Thunder Bay District Jail fires set by 'rambunctious' inmates

The union that represents corrections staff in Ontario says it's no coincidence that two small fires were lit at the Thunder Bay District Jail on New Year's Day, just as staff are preparing to strike.

OPSEUlocalvice-president Greg Arnold said staff became aware of some blades, so they prepared to search the facility.

That's when inmates became "rambunctious," he said, a situation that was exacerbated by the fact they had been in "lockdown" for a long time.

"I can go on and on. They're not getting visits. I know that for a fact that we do not have staff to provide visits," Arnold said.

"There's probably fellows or individuals in the Thunder Bay District Jail that have not seen family members in months."

Inmate frustration was building up in the offender population, he continued.

"There's no doubt about it. They're not getting out for showers, they're in a constant state of lockdown, not just here, but across this province. They're not getting daily exercise."

Inmates do have limited access to burnable materials, but Arnold said any type of contraband, like lighters, is a safety issue for inmates and staff.

"They do have some access to some portion of books and libraries and magazines. They can order in magazines on canteen," he said.

"In essence, what they would do is they would hoard stuff, they would try, if they got a fire going, in all likelihood, it would be a small fire."

Arnold said he's seen on Twitter that trailers are being moved into corrections facilities for management to stay in and work from, but there is no word on what is going on in Thunder Bay.