Skip to content

Inmates evacuated from prison building after fire

Alice CunninghamSuffolk
News imageJamie Niblock/BBC Firefighters in the cage of an aerial ladder platform. There appear to be two of them. They are looking at a roof from which billowing black smoke is coming. The shot has been taken through a barbed wire topped wire fence at Highpoint Prison.Jamie Niblock/BBC
Multiple crews were sent to the prison, joined by two teams from Cambridgeshire

Inmates have been evacuated from a prison building in Suffolk after a fire broke out.

The county's fire service said it sent 10 crews to Highpoint Prison near Stradishall at 14:40 BST, with two additional crews sent from Cambridgeshire.

A spokesperson for the fire service said prison staff relocated inmates to a safe location, with all accounted for.

The fire was found in a timber and brick structure and crews used thermal image cameras along with jets to stop it from spreading.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC The back view of a firefighter in a hi-vis yellow jacket, standing on the top of a ladder at Highpoint Prison. The shot is taken through a wire fence. Jamie Niblock/BBC
HMP Highpoint evacuated one of its blocks after the fire broke out

The spokesperson explained that multiple crews were tackling the fire in sections.

"As well as extreme heat, firefighters are faced with the additional challenge of difficult access and a complex internal layout," they said.

Crews from Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich East, Ixworth, Clare, Newmarket, Long Melford, Sudbury, Woodbridge and Haverhill have all been sent to the scene.

HMP Highpoint is a category C men's prison and houses 1,300 inmates.

The East of England Ambulance Service said there were no reports of casualties, but it would remain on site to support the fire service.

The Prison Service said: "Staff have taken immediate action and all staff and prisoners are accounted for, with no injuries reported."

Suffolk Police officers were also at the scene supporting colleagues.

News imageJamie Niblock/BBC Firefighters in the cage of an aerial ladder platform. There appear to be two of them. They are approaching a roof. The shot has been taken through a wire fence at Highpoint PrisonJamie Niblock/BBC
The Category C prison houses 1,300 inmates

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Related internet links