Placer County Jail Closed After Inmates, Deputies Sickened By Unknown Substance
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — The South Placer County Jail was shut down for more than five hours Monday so authorities could investigate what was making inmates and staff sick.
Hazmat teams reportedly found nothing. Even so, decontamination crews continued to work in the booking area into the night. Still, many questions remained about what it was and how it got inside.
Around 3 p.m. Monday, the staff at the South Placer County Jail reportedly noticed an inmate in the booking area with an altered state of consciousness.
"When they went to investigate they saw that person was not doing well, so they called for help, and around that time, things started to snowball," said Placer County Sheriff's spokeswoman Angela Musallam.
READ ALSO: Placer County Inmates, Deputies & K-9 Taken To Hospital After Possible Fentanyl Exposure
Four inmates, eight deputies, and a K-9 Officer all became ill. That's when the hazmat team was brought in.
"We arrived on scene and found multiple deputies and inmates suffering from an unknown medical condition," said Jamie Garrett with Roseville Fire.
Those who were sick were taken to area hospitals. The facility was then closed and new bookings were redirected to the Auburn Jail while crews using specialized equipment continued to investigate.
"It depends on what we find when we go inside. If we find a substance, we can swab to identify or we can do air monitoring," said Garrett.
READ: Surviving A Mother's Day Nightmare: 6-Year-Old Wanders Out Of Home, Found Floating In Reservoir
In this case, Roseville Fire said they did not find a hazardous substance.
"There was something making them sick but we don't know what that was. We don't know if it was a small amount and we don't know what was brought into the facility," Garrett said.
After hazmat crews and firefighters finished their investigation, the South Placer County Jail was turned back over to the county. CBS13 asked if the county will order toxicology tests on the deputies and inmates, have not heard back from officials.
