Out-of-control prisoners light fires, smash windows and start floods at a Queensland jail after being forced into coronavirus lockdown
- Prisoners have lit at least four fires at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre
- Windows were smashed and cells flooded in a lockdown after COVID-19 case
- Two staff at facility tested positive and jail has been locked down for five days
Prisoners have lit at least four fires in the past 24 hours in a southeast Queensland jail locked down for five days due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Queensland Corrective Services say blazes were lit inside cells at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre, southwest of Brisbane on Monday.
As well as the fires, frustrated prisoners who are unable to leave their cells smashed windows and flooded their rooms - with medical staff reportedly walking off the job.
The first fire in the morning was put out by prison officers, with five inmates suffering smoke inhalation.
Queensland Corrective Services say blazes were lit inside cells at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre, southwest of Brisbane on Monday (pictured rubbish seen outside prison)
A banner reading 'COVID FTS' was also seen hanging on the wall of the prison
A second fire was lit in the afternoon, which was also put out after three hours, while a third blaze was set late on Monday night, which officers also dealt with.
QCS says a number of additional inmates and an officer were treated for smoke inhalation.
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'Officers from Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre have been praised for their professionalism and resilience in dealing with a complex situation,' QCS said in a statement.
A banner reading 'COVID FTS' has also been seen hung across one of the walls of the prison.
Queensland Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Martin said as many as 20 inmates were involved in the riots.
CCTV cameras were also damaged while huge piles of rubbish were seen strewn outside inmates' cells on Tuesday.
As many as 20 inmates were involved in the havoc at the prison after being confined in lockdown
'We are in a 14-day isolation period, currently we're at about day four, and so this has got a fair way to go and the prisoner population has largely been compliant,' Mr Martin said.
'This is a difficult situation and it's one that will go on for a considerable period of time until no further COVID-19 cases occur.'
Mr Martin said there had been at least three instances where a 'code black' was called while nurses walked off the job on Monday evening, worried for their safety, The Courier Mail was told.
The commissioner said as of Tuesday afternoon there was a 'state of calm' in the prison and inmates had been allowed out for an allocated amount of time.
The Queensland Police Dog Squad was also called in as well as firefighters and paramedics.
More than 1,000 inmates are at Arthur Gorrie, which has an official capacity of 890 prisoners.
They have been kept in their cells for the past five days after Queensland's chief health officer ordered a lockdown of prisons to stem the local virus outbreak.
More than 1000 inmates are at Arthur Gorrie, which has capacity for 890 prisoners
Another 6000 inmates in jails from the central coast to southeast Queensland also remain confined to their cells.
Corrections workers union secretary Alex Scott, who warned last week that the lockdown would lead to more violence against prison workers, said the incident was deeply concerning.
While he still supported the lockdown to stem the virus, he said the fires highlighted the important of prison safety for staff and inmates.
'The staff at the centre are continuing their work in very difficult circumstances in a dedicated, professional way and deserve our respect,' he said in a statement.
'We will continue to engage with management at the centre and with QCS to ensure that our concerns about workplace health and safety at our prisons are addressed.'
Arthur Gorrie is directly linked to the 27-case COVID-19 cluster in the state's southeast after two staff contracted the virus following a visit to the QCS Academy at Wacol.
The academy, where a senior trainer was diagnosed with the virus on Thursday, is at the centre of the state's outbreak.
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