The supervisor at Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre on the night of the deadly fire that killed seven wards said yesterday that, while she had observed a door with three missing screws, and heard of plans to "dig off" the window, she did not perform any searches to prevent escapes, as there was limited staff.

Hortense Higgins, a correctional officer at the St Ann facility, also told the commission of enquiry into the incident yesterday that "the type of girls involved" was a deterrent to searching, as they were usually boisterous, and she did not think the three correctional officers on duty could manage.

Higgins said she was informed by a ward on the office dorm that the others were planning to "dig off the window jam", but was not concerned that they would escape, as there was a grille on the window. She said the ward also told her the names of four girls who were at the helm of the planning, but she did not consider removing them from the dorm.

Digging sounds heard

On Day Five of the enquiry at the National Volunteer Centre in Kingston, Higgins said that her concerns arose when the security guard said she heard digging sounds and, as the supervisor, she gave instructions to look out for disturbances.

However Higgins, who said officers were normally detailed to each dorm, said she did not recall performing such a duty on May 22, as they had been working from earlier in the morning.

"I don't recall detailing anyone," she said.

Higgins, whose testimony made up most of yesterday's session, also told the enquiry that she was not aware of a standing order that governed duplicate keys, but was aware of the necessity for such keys, which were normally kept in the superintendent's office at the institution. The other keys, which previous witnesses said Higgins normally kept, were not on her person, and she explained why. "The clothes I had on was too tight. I had on jeans pants."

She said though the department had topped up the cellphone she had on the night of the fire, it was not connected to her superiors.

"The cellphone was not hooked up to the overseer or the superintendent. It's a call group," Higgins said.

The enquiry resumes today at 10 a.m. when Detective Corporal Samuel Brown, a crime analyst from the Major Investigations Task Force who recreates scenes, is scheduled to be cross-examined. Brown outlined the measurements of the facility yesterday.

kimesha.walters@gleanerjm.com