``[Mary Braun] has been vomiting steadily,'' said Nell Parfiniuk, a member of the Sons of Freedom Doukhobor sect in Gilpin, near Grand Forks in southeastern B.C. ``They all need medical attention.''

The three women -- Braun, 74, [Tina Jmaeff], 69, and Berikoff, 56 -- are all serving time in the Burnaby Correction Centre for Women for setting fires in the East Kootenay region.

Three Doukhobor women are on a hunger strike in a Burnaby jail after setting fire to their clothes to protest being moved to another part of the jail.

Mary Braun has been fasting since Tuesday, while Tina Jmaeff and Pauline Berikoff have been fasting since last week.

``Mary has been vomiting steadily,'' said Nell Parfiniuk, a member of the Sons of Freedom Doukhobor sect in Gilpin, near Grand Forks in southeastern B.C. ``They all need medical attention.''

The three women -- Braun, 74, Jmaeff, 69, and Berikoff, 56 -- are all serving time in the Burnaby Correction Centre for Women for setting fires in the East Kootenay region.

Fire is considered a cleansing ritual by Sons of FreedomDoukhobors.

Last year, Jmaeff became quite weak after a 58-day hunger strike. Braun fasted for 25 days last year.

Esther McMullan, the director of the women's jail, said the women originally set fire in jail Tuesday morning to piles of their clothing.

There was minor physical damage to their living unit but the fire triggered the sprinkler system and caused water damage, she said.

Then the women were placed in segregation, where they set fire to their bedding, which was removed, McMullan said.

But authorities have provided new bedding and water for the prisoners, she noted, and the women are receiving proper medical attention.