Inmates at the jail in Shediac, N.B. are being moved to other secure facilities after an afternoon fire at the facility, according to a Justice and Public Safety Department spokesperson.

Elaine Bell, spokesperson for the department, said in an email to CBC News that the inmates are being moved, but couldn't provide details about where they are being moved to "for security reasons."

Bell also could not confirm how many inmates were at the jail, although it can hold 180.

Bell also said the fire is being managed, but is not completely out, hours after it was first reported.

No one was injured in the fire, which broke out just before 3 p.m. at the Southeast Regional Correctional Centre.

The flames were under control shortly after 5 p.m., but fire captain Julien Boudreau said firefighters were still on the scene because was "still an emerging situation."

Boudreau could not comment on how long the inmates would have to be out of the facility, but did say the fire had caused extensive damage.

He said the cause of the fire is unknown and the Fire Marshal's office will assist with the investigation.

Firefighters were focusing on hot spots in the area, which Boudreau described as mostly administrative but also housing air-handling equipment.

While firefighters attacked the fire, Boudreau said inmates were removed from the building and put in the jail's fenced-in yard.

The Southeast Regional Correctional Centre as seen from the air. (Google Map Data 2017)

"Upon arrival we found heavy smoke emanating from the second and third floor," he said.

Bell said "evacuation protocols" went into effect during the fire, which included sending inmates and staff to staging areas.

She said that all inmates are accounted for.

The fire "occurred in a non-offender housing area," she said, describing this as an administrative area where offenders are not housed.

People near the Shediac jail saw thick, black smoke rising from the property in mid-afternoon. (Rodrick Bourque)

Chris McCarthy, who was on vacation in Shediac and near the jail, said he heard sirens and went to see what was going on.

He saw "a ton of black smoke" coming from the building.

"RCMP didn't want anybody in the immediate area just in case the inmates try to make a run for it," McCarthy said.

But Bell said the public was safe.

"Security is contained and there is no threat to public safety," she said in email.