Gardaí and the Prison Service are investigating a fire at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin which led to five inmates being taken to hospital.
The fire, which is believed to have been started deliberately, broke out just after 8pm yesterday in a cell in the basement.
Prison Officers wearing breathing apparatus rescued the inmates and they were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
Tension had been high among members of feuding criminal gangs in Mountjoy throughout the day.
Several prisoners who had been fighting had to be placed in segregation in the basement.
It is believed the inmates set a mattress and other items on fire.
The basement area had to be evacuated because of the smoke damage and the 60 inmates there were moved to other areas within the prison.
There were 680 inmates in the jail when the fire broke out.
