MCALESTER, Okla. -- A 30-year-old boiler failed Wednesday at Oklahoma State Penitentiary, causing a hot water outage in two inmate quads within H-unit.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections, which operates the prison, has located a replacement for the gas-fired boiler, which will cost about $25,000, said Matt Elliott, DOC spokesman.
Hot water service will be out until as late as Monday, when crews are expected to have the new boiler installed. The affected quads house 121 inmates.
"The outage means inmates will have to shower in neighboring quads, but we don't expect any other disruptions," Elliott said.
The old boiler, installed sometime during the early 1990s, failed due to a crack in its tank.
Built in 1908, OSP is Oklahoma's second-oldest prison, and home to more than 650 maximum-security inmates, as well as its Death Row.
