LA County inmates rushed to hospital after possible exposure to unknown substance

A Los Angeles County inmate is in critical condition and another six are in serious condition after being exposed to an unknown substance at a jail facility, according to the LA Fire Department.
First responders were called to the Men’s Central Jail, located at 441 E. Bauchet St. in Chinatown, at 6:49 a.m. for a call about the inmates possibly inhaling or being exposed to a substance which authorities have not yet formally identified, LAFD said. They were all transported for potential medical treatment after an exposure inside Dorm 5600 of the jail, authorities said.
According to LAFD, all the patients are believed to be men and are in varying conditions. Some were seen being escorted away from the jail wheelchairs in aerial footage of the scene Tuesday morning.
“No escalating or off-site hazard has been identified,” the agency said in an alert.
Hazmat specialists responded before the County of Los Angeles’s Health Hazardous Materials Division took over handling the situation alongside sheriff’s officials. 
Earlier this month, hazmat investigators were called to the jail to decontaminate the area as paramedics responded to what authorities had initially described as a suspected overdose. One inmate was pronounced dead at the scene while another six were hospitalized. They had all started suffering from some sort of medical distress while inside the same cell at the same time, LA County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Modica later told reporters, not disclosing what their symptoms were.
When they called 911 that morning, deputies had described the situation as a suspected overdose and firefighters used Narcan to try rehabilitating the man who died, said Erik Scott, spokesman for the LA Fire Department. But he and other officials said the coroner and other authorities would have to carry out further investigation to confirm whether or not the incident was actually drug-related.
Authorities have not identified drugs as being potentially involved in Tuesday’s incident and have not released any other details about the suspected cause or the ongoing investigation into it.