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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Inmates Go On Fiery Rampage At Orofino Guards Subdue Eight Prisoners Who Smashed Property, Set Blazes

From Staff And Wire Reports

Eight prisoners at the Idaho Correctional Institution at Orofino went on a rampage Thursday, destroying property and igniting fires in a day room of the close-custody block.

Close to 100 inmates in the maximum-security cellblock were evacuated to a prison yard because of the smoke. The disturbance, which started about noon, was over by 12:50 p.m.

Inmates were back in their cells by 4:30 p.m.

“At this time, things seem to be in control,” Deputy Warden Dean Allen said. “The ones who caused it have been subdued.”

The eight prisoners involved in the disturbance were sent to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution at Boise.

An investigation is under way into the cause, but Idaho Correction Department spokesman Mark Carnopis said he wasn’t aware of any inmate complaints leading up to the incident.

The eight inmates were in a day room when they began yelling and trying to incite other inmates, Carnopis said.

“They began starting fires, set the TV on fire and mattresses and other flammable things.”

A microwave and some sprinkler heads were damaged. A window was broken, but bars on the outside prevented anyone from going through it. Though no damage estimate was available, Carnopis called the damage “minimal.”

The rest of the inmates in the block, who were in their cells, did not participate.

A Special Operations Response Team was brought in at 12:30, and had the problem inmates subdued within 20 minutes.

An armed perimeter staffed by local police, sheriff’s, state police and correctional officers was set up while inmates were evacuated outside.

One inmate suffered a minor chest injury. He was treated at the prison.

Fans were brought into the block to air out the building, Allen said.

, DataTimes