NORFOLK — Firefighters carried a correctional officer down a 40-foot-high guard tower at MCI-Norfolk on Wednesday morning after he suffered a medical emergency.
The prison guard was flown by medical helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence where he was in critical but stable condition, Fire Chief Erron Kinney said.
Firefighters were dispatched to the state prison at 2 Clark St. about 8:30 a.m. and used a ladder truck to get personnel to the tower.
Firefighters had to remove a window from the tower to gain access to the guard, who is in his 50s.
They placed the guard in a basket stretcher and carried him down the ladder, which was extended about 80 feet, Kinney said.
About a dozen firefighters and prison personnel helped in the rescue operation.
The guard was taken by ambulance to the Kennedy Freeman Elementary School on Boardman Street to a landing zone to meet the medical helicopter.
MCI-Norfolk is the state’s largest medium security facility and has a population of about 1,200 incarcerated individuals.
David Linton may be reached at 508-236-0338.
