FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Investigations are underway after several inmates, staff and emergency responders were exposed to an 'unknown substance' at the Williamson County Detention Center.
According to Becky Coyle, the Public Information Officer from the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, the incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. when deputies reported an incident where inmates were exposed to the substance.
Ten patients were sent to the Williamson Medical Center for treatment and further evaluation. WCSO says that this was an isolated incident confined to one area of the detention center.
Several agencies responded to the incident including the Franklin Fire Department, Williamson County Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Medical Services and the Franklin Police Department.
Coyle spoke about other precautionary measures put in place as a response to the incident in a released statement.
Out of an abundance of caution, several additional employees and approximately twenty-four inmates in the immediate area of exposure underwent a decontamination process with the assistance of emergency personnel on-site.
In an update put out around 6:45 p.m., the WCSO stated that everyone taken to the hospital had been released. Operations have returned to normal after the Sheriff's Office was sanitized.
The substance was field-tested and came back positive for fentanyl. For confirmation purposes, the WCSO has sent the substance to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for confirmation.
Sheriff Dusty Rhoades released a statement on the continued investigation of this incident,
"We will continue to investigate the incident and are thankful that everyone involved is okay."
