SHIRLEY, MASS. (WHDH) - An inmate at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley reached through a food slot and forcibly grabbed a correction officer before using a battery to spark a fire in his prison cell, an official said.
A female officer who was tasked with escorting medical staff during a medication dispensing period around 12 p.m. was doused with an unknown liquid that an inmate tossed through the food slot in his cell door, according to a Department of Correction official.
The inmate then allegedly grabbed the officer when she tried to secure the food slot. The officer was able to safely pull away.
The inmate proceeded to light items in his cell on fire using a battery that he removed from a radio, an initial investigation indicated.
Staffers evacuated the inmate from his cell and extinguished the fire. Some inmates in adjacent cells were treated for smoke inhalation.
The correction officer and the inmate suspected in the assault were treated at outside hospitals.
The incident remains under investigation.
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