DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- The Scott County jail was locked down and the county courthouse was evacuated after a small electrical fire in a jail elevator.
No one was injured in Thursday morning's fire that happened in the shaft of the elevator used to transport prisoners, officials said.
``The fire was in a machine closet of the elevator. The motor that runs the apparatus has a couple of devices that froze, causing the motor to run nonstop,'' jail administrator Major Cliff Tebbitt said Friday.
Tebbitt said there was more smoke than flames.
``There was a flash, but nothing to catch on fire. It's all metal,'' he said.
As firefighters tried to ventilate the jail, smoke went into the courthouse, setting off the alarms.
The jail and courthouse are connected by a breezeway and a tunnel, Tebbitt said. The smoke drifted through the tunnel.
Inmates are initially locked in their cells during emergencies as officials determine to seriousness of the situation, Tebbitt said.
