Two motions for summary judgment were filed in the United States District Court, S.D. New York regarding an electrical fire in the maximum security prison Sing Sing. The motions involved determining whether there were enough fire safety precautions taken by the defendants and if the plaintiffs exhausted their administrative remedies.
The plaintiffs were inmates housed in the prison’s largest housing block. On April 18, 2011, Sing was operating with a skeletal staff. At about 2 a.m. an electrical fire broke out in the basement of Housing Block C and knocked out the power to five buildings. A later investigation determined the fire occurred where the main power system is connected to the emergency power generator, disabling not just the main system, but the back-up system too.