DAVENPORT, IOWA (October 25, 2022) — On October 20, the Scott County Jail experienced a clothes-dryer fire in the inmate laundry room portion of the jail. At 2:35PM, the jail central control received an emergency alert from an inmate worker that there had been a fire in the dryer and that he had put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.
The Davenport Fire Department responded to the jail and determined that the fire was out and that there was damage to the clothes dryer. The fire started when lint was being removed from the dryer. Video of the laundry room area showed that the two inmates working in the laundry room reacted immediately to put out the fire and then notified jail central control.
One inmate was treated for smoke inhalation in the jail infirmary. Repairs have been made and the jail laundry facility is back in operation. The jail laundry room is located on the first floor of the oldest portion of the Scott County Jail which was built around 1890. The jail laundry duties are regularly performed by inmate workers.