Baltimore firefighters responded Wednesday to reports of a fire in a trash can inside a city jail.

Two fire companies were deployed at about 12:50 p.m., and had extinguished the blaze by 1:40 p.m., according to fire department spokesman Kevin Cartwright.

"They went in, of course, with the protection of the [jail's] security officers, and extinguished the fires," Cartwright said, noting that prison fires are a rare occurrence. "I can't remember the last time I was made aware of one."

Rick Binetti, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services, which operates the jail, said the fire was considered routine.

"I guess a couple of inmates just set a trash can on fire," he said. "911 wasn't even called."