{"id":548643,"date":"2026-04-24T17:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548643\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:29:09","slug":"huge-fire-erupts-at-suffolks-hmp-highpoint-as-prisoners-evacuated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548643\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge fire erupts at Suffolk’s HMP Highpoint as prisoners evacuated"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prisoners have been forced to evacuate HMP Highpoint in Suffolk as a huge blaze has erupted at the site, with fire crews facing ‘extreme heat’ and the added challenge of ‘difficult access’<\/p>\n

16:32, 24 Apr 2026Updated 17:14, 24 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

\"HMP<\/p>\n

HMP Highpoint at Stradishall in Suffolk (file)(Image: Cambridge News)<\/p>\n

A huge fire has erupted at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk<\/a>, with prisoners <\/a>forced to evacuate the building.<\/p>\n

Ten fire crews are currently tackling the “well developed” blaze with 13 fire engines and multiple covering jets. “As well as extreme heat, firefighters are faced with the additional challenge of difficult access and a complex internal layout,” Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service<\/a> said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The fire originated in a timber and brick structure at 2:40pm, with crews using thermal image cameras alongside hose reels and jets to prevent it from spreading to an adjacent building.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the fire service said that upon crew arriving, prison staff had moved the inmates to a safe location, with all accounted for.<\/p>\n

\"HMP<\/p>\n

Prisoners were made to evacuate the building (file)(Image: Cambridge News)<\/p>\n

Multiple crews are tackling the fire in sections, it added, including crews from Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich East, Ixworth, Clare, Newmarket, Long Melford, Sudbury, Woodbridge and Haverhill.<\/p>\n

“This helps firefighters maintain control, improve safety, streamline communication, and ensure the incident is managed effectively as it grows and evolves,” the fire service added.<\/p>\n

HMP Highpoint is a category C prison for men which houses 1,300 inmates.<\/p>\n

The East of England Ambulance Service say there have been no reports of casualties, but paramedics will remain on site to support fire crews.<\/p>\n

Full statement from fire service as blaze breaks out at HMP Highpoint<\/p>\n

A fire has broken out in a prison block. Upon first crews’ arrival, staff had already evacuated the building and relocated occupants to a safe location. Prison staff have confirmed that all persons have been accounted for.<\/p>\n

Firefighters are currently using breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet, one covering jet and a thermal image camera to tackle the blaze, which is well developed.<\/p>\n

The officer in command has given an instruction for the fire to be sectorised, which is a tactic deployed by firefighters when tackling larger fires \u2013 the fire is effectively split into sections, with crews assigned to each section. This helps firefighters maintain control, improve safety, streamline communication, and ensure the incident is managed effectively as it grows and evolves.<\/p>\n

As well as extreme heat, firefighters are faced with the additional challenge of difficult access and a complex internal layout.<\/p>\n

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service colleagues are on their way to assist those already on scene.<\/p>\n

The block is a timber and brick structure measuring approximately 25m x 100m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prisoners have been forced to evacuate HMP Highpoint in Suffolk as a huge blaze has erupted at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[390,1104,59,57,58,50,3492,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-548643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-fire","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-greatbritain","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-prisons","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}