LANSING, N.Y. — The Tompkins County Public Safety Building was evacuated for a short time Wednesday morning after reports of smoke in a control room.
The cause of the smoke as been identified as a malfunctioning gate that jammed and caused smoke in the facilities’ control room.
“At approximately 10 a.m. a jammed outside gate was discovered, which caused a component of the control panel inside the facility to fail, creating a small amount of smoke,” said Tompkins County Public Information Officer Marcia Lynch in a statement Wednesday morning. “As a precaution, the Public Safety Building was evacuated and the fire department alerted for response.”
By 10:40, the scene was cleared of fire personnel and other first responders.
According to Sheriff Derek Osborne, inmates have returned to the facility and the jail is fully functional.