Crews were called to battle a multiple-alarm fire at the Northumberland County Prison. Flames were visible through the roof of the facility in Sunbury, which is about 50 miles north of Harrisburg, as crews worked to contain the two-alarm fire that was reported about 2 p.m. on Wednesday. An official cause of the fire was not released as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, but officials said the fire appeared to be electrical. It remained unclear whether anyone has been injured in the incident, but all inmates were reported to have been evacuated from the facility. Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said the Department of Corrections is helping out Northumberland County in any way they can. Wetzel said the the incident sounds like a really bad fire, which will most likely displace the just more than 200 inmates housed in the facility. The inmates were transported to a nearby church, while crews worked to contain the flames, but officials are working on a long-term housing solution. Initially, Wetzel said the county inmates will all be moved to one state prison, but plans have not been finalized. I dont know who else would take them to tell you the truth, he said. All 208 inmates were accounted for following the prisons evacuation, according to media reports. WNEP news reporter Nikki Krize reported from the scene that inmates were being heavily guarded and loaded onto buses to be taken to other prisons just before 4 p.m. Sunbury The Daily Item reporters on the scene of the fire reported a roof above one of the prisons wings had collapsed and Northumberland County Commissioners Vinny Clausi and Stephen Bridy were addressing media gathered at the scene. Bridy said the cause of the fire was believed to be an electrical fire, and firemen at the scene said the fire would burn in the facility through the night, according to The Daily Item reporter Francis Scarcella. Currently, Wetzel said officials are working on a short-term plan, as well as a long-term plan and will do whatever appears to be the best solution. You generally dont rebuild a prison in a couple weeks, he said. PennLive Capitol Bureau Chief Jan Murphy and the Associated Press contributed to this post. This post has been updated with additional information.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 06:28:17 +0000
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