A minor fire at the Cayuga Correctional Facility Wednesday morning destroyed a desk in a basement office used by maintenance staff.

The fire was a "very minor incident," said Erik Kriss, spokesman for the state Department of Correctional Services. He estimated less than $100 worth of damage was caused. Correctional staff put out the fire at the medium-security facility themselves with fire extinguishers.

Firefighters responding to the 10:13 a.m. fire call ensured with thermal imaging cameras that the fire was completely extinguished and ventilated the accruing smoke.

There was a lot of "smoke we had to ventilate," said Kevin Genson, chief of the Moravia Fire Department.

The fire may have been caused by an electrical circuit forming between the wire binding of a spiral notebook and batteries kept in the desk, Genson said. Kriss said the cause of the fire was still not clear.

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Citizen.