ATLANTA — For the second time this week, people were treated at the Fulton County Jail following a gas leak in the kitchen area of the facility, officials confirmed.
In a release, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said gas was turned off at the facility. Around 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the release said, carbon monoxide monitors alerted and kitchen staff began "experiencing symptoms related to CO exposure."
Two kitchen workers transported themselves to the hospital, the release said, and all 15 workers were evacuated from the area.
In an update on Thursday, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said the gas has been turned on in the jail's kitchen. However, the sheriff's office said the kettles are still emitting high levels of carbon monoxide and the kettles' exhaust fans are inoperable.
"The parts needed to repair the exhaust fans are being sourced, but at this time, there is no ETA when they will arrive," the sheriff's office added.
The sheriff's office said the jail is partnering with Atlanta Public Schools and is using a local elementary school's kitchen to prepare meals for the foreseeable future.
The leak was traced to a second kitchen kettle after a separate one was identified as the source of the earlier leak and disabled.
"Natural gas was also leaking from the supply line to a stovetop. It has been discovered that the regulator to the gas line leading to the building is faulty. Atlanta Gas Light is currently onsite to determine if the regulator will be repaired or replaced," the release said. "With the gas off, cold meals will be served to the residents until further notice. A food vendor will be used to serve staff meals."
It follows a similar scene Monday night at the troubled jail, which county lawmakers recently decided not to replace but rather renovate.
“For the second day in a row, AFRD and EMS have been called and the Fulton County Jail has had to cease kitchen operations due to problems related to the gas line. In the past three years, over 1,000 work orders have been submitted for issues with the kitchen alone. The air conditioning has been out since April, and temperature readings have reached the 90s,” Sheriff Patrick “Pat” Labat, who has pressed the county to build a new facility, said in a statement. “When we are responsible for feeding thousands of residents a day, our inability to continue work in our kitchen for a 24/7 operation is problematic. Until we get a replacement facility, problems in the kitchen and rest of the building will continue to cripple our capability to properly serve our resident population and overall keep our residents and staff safe.”
In the earlier leak, Atlanta Fire Rescue said crews detected the carbon monoxide in the jail's kitchen. Firefighters responded, shut down the gas to the kitchen appliances, and ventilated the room with giant fans and the kitchen's exhaust system.
The sheriff's office said all of the kitchen workers, including contractors and employees, were alright in the earlier instance.
"While carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, employees started exhibiting nausea and other symptoms, triggering the immediate evacuation of the kitchen," Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said in a news release.
According to the sheriff's office, a private contractor said the leak didn't appear to affect any other areas of the jail. The source of the carbon monoxide leak was traced to one of the eight kettles in the jail's kitchen.
Sheriff Labat has pushed for the county jail to be replaced in whole. There have been numerous deaths at the jail in the last year, and reports on the deteriorating conditions inside the facility prompted a U.S. Department of Justice investigation last year, the results of which have yet to be announced.
Back in December, Fulton County commissioners were presented with an image of what the proposed nearly $2 billion facility might look like. While there was consensus on the need for a new jail, some commissioners argued the proposed facility was too large and expensive.
In general, Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts said building a new jail is not possible at this time.
“If a lightbulb goes out at the jail, they say that that’s the reason that we need a brand new $2 billion jail, it is nonsense. It’s nonsense,” Pitts said.
He added that a new jail would have required raising taxes, which the commission did not approve and instead approved renovations.
In the meantime, Natalie Ammons with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said they are doing their best to make due.
“We’ve done the math, and over the next few years, what we would have to spend on renovations and repairs, we could have built a new jail, so it makes sense that we get a new factually,” Ammons said. “What we find is with the aging equipment. The aging infrastructure, it's becomes harder and harder to be able to repair things because parts just aren’t available."
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