The female correctional Center on Jomo Kenyatta Road in New England Ville, Freetown, which was the former special court Building, was last night 3rd June, prompted the Minister of internal affairs and all Directors and Commanders of Sierra Leone Correctional Service (SLCS) to rush to the scene in a bid to help.

The SLCS Officers reportedly succeeded in putting out the inferno before the arrival of the National Fire Force (NFF) to prevent it escalating or spreading to nearby buildings.

After the inferno had been put off at the Female Correctional Centre, findings of officers from both NFF and EDSA revealed that the fire incident was not caused by any electrical failure.

According to a junior correctional centre officer, who preferred anonymity, the inferno was triggered by a female inmate, adding that the inmate threw an end or butt of a Substance she was smoking under a foam mattress immediately she noticed that an officer was entering their block. “Since the officer took some time in the block, the female inmate did not hasten to remove the butt under the mattress until after the officer had left, when the mattress had already caught fire” the officer disclosed.

The officer further disclosed that the inferno caused some pandemonium amongst the mates and when they were questioned by officers as to how the inferno came about, they never mentioned the inmate that caused the inferno that reportedly destroyed many facilities in the particular block that was affected by the fire.

As at press time, detectives attached to the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarter were charged with the responsibility to investigate the fire incident come out with their findings and recommendations.