Fire at Indiana State Prison kills inmate, injures 2 others

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) - An inmate was found dead after a fire at the Indiana State Prison last weekend, the Indiana Department of Correction said.

The fire occurred just before 11 a.m. Saturday, a department spokesperson wrote in an email to The Times of Northwest Indiana. Michael W. Smith, 48, died and two other individuals were treated at nearby hospitals, the spokesperson said.

Smith was sentenced for voluntary manslaughter in Newton County in 2013, online department records show.

Both of the individuals who were treated have been released, The Times reported. It wasn’t clear from the report whether they were inmates or prison staff.

The fire remains under investigation by the Department of Correction, Indiana State Police, the state fire marshal’s officre and the Michigan City Fire Department.

A previous fire at the prison, in April 2017, killed 30-year-old inmate Joshua Devine.