It happened around 9 a.m. Wednesday, when evidence was being destroyed in the crime lab incinerator. Several employees were treated on the scene.
CONROE, Texas — An investigation is underway after an explosion and fire at the Montgomery County Jail on Wednesday morning.
Multiple staff members from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office were treated for smoke inhalation and hazardous material exposure. One person was taken to an area hospital to be checked out.
MCSO said it happened around 9 a.m. while employees were conducting routine evidence destruction in the crime lab incinerator. Shortly after the evidence was loaded into the incinerator, staff members heard an explosion followed by multiple secondary blasts.
MCSO staff and Conroe firefighters put out the fire. A Conroe Fire Department HAZMAT unit also responded and decontaminated staff and the surrounding areas.
The crime laboratory and the surrounding buildings are intact, with no significant structural damage, according to MCSO.
The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office Hazardous Device Unit is currently conducting a post-blast investigation in conjunction with the Conroe Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office, the ATF and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
“The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office extends our heartfelt gratitude to the local agencies that rallied to our aid today,” MCSO posted on Facebook. “We are especially thankful for the Conroe Fire Department, the Conroe Fire Department Haz-Mat Crew, the Montgomery County Hospital District, the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Investigators and Bomb Squad, and the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).”
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