Woman arrested for arson, connected to fire at central Austin hospital

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A woman was arrested for arson in connection with a fire at a central Austin hospital that happened over the weekend, the Austin Fire Department said in a news release.

Around 5:44 a.m., AFD said it received a call for a "midrise fire" at Ascension Seton Shoal Creek Medical Center, 3501 Mills Avenue. When fire crews arrived at the hospital, "they found the remnants of an extinguished fire inside one of the patient rooms," the release said. One employee at the hospital suffered smoke inhalation.

The woman, who was identified as 44-year-old Carmel Esther Norris, set a bed and pillow on fire with a lighter she smuggled into the hospital, according to AFD. Norris later confessed to setting the fire after she was interviewed by AFD arson investigators, the release said.

According to AFD, the fire "caused an estimated $50,000 in damages" to the hospital, as well $1,000 in damages to the room where the fire started.

Norris was booked into the Travis County Jail, according to online Travis County court records. An attorney was not listed for Norris at the time this article was published.