessons learnt from the catastrophes The main lesson that has been learned in these two fire incidents is that there is a great danger in running prisons in overcrowded conditions. Immediately the fire incident happened in the San Miguel prison, the Chilean president commented on the inhumane conditions in the prison and promised to change the situation. Prisons should not be too congested or overcrowded because such conditions lead to some kind of stress to the prisoners. It also makes them develop some awkward behavior that leads to nasty incidents like the fires discussed in this paper (Coppola 2007). Planning of the prison cells and facilities had errors which needed to be corrected. The size of the cells and the locks on the doors contributed to the high death toll. Owing to the high number of convicts being put behind bars the prison cells in both cases were not of the right size. The assumption in human behavior in this design was that the inmates would behave and conduct themselves peacefully. No rioting or fighting was anticipated when the design of the prison buildings was being done (Cote, Linville 1997 pp. 134). The choice of building material for the prison buildings in the Ohio prison was unsuitable. The wooded buildings could burn up so fast and this contributed to the fast spread of the fire. When buildings are being made the designs should consider the occurrence of fire. Materials to be used should be as fire proof as possible and inflammable materials should not be part of the building or be kept in the buildings. The necessary fire fighting equipment such as fire extinguishers should be installed in places where guards can locate them easily and use them incase there is a fire. The design of the prison buildings in the two case studies did not incorporate fire safety and fighting equipment and facilities. The preparedness of the prisons against incidents of fire was very poor (Technical Pub, 1960 pp.23). If the lessons learnt from the Ohio prison fire incident were acted upon there is a high possibility that the second fire incident in Santiago Chile could have been avoided. Overcrowding in prisons and the poor management of these prisons was a major lesson that could have been borrowed from the first case. This lesson was not taken and the catastrophe happened. Decongestion of the prison in Chile early enough would have helped to avoid the fire that occurred there. The overcrowding probably made prisoners restless hence the fights that led to the fires (Cote, Linville 1997 pp. 56). There is a very high likelihood that this type of disaster can occur again in any other country or place if the lesson from these two incidents is not taken seriously. Congestion in prisons is common in various prisons around the world. If such conditions are not wiped out of the prisons there is a possibility that such incidences can still occur anywhere else (Technical Pub, 1960). Bibliography American Society of Safety Engineers; 1984 Professional Safety: Volume 29 American Society of Safety Engineers; 1984, American journal of Correction: volume 13-14 Coppola, D. P. 2007; Introduction to international disaster management Cote A. E, Linville J. L 1997, Fire Protection Handbook; National Fire Protection Association http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org Retrieved on 8 Feb 2012 http://www.france24.com/en/2010 Retrieved 8 Feb 2010 Technical Pub, 1960 – Technology & Engineering, Journal of fire engineering volume 113 Read More