By Eric Scicchitano
The News-Item
SUNBURY — The lights were out Tuesday in the left wing cell block of the former Northumberland County Prison, and the steel gate was pulled shut.
It was dark and quiet, and has been since a Jan. 14 fire all but destroyed a building that for 139 years embodied punishment for crimes committed from Mount Carmel to Milton and in between.
There were no inmates behind the 20-inch thick walls, no corrections officers making checks at the 41 cell doors in left wing. A stench of fire was locked inside. Charred remains of the roof above were strewn about a cold, concrete space thousands had begrudgingly occupied since 1876.
County officials opened the prison Tuesday, inviting regional media inside for a post-fire tour.
“I’m afraid it’s going to come down one of these days,” prison Lt. Jim Smink said, gesturing to the arched brick roof above left wing.
It’s unknown, officially, what sparked the fire that spread from the left wing attic and into the tower at the front of the building. It was stopped from spreading into the right wing. All 208 inmates and about 30 staff members evacuated safely.
Tuesday, the tower area appeared skeletal. Wall material was removed, exposing the concrete underneath. Wiring dangled between sections of framing meant for drop ceilings. Above in the attic area that had been home to the prison gallows, the staircase to the platform still in place, wooden beams were ashen.
District Attorney Ann Targonski remarked about the building’s architecture, pointing out the curved doorways. Warden Bruce Kovach, on the job just eight days before the blaze, said the architecture was fascinating.
“It had to be a showpiece for Northumberland County when it was new,” Kovach said.
Commander Brian Wheary noted it cost $125,000 to build in the 19th century. It’d take millions to replicate it today.
“I think this is what jails should be,” Smink said. “It’s kind of a shame. We wouldn’t get a new prison without the fire.”
The basement appeared untouched, as did the right wing, but more than 1 foot of water had to be pumped out after the flames were extinguished.
The prison yard was the last stop. It was strewn with debris, too. A net that once hung from the walls, designed to catch contraband tossed from the street, laid mostly on the ground. Blue tarp was visible on the prison roof where exposures were closed.
County Commissioner Stephen Bridy, chairman of the prison board, said there have been three offers to salvage river rock and metals from the building. He noted the benefits of free demolition and hauling. The building’s future, though, remains in limbo. Plans are progressing toward constructing a new facility about one mile north on Sunbury’s outskirts.
Inmates are currently held at state prisons — males in Coal Township and females in Muncy. Renovations are nearly complete at the Coal township facility, which will be supervised by county correctional staff. Offenders newly arrested are sent to neighboring counties, including Snyder, Montour and Columbia, before transfer.