Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center inmate housing has no air conditioning as heat wave hits Mid-Missouri
FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center is one of four prisons across Missouri that do not have air conditioning in the areas where inmates are housed.
The FRDC is currently housing 988 inmates, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
The DOC says FRDC is partly air-conditioned as, administrative, transitional care and infirmaries where people receive medical care, segregated housing units and other buildings do have air conditioning.
During the 2023 legislative session, the Missouri General Assembly approved funding for the installation of air conditioning for the facility. The funding is part of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2024.
DOC spokesperson Karen Pojmann said in an email that the DOC "has to complete the procurement and installation process, so the FRDC won't have air conditioning this summer, but air conditioning is on the way."
Pojmann said the facility is using industrial-sized fans in the buildings without air conditioning along with distributing ice to all housing units three times a day. Pojmann says there are hydration stations throughout the facility.
But, Victoria Bias whose boyfriend is in the prison says they don't have access to the hydration stations during the night.
"They don't have access to the ice or water like throughout the whole day like before they lock down they can get ice but thats the last time they can get ice for the whole night and nine o'clock." Bias said.
An inmate at the FRDC told ABC 17 News he saw an inmate pass out from the heat. They said inmates are only allowed to get ice when they are out of their cells, which is only one hour a day. Inmates are kept in their cells for 23 hours a day, they said.
The inmate claims there is only one fan set up in the middle of the housing unit that faces the door.
Inmates in a different wing, the inmate said, were given shorts to wear.
To stay cool, the inmate said him and his housing mate soak their shirts in cold water.
The DOC does have a program that allows inmates to buy a fan that cost $7.50 a month, even if they owe money to the state. The inmate who spoke to ABC 17 News claims FRDC does not have the program.
Bias said there needs to be change so the inmates can survive the heat.
"I don't see why they can't have water or ice, maybe they can take their shirt off wile they are in their cell and not get in trouble for a free act." Bias said.
Pojmann said it isn't up to the department to determine whether facilities are air conditioned and facility improvement projects are part of the state's budget process.
