Two inmates, aged 23 and 29, set fire to their cell in C1 wing around 3.40pm.

A spokeswoman for Corrective Services NSW said that the response was swift.

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"Two prison officers responded immediately and safely to remove the two inmates from the cell and they were taken to the prison's health clinic for assessment," she said.

"The fire was extinguished by three other officers and all inmates were evacuated to the outside yards where they were assessed for smoke inhalation."

The spokeswoman said a 25-year-old inmate was taken to hospital by ambulance to be treated for smoke inhalation, along with three prison officers were also treated at hospital for smoke inhalation.

"The three prison officers and the 25-year-old were discharged from hospital overnight while the 23-year-old and 29-year-old inmates have been placed in segregation."

Manager of Security, Lennox Peter, praised staff for their quick-thinking and professional response.

"We were at the gatehouse about to knock-off for the day when we got the call to respond to a possible fire in a cell," he said.

"Two officers went up and all the inmates were yelling about the fire and the two officers went straight into the cell and braved the fire.

"Without worrying about their own safety they just went straight in and took the two inmates out, then three other officers went in and fought the fire with fire extinguishers.

"Our staff had the whole incident safely managed within 30 minutes. It was an extraordinary job and I am very proud of our staff."

NSW Police have been notified and the inmates could face charges relating to the incident.

EARLIER:

INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into a fire at Bathurst Correctional Centre on Wednesday afternoon.

At approximately 3.40pm, Bathurst Fire Brigade was called to a fire that had started in one of the inmates cells.

Station Officer, Chris Sanders, said the incident was well handled by prison staff.

"Prison staff had evacuated two prisoners from the cell and had managed to extinguish the fire when we arrived," he said.

"They did a great job securing other prisoners before fire services were allowed in and they handled the situation well."

Mr Sanders said police and ambulance also attended the incident.

"We were accompanied prison staff and completed a thorough check of the area with two prison staff members treated for minor smoke inhalation."

Corrective Services NSW have been contacted for further information.

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