Overview
- An electrical explosion around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Middleton House of Corrections involved a transformer outside the 240 housing unit.
- Fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze and reported no injuries as the Essex County Sheriff’s Department conducted an orderly relocation.
- All 407 inmates from the affected unit were moved to other buildings within the facility’s secure perimeter.
- Middleton Electric Light shut off power to the damaged area and officials said backup systems remained operational.
- The housing unit remains out of service as first responders and utility personnel assess damage and investigators examine the electrical malfunction.