Hall of Justice evacuated over faulty a/c unit

The Hall of Justice, Port of Spain, was evacuated just after 1 pm today, after fire alarms went off.

Several judges, some of whom were in trial, left their courtrooms and the building through the front entrance on Knox Street.

They stood on the pavement or at the Woodford Square muster point with staff and litigants until they were given the go-ahead that the building was safe for them to re-enter.

While everyone else left the building when the alarms went off, prisoners were not removed from the basement holding cells until 2 pm.

The Judiciary’s court protocol and information manager Carl Francis said the cause of the alarms going off was a malfunctioning air condition unit belt on the first floor.

“The building was evacuated and the all clear was given for all to return inside,” he said.