Anti-jump barriers, sprinklers set for jail

Pulaski County has sent a $595,000 purchase order to a Little Rock-based company for security fencing in eight jail units and a notice of award to a Madison, Ala.-based company for the replacement of 201 fire sprinkler heads in two units at the jail in Little Rock.

The sheriff's office is building security fencing on the second floor of eight higher-security jail units in 2016 and another seven units in a second phase set to be undertaken later. The barriers are designed to keep inmates from jumping from the second floor to their deaths.

Arkansas Fence and Guardrail of 1601 N. Tyler St. submitted a proposal of $1,155,000 for both phases of the project, according to the county purchasing department. The county sent the $595,000 purchase order for the first phase earlier this month.

Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay said his staff has already seen samples of the fencing, which is made of steel and aluminum and is fabricated, not chain-linked. It will bolt to the base of the upper deck of the jail units and to the ceiling.

Holladay said he hopes the installation of the fence will begin the week of Dec. 14. The installation will take about six months, as contractors are also installing some new sprinkler heads and repainting the units.

"It's a process," he said. "We'll move as quickly as possible, but we still have to manage the population during the installation."

The jail is replacing 201 sprinkler heads in two units, in addition to two suicide-prevention cells, where sprinkler heads are most commonly broken and tampered with by inmates.

Inmates often knock the heads off the sprinklers, flooding their cells, Chief Deputy Mike Lowery told the Pulaski County Quorum Court last month when asking justices of the peace to appropriate the funds for the new sprinkler heads. After such floods, staff have to clean up the mess and repair the sprinkler heads.

"I don't think they see the big picture that if they knock this thing off and there's a fire, they could end up being the casualty," Lowery told justices of the peace.

The jail has a fire every few months, Holladay said. Fires might be started by an inmate who sneaks in a lighter and ignites a mattress, he said, or by inmates who stuff clothing and paper into vents, causing the paper and clothing to ignite.

"Generally when they occur, they're limited to a particular cell or a particular area," Holladay said.

"Occasionally there's a larger fire that requires us to alert the Fire Department, to clear the smoke and ensure that the facility is safe," he added.

The jail last had a fire that required the Fire Department's notice Nov. 7.

International Fire Protection, which has an office in central Arkansas, was the only bidder for the project. The company proposed to replace the sprinkler heads for $22,141, according to the purchasing department.

The department sent a notice of award of the contract Nov. 19, but is waiting on a finalized performance bond before sending the company a purchase order.

Metro on 11/28/2015

Upcoming Events