An inmate, Lowell Jones, was returned to his jail cell after being sentenced and he was not happy with what happened, Warden Jeffrey P. Gill told the board Monday. At about 2:30 p.m. March 8, Jones put papers in a heavy plastic foot locker, placed the locker in front of his cell and set it on fire with a cigarette lighter he had somehow obtained, Gill said.

Jones, who now is in a state penitentiary, was not charged with setting the fire, Gill said, adding the Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

"It was an extremely serious situation," Gill said. "But they got to it quickly and put it out with a fire extinguisher."

Handling the situation were Sheriff William Romine, Sgts. Herman McDuffie, Brad Powell and John Vallente and staffers Alan Robinowitz, Raymond DeMartinis and Phillip Lopuh.

"Fortunately this happened during daylight hours and at a shift change when we had a lot of staff," Gill said.

"When they hit it with the fire extinguisher, that’s when we had a lot of smoke," Gill said. An asthmatic inmate was taken outside for fresh air and another asthmatic inmate was hospitalized, he said.

Jones was removed from the county jail and taken to the state Regional Correctional Facility in Findley Township and then to the state penitentiary at Camp Hill, Gill said.