WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – Police in Wichita say a plot by three teenage girls to escape from a juvenile detention facility backfired.

They found themselves being evacuated wearing nothing but towels.

The girls soaked a washcloth in a flammable liquid and set it on fire in a vent Monday night.

Police Lt. Doug Nolte says they planned to slip out when the center was evacuated because of the fire alarm.

When the smoke detector didn’t immediately go off, the girls, ages 16 and 17, jumped into the shower to cover their absence.

That’s when the fire alarm went off. The staff evacuated the 55 girls housed at the facility, including the three in the shower. All were returned to the center after the washcloth was found.