Nearly two dozen prisoners were involved in a disturbance on Monday night in the FairfieldCounty Jail.
Prisoners in five cells in a confined area on the bottom floor of the jail began acting out justafter 6 p.m., setting fires and causing damage, 10TV's Tino Ramos reported.
Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said the area was crowded with prisoners and that one ofthem smuggled in a lighter and coaxed other inmates to take part in setting fires.
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Surveillance video shows the inmates lighting toilet paper and throwing it out of theircells.
They also threw trays and tried to light larger items on fire, but deputies stepped in andextinguished the fire, Ramos reported.
All of the prisoners were taken out of their cells and placed in a secured yard in the back ofthe jail, where they were strip-searched.
Phalen said several factors led to the disturbance, including the fact that prisoners were underlockdown and being held in crowded conditions.
Several inmates were expected to be charged with offenses related to the disturbance.
There were 94 inmates housed in the jail at the time of the disturbance, but according toPhalen, the jail's capacity is 27 people.
The sheriff on Tuesday transferred 20 prisoners to other locations to ease crowding.
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