Chattooga County Jail Evacuated Due To Gas Leak

On Monday evening, Sheriff Mark Schrader had to evacuate the Chattooga County Jail due to a gas leak.

Sheriff Schrader said the inmates were transferred to Dade County after the gas leak was discovered.  The sheriff’s office called the Summerville Gas Department who responded and discovered that the leak was coming from an older furnace that is used to heat some of the cell blocks.  Sheriff Schrader said that the gas to the faulty furnace was turned off and jail staff opened the doors to ventilate the building after the inmates were transferred.

Tuesday morning there was no gas or carbon monoxide detected inside the building.  Sheriff Schrader said that they are hoping that the other furnaces at the jail will provide enough heat for the inmates. 

The sheriff said that he hopes to transfer inmates back by Wednesday.

The sheriff added, “We really appreciate Dade County.  It is good to have friends like that, that are willing to help us out at times like this”.