ALTON, Mo. (AP) - One inmate is dead and five others were sent to area hospitals when a fire broke out in a cell in the Oregon County Jail in Alton, Missouri, in south-central Missouri.

The sheriff's office said the fire broke out Thursday night in a cell with four inmates. Oregon County is on the Arkansas state line, about 125 miles southeast of Springfield.

The state fire marshal is investigating the blaze.

The sheriff's office said a jailer was alerted to the fire by yelling from prisoners, but the smoke was too thick for the jailer to enter the cell area.

Firefighters arrived within five minutes, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

A 17-year-old inmate, Jesse Johnson, was declared dead at the
scene.