Fire Destroys Barracks at New Jersey Prison

RAHWAY, N.J. (AP) -- Fire broke out in a trailer for inmates at the East Jersey State Prison early Wednesday, destroying the structure but hurting no one, officials said.

All 100 minimum security inmates who were housed in the unit that included the trailer were evacuated to the gymnasium in the prison's main building, said Matt Schuman, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Prison security was never compromised, he said.

Nine trailers are used as barracks for prison inmates, Shuman said. The fire did not spread to the main building.

Schuman said the cause of the fire was believed to be an electrical malfunction.

Rahway is about 20 miles southwest of New York City.