Prison staff had to extinguish a blaze when an inmate “set some small items on fire” in his cell.
The incident happened on a wing of HMP Forest Bank on Monday evening (November 9).
An anonymous source told the M.E.N that they could hear inmates "banging on cell doors" while they spoke to an inmate on the phone during the incident.
But prison bosses have flatly denied this, saying the “smouldering” was not even sufficient enough to set off the smoke alarms.
They say there was a “very small amount of smoke” and prison staff “attended quickly and extinguished the items”.
The fire service was not needed and nobody was injured or required medical treatment, they added.
The fire came just two days after another inmate required medical assistance during a separate incident at the prison, on Agecroft Road, in Pendlebury, Salford.
The inmate was helped by paramedics and Forest Bank staff during the “medical situation” on November 7, a prison spokesman said.
An air ambulance attended but was not needed, they added.
The incident was not related to Covid-19.
Speaking about the incident on November 9, a HMP Forest Bank spokesperson confirmed that a prisoner "set some small items on fire which smouldered.
“There was a very small amount of smoke and no banging on doors or calling for help.
“Staff attended quickly and extinguished the items.
“All systems were working but the smouldering was insufficient to set them off.
“The fire service was not needed.
“Staff attended when alerted.”
HMP Forest Bank is a Category B prison, run by Sodexo Justice Services.
It has a capacity for 1,460 prisoners.
