Casuarina prison fire: WAPOU raise concerns after fire puts maximum security prison in lockdown

The WA Prison Officers Union says it is pure luck that no one was killed at Casuarina Prison on Wednesday after an inmate lit multiple fires and caused significant damage to the jail. The union says major staff shortages compounded Wednesday’s incident, which was sparked when one inmate barricaded themselves in a prison wing before starting multiple fires in a laundry and in rubbish bins. The inmate is then said to have smashed windows and other parts of the jail, including toilets and sinks. As a result the massive maximum security prison was put into lock-down and visitors turned away. At least seven ambulances were at the scene as authorities worked to regain control of the facility. A St John Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed paramedics were called to the jail about 12.40pm. Five men - two in their 20s, one in his 30s, one in his 40s and a fifth in his 50s - were sent to Fiona Stanley for non-life-threatening injuries - mainly smoke inhalation. The WAPOU has said three of those men taken to hospital were prison staff members. Union industrial officer Beven Hanlon said the incident was incredibly serious and that someone could have been killed. “The entire wing is now out of commission,” Mr Hanlon said. “We were lucky, people could have died today. “It’s not good management that people didn’t die today, it was luck. “The worst part is these (incidents) are avoidable if they just staff the prison properly. “A significant amount of damage has been done to the place.” A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections confirmed earlier on Wednesday there was an “incident” at the prison but said it was not a riot. “There has been an incident, where one prisoner caused some damage to a unit, breaking windows and setting a fire,” she said. “He has been moved to another unit and his actions referred for criminal charge assessment. “No other prisoners have been involved.” It comes just a week after more than 100 inmates rioted at Acacia Prison — setting fire to blankets and injuring several officers. Inmates climbed on to the roof of a cell block while others set fire to their cells. The crack special operations group — the prison system’s riot squad — were rushed to the privately run facility in Wooroloo on February 27. Three guards were injured during the struggle to bring the medium-security prison under control.