Inmate expected to be charged with arson in fire at Maryland women's prison after lighter found in cell

An inmate at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women is expected to be charged with arson after a fire broke out, causing three correctional officers to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Gerard Shields, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, said a lighter was found in the woman’s cell after the fire Sunday night.

He declined to release the inmate’s name Monday because the state fire marshal had not yet filed charges. A spokesman for the Maryland State Police, which includes the fire marshal’s office, did not respond Monday to a request for comment. Monday is a state holiday.

Anne Arundel County firefighters responded to the fire at a single cell at the prison in Jessup.

Shields said a fourth person was taken to a hospital for “an unrelated seizure that occurred at the same time.”