The Department of Correction is under fire for failing to conduct fire safety inspections for more than a year at a facility on Rikers Island, according to a report from the Legal Aid Society.
The report claims there were no weekly or monthly safety reports at the North Infirmary Command from April 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Twenty inmates and staff were hurt in a fire at that same facility this past April.
The DOC responded to the report saying it complied with all annual and semiannual inspections for fire safety equipment in all facilities. It also said its sprinklers are operational and that the investigation into the April 6 fire is ongoing.