A maximum security prison in Nashville is without its main source of heat amid bone-chilling cold, and state officials do not know when they will fix the problem.
Riverbend Maximum Security Institution lost hot water pressure Monday, causing the facility's boiler to stop working, said Tennessee Department of Correction spokeswoman Neysa Taylor.
The boiler powers the heating system at the nearly 30-year-old facility. Staff members are still trying to determine what caused the loss of pressure and when the heating system will be back online.
There were 787 inmates at the prison as of Nov. 30, according to state statistics. Riverbend houses many high-risk inmates along with Tennessee's only death row.
More:
Nashville heat wave causes air conditioning outages at women's prison
Monday evening, temperatures dropped to single digits in Nashville. The National Weather Service recorded a temperature of 5 degrees at 7:16 Tuesday morning, 24 degrees colder than the "normal value" for the day.
The heat was still out as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, and Taylor said there is still no timetable for when the system will be operational.
The department implemented "emergency procedures," including passing out extra blankets and installing portable heaters, Taylor said.
In a statement, Bobby Straughter, assistant commissioner of operations, lauded the work of the state maintenance staff.
"These folks worked throughout the night in extreme conditions to ensure that everyone was kept safe. We thank them for their service," Straughter said.
David Sexton, assistant commissioner of prisons, said in a statement "the staff and
inmates have been extremely understanding and cooperative as we work to fix this inconvenience."
In July, a heat wave overtaxed the air-conditioning system at the Tennessee Prison for Women, a facility home to 782 inmates in northwest Nashville.
