Northumberland County Prison Fire

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You just do’

You You ‘Sometimes you don’t think ...

A collector’s edition of the Northumberland County Prison fire of 2015

The Daily Item

Saturday, January, 31, 2015

— 2015 —NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY PRISON FIRE

A COLLECTOR’S EDITION

“Sometimes you don’t think, you just do.”

– HENRY HULLIHEN

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By Francis Scarcella The Daily Item

SUNBURY — The hun-dreds of onlookers lining city sidewalks couldn’t be-lieve what they were see-ing, the multi-colored fire hoses snaking along more than a square city block and leading to tankers positioned at Northum-berland County Prison, where frequent bursts of flames filled a wintry sky shrouded by plumes of gray and black smoke.

What they saw was swarms of police converg-ing from across the Val-ley, nearly 200 firefighters from six counties, closed streets, police tape and the demise of the 139-year-old city fixture in a six-alarm blaze.

“This,” said Jen Fisher, of Sunbury, “is unreal.”

Only minutes after the fire began at 2 p.m., cor-rections officers threw open the front doors of the lockup and scurried onto North Second Street to wait for firefighters to arrive. Within 30 minutes, city, county and state offi-cials were on the scene.

More than 200 inmates were still inside.

“I wonder what they are going to do,” said Tina, of Sunbury. “I have a relative inside.”

Tina, who didn’t want to reveal her last name, heard about the fire on the po-lice scanner and became alarmed because she had a relative inside the jail.

“I just want to make sure he is OK,” she said. “I’m

getting worried.”Later, more corrections

officers stepped out of the front door, some cough-ing from inhaling smoke, as inmates were evacuated, two at a time and bound by zipties, from the burning jail and into Faith United Methodist Church across the street.

Watching all the com-motion was Northumber-land Commissioner Vinny Clausi.

“This is a sad day in Nor-

thumberland County,” Clausi said. “This is a his-toric building and it had its problems, but no one wants to see something like this happen.”

Inmates sat inside the church for several hours before being bused to the State Correctional Insti-tution at Coal Township. SCI-Muncy accepted Nor-thumberland County’s fe-male inmates.

State Rep. Lynda Cul-ver, R-108, of Sunbury, also

arrived and offered assis-tance.

“It is great she was here,” Clausi said. “She is help-ful.”

There was initial confu-sion as to whether SCI-Coal Township was going to ac-cept the inmates, but Culver made sure the prisoners had a place to go.

Some of the hundreds of firefighters who battled the blaze were directed inside The Daily Item building to keep warm and eat food do-

nated by various city busi-nesses.

“You feel helpless,” said Mel Purdy, of Purdy Insur-ance, Sunbury. “We needed to do something.”

The throngs watching the fire continued to grow, even as darkness fell.

“I have never seen any-thing like this,” said an 81-year-old Sunbury man. “I have walked past this jail for seven decades and I would have never imagined this.”

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Smoke rises from the Northumberland County Prison as a fire burned inside. The blaze burned for more than eight hours and more than 200 firefighters responded to help control the fire.

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Five ladder trucks responded to the Northumber-land County Prison fire to help control the blaze from above.

The following fire companies and other emergency personnel to respond to the Jan. 14 Northumberland County Prison fire, according to Northumberland County Emergency Services; telephone numbers are listed for those who want to volunteer, donate, or wish for more information.

NorthumberlaNd CouNtyEast Sunbury Hose Company (570) 286-5331Sunbury Steam Fire Engine Company (570) 286-0065Rescue Hose Company (570) 286-9017Americus Hose Company (570) 286-2222Good Will Hose Company (570) 286-2831Area Services (570) 286-7333Upper Augusta Fire Department (570) 286-8405Northumberland Fire Department (570) 473-8621Point Township Fire Department (570) 473-7572Lower Augusta Fire Department (570) 286-2575Friendship Hose Company (570) 648-0751Liberty Hose Company (570) 648-1201Rescue Hose Company (570) 648-0931Independence Hose Company (570) 648-1151West End Fire Company (570) 648-2109 Coal Township Fire Department (570) 644-1495 Ralpho Township Fire Department (570) 648-1121Elysburg Fire Department (570) 672-2920Stonington Fire Department (860) 535-0329Riverside Fire Department (570) 275-4644Herndon Fire Department (570) 758-3481Trevorton Fire Department (570) 797-8411Milton Fire Department (570) 742-3942SNyder CouNty

Shamokin Dam Fire Department (570) 743-2126

Hummels Wharf Fire Department (570) 743-3001Kratzerville Fire Department (570) 374-8771DH&L Fire Company (570) 374-0011DH&L Ambulance (570) 374-0011Kreamer Fire Department (570) 837-1707Middleburg Fire Department (570) 837-3940Freeburg Fire Department (570) 374-1923moNtour CouNty

Mahoning Township Fire Department (570) 275-8662Danville Ambulance (570) 275-6028, (570) 284-4621dauphiN CouNty

Pillow Fire Department (570) 758-4183uNioN CouNty

Union Township Fire Department (570) 524-0834William Cameron Engine Company (570) 524-2295

aNdPolice, sheriff, constable, corrections officers and others responded from the following counties and departments:

NorthumberlandSnyderUnionMontourColumbiaLycomingDauphinCumberland JuniataState Department of Corrections


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Emergency personnel gather outside the prison in one of the staging areas.

Photos above and left by Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

At left, firefighters gear up to go up a ladder on the Northumberland Fire Department truck. Above, fire-fighters climb up a fire truck ladder to reach flames coming from the roof of the Northumberland County Prison.


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By Evamarie SochaThe Daily Item

SUNBURY — Put your hand in front of your face about an inch or two from your nose.

That was the field of vi-sion for the firefighters go-ing into the Northumber-land County Prison blaze, said Dean Hixson, director and former chief of the East Sunbury Hose Company.

“We were this close, and I couldn’t see Henry,” he said of firefighter Henry Hulli-hen, who was seated next to him. The firefighters, who went into the prison in pairs, knew the other was there by feel and touch, but that was about it.

Thick smoke, intense heat and cramped halls and stair-ways were just some of the challenges they faced Jan. 14 in what became a six-alarm, eight-hour response.

By the time it was done, the fire that destroyed the 139-year-old prison was out but smoldering, contained by an incredibly orches-trated response that used more than 200 fire person-nel and 66 units from six counties to the best advan-tage possible.

Hixson, Hullihen and a fellow East Sunbury officer who asked not to be identi-fied plus Chief Ken Kipple, of the city’s Good Will Hose Company, said the response was like most others for a large fire, but almost im-mediately, they knew this would be a battle.

“I said damn, this isn’t good,” said Kipple, who was at his job at the National

Guard Armory in Danville when he got the call at 2:16 p.m. He first saw the smoke while on Route 11 about 10 miles from Sunbury.

At first, black smoke poured from the prison roof. “She’s cookin’ if she’s black,” Hullihen said, meaning the fire is in a free-burning stage with no sup-pression effort yet. He was the third firefighter inside, and prison staff members

— the jail had its own fire response personnel — were surrounded by smoke with no protective gear.

“We were the second ones in and chased out the prison staff,” Kipple said, noting the staff had air packs on but not protective clothes.

When Hullihen reached the third floor, he said he nearly turned back because of the incredible heat and smoke.

“The door was open, but the heat and smoke was so intense, it was a death trap,” he said of the roof’s loft, a three- by three-foot crawl space that was between the wooden roof joists and a brick barrier.

Fire will go through the path of least resistance, the men said, and ideally, they want to attack the fire at its base. But they couldn’t get on the roof, and ventilation

was a problem, so the fight moved to the air. Five com-panies with aerial ladders — Northumberland, Overlook, Selinsgrove, Shamokin and Sunbury — were called and rained water from above for hours from five spots around the prison.

The unprecedented re-sponse began with the Northumberland County


The Sunbury Fire Department and Good Will Hose Company trucks were the first to respond to the prison fire. About 75 pieces of apparatus responded to the blaze.

A harrowing scene inside

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Department of Emergency Services, which uses “box cards,” or Excel spread-sheets that detail which fire companies where have what equipment and decide not only who to send but who to keep on standby in case of emergencies elsewhere.

They all tune in to a des-ignated radio channel and check in with the chief, who goes straight to the scene for an initial “360 assess-ment.” By the time the fire companies arrive, he knows what’s happening and where to send equipment and fire-fighters.

Commander in this case was Assistant Chief Russ Wertz, who manned a mo-bile command center from the back of a pickup truck. Kipple eventually met up with him.

“Mentally, you are going 100 miles an hour,” Hul-lihen said. “Sometimes, you just don’t have time to think. You just do.”

That’s where the staging officer helps keep things in line. Capt. Matt Lydic, of the Good Will Hose Company, was in charge of the staging area in front of the prison, gathering fresh crews to take over for crews that had been inside.

A simple yet effective visual system accounts for firefighters. Each person has two fire identification tags, a red one and a green one, both with as assigned number. The red tag stays on the truck, indicating that person is there and in the

mix. The green one is put right outside the building, indicating that firefighter has gone inside.

The response was nearly flawless. For a fire involv-ing six alarms, 208 inmates

were evacuated and taken to other facilities without inci-dent, aided by law enforce-ment from six counties. Not one firefighter was injured among the more than 200 who responded. All prison

personnel on duty escaped unscathed.

“This was a big, huge call,” Kipple said. “We can always look back and pick it apart. ... But for what we did — we contained the fire

and no one was injured, no security concerns to the citizens of Sunbury — it was wonderful.”

‘This isn’t good’


Firefighters make their way into the Northumberland County Prison to try to extinguish a fire that ultimately destroyed the lockup. Firefighters had to retreat from inside the building after part of the roof collapsed.

SCENE, from Page A6


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Smoke drifts over firefighters at the top of a ladder while battling the fire at the Northumberland County Prison.


Brian Ginck, the captain at the Northumberland Fire Department, center, along with other firefighters re-spond to the fire at the Northumberland County Prison in Sunbury on Jan. 14.


A firefighter directs water onto the fire at the prison. Water is controlled via an electronic panel in the bucket of the ladder.


Firefighters from Americus Hose Company tried to open the roof of center offices of the prison to gain better access to the fire, which raged inside the ceilings of the building.

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By Evamarie Socha The Daily Item

SUNBURY — The need for more water prompted a sixth alarm during the Nor-thumberland County Prison fire as companies with tanker trucks responded to the blaze that destroyed the 139-year-old structure.

Five aerial hoses contin-ued to douse the prison from different perches above, nearly four hours after the fire began about 2 p.m.

Russell Wertz, Sunbury’s 1st assistant fire chief, said tankers were pumping wa-ter from the Susquehanna River near the Adam T. Bower Dam and trucking it along Front Street.

Firefighters from Union Township Fire Department in Union County, which has a tanker, said they were called about 4 p.m. to Sun-bury, likely to aid in the need for water.

Hoses snaked blocks from hydrants at the north and south ends of Sunbury as one near Market and North Second streets, a block from the prison, had pressure problems. Wertz said the is-sue was because of the way the water main was set up and wasn’t a problem with the hydrants.

However, scanner calls throughout the response noted water pressure prob-lems in the immediate area. Service to the city of Sun-bury wasn’t hampered by the effort.

Sunbury Fire Depart-ment Chief Ken Kipple said at least 1 million gallons of water was used to battle the fire.

Temperatures were in the teens and 20s through-out the response but, other than making for a frosty

response, did not seem to hamper firefighters’ efforts. Ice formed where water pooled on North Second

Street and alleys that sur-round the prison, but didn’t make roads hazardous.

Firefighters began to pull

back on the response at about 6:15 p.m.

1M-plus gallons of water quenched inferno


The Americus Hose Company ladder sprays water onto the fire from above. Water flows from the hose at about 1,000 gallons per minute.



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A flag hangs off a fire truck while fighting a fire at the Northumberland County Prison. Firefighters communicate from the base of the ladder to the top via an intercom system. There is always someone positioned at the base of the ladder to communicate with those at the top.


A firefighter at the top of a ladder truck guides the lad-der into the right position while fighting the fire.


A firefighter makes sure all the water is out of a hose before rolling it up at the Northumberland County Prison fire.


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Smoke billows from the roof of the Northumberland County Prison as firefighters at the top of the Shamokin Fire Department truck pour water onto the fire.


Each tank carried by a fire-fighter holds around 4500psi of compressed air, which lasts for 45 minutes or less.


A firefighter at the top of a ladder truck signals to other firefighters at the Northumberland County Prison fire.



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By Justin StrawserThe Daily Item

SUNBURY — The Sun-bury Fire Department chief and incident commander are grateful and apprecia-tive of the support provided by community businesses and residents to the hun-dreds of firefighters from six counties who battled the devastating fire at Northum-berland County Prison.

In the conference room of The Daily Item, which is near the lockup, firefight-ers took breaks in shifts and enjoyed a makeshift

smorgasbord of donated food and beverages from OIP, Dunkin’ Donuts, Sub-way, Domino’s, Dynamic Wings & Subs, Giant Food Stores, Weis Markets, Gi-Gis Pizza and Burger King. Furthermore, the owners of Oaks Oil Company Inc. and Purdy Insurance purchased and donated food and bev-erages.

“It’s great,” Chief Ken Kipple said. “The commu-nity really came through in their support.”

Russ Wertz, first assistant fire chief and incident com-

mander, echoed Kipple’s sentiments.

“I appreciate everyone coming out and supporting us and feeding us,” he said.

They commented on the countless neighbors and community members who donated food without even introducing themselves.

Also, the city of Sunbury donated salt to combat the water and icy conditions on the road, and city employ-ees donated their time. The Red Cross also provided shelter to several homes that lost power.

Valley businesses provide meals to volunteers

Francis Scarcella/The Daily Item

Firefighters eat refreshments provided by area businesses inside The Daily Item building.


A Special T hank Y ou to all of the area first responders, county em ployees, local churches, com m unity organizations and elected officials w ho pulled together to help us respond to the N orthum berland C ounty prison fire!

N orthum berland C ounty C om m issioner R ichard Shoch

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Firefighters direct water toward the fire on the roof. Each ladder truck was specifically placed to control the blaze, with one truck placed at the corner of Second and Arch streets to stop the fire before it reached the west wing of the building.


Flames and smoke rise up from the Northumberland County Prison as water is sprayed on it from the Americus Hose Company ladder truck.



Firefighters make their way onto the roof of the prison carrying a specific roof ladder to help stabilize them as they cut open the roof to release the flames.


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Firefighters prepare to cut a hole in the roof, as they are seen doing at bottom right, to help gain access to the fire. The best access point for the firefighters was through the roof, especially in parts of the building where the fire was mainly contained in the ceilings. Part of the of the roof was inaccessible and difficult to cut open so firefighters waited for the fire to burn through before they were able to control the blaze.

Robert Inglis/The Daily ItemJustin Engle/The Daily Item

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A firefighter maneuvers a ladder on the Northumberland Fire Department truck at the rear of the prison.

Photos by Robert Inglis/The Daily

Item

At left, the Northumber-land Fire Department and Shamokin Fire Depart-ment ladder trucks sit on Woodlawn Avenue while fighting the fire at the prison. The wall hampered the firefight-ers ability to access the fire. Ladder trucks try to get as close to the roof as possible but were hindered by the height of the wall and the con-struction of the build-ing. At right, firefighters watch on at the staging area.


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By Justin Strawser The Daily Item

SUNBURY — Northum-berland County Prison was built in 1876 to replace a two story jail constructed of stone. It was the third prison to serve the county since the municipality’s or-ganization in March 1772.

John L. Moore, a Nor-thumberland author who specializes in Valley his-tory, and Cindy Inkrote, the Northumberland County Historical Society director, explained that the contract to build the prison was awarded in May 1876 to Ira T. Clement at his bid of $91,636, which did not include iron or water pipes. The total estimated cost was $ 140,000.

The prison was famously known for the last public hanging in Pennsylvania.

On Oct. 9, 1879, Peter McManus, the last of the Molly Maguires to be tried and convicted for murder, was hanged in the yard of the Northumberland County Jail.

Molly Maguires Pe-ter McManus and John O’Neil were convicted in separate trials of the mur-der of Frederick Hesser, the night watchman at the Hickory Swamp Colliery near Shamokin, in Decem-ber 1874. O’Neil’s sentence was commuted to life in prison and he eventually died in the Sunbury jail from disease. Before a fire

consumed the jail on Jan. 14, the castle-like facility was rife with issues in its past. It, as prisons are wont to do, was a magnet of law-suits, including one filed by the Lewisburg Prison Proj-ect on behalf of 12 inmates,

alleging medieval condi-tions at the jail and prac-tices that violated consti-tutional rights. By the time the lawsuit was settled in 2010, leaving the door open to sweeping changes in the facility, the bill reached a

half-million dollars.It was just over a year

ago that a kitchen fire at Northumberland County Prison broke out, but it caused only the movement of female inmates to the li-brary.

All inmates returned to their cells after approxi-mately 90 minutes.

The warden has also seen three wardens in five years. Bruce Kovach, the latest warden, started Jan. 5.

Jail’s other dark moment: Site of last public hanging in Pennsylvania


Firefighters work to open the roof of the center building of the prison to better control the blaze.

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Evamarie Socha/The Daily Item

Emergency vehicles closed down Second and Market streets in Sunbury as fire hoses snakes between the vehicles from a hydrant near the courthouse to the prison.

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Thousands of feet of hose helped to control the blaze within the prison. Each truck carries a minimum of 1000 feet of hose.


Firefighters gather at the incident command center and staging area to be as-signed jobs to help control the blaze. Assistant Chief Russ Wertz manned the command center, which directed incoming apparatus and personnel. Additionally one firefighter acted as a secretary for Wertz and took more than 10 pages of notes about the fire and the plan of action to control the blaze. At the front of the prison was a Rapid Intervention Team from Middleburg on standby to rescue any fire-fighters that were trapped or injured during the blaze (there were no injuries). This team, which requires an additional 40 hours of training, responds to any structure fire with two alarms or higher.

Francis Scarcella/The Daily Item

Three firefighters watch as the fire inside the prison continues to burn after hours of battling the flames.


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Firefighters stand on the back of the Northumberland Fire Department truck while others stand at the top of the ladder during the fire.


Smoke pours over firefighters on the Americus Hose Company ladder truck during a fire at the Northumber-land County Prison.

Photo at left by Francis Scarcella/The Daily Item

Firefighters gather at the second staging area at the entrance to the Northumberland County Prison waiting to swap out with other firefighters inside the prison battling the blaze.


The Shamokin Fire Department ladder truck sits along Woodlawn Avenue to direct water over the wall of the prison.


534 Market St. • Shamokin (570) 644-0363

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123 S. 2nd St. • Sunbury (570) 286-6471

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Firefighters in the bucket of the Americus Hose Company truck direct water toward the part of the roof which collapsed during the fire.

The Sunbury Fire Department would like to thank the following businesses for helping to assist the firefighters and other emergency personnel during the Northumberland County Prison fire:

Dunkin’ Donuts, Sunbury locationKFCDynamic WingsPurdy InsuranceSubwayDomino’s Pizza Guigi’s Burger KingDanley’s HotelFaith United Methodist Church, which housed the prisoners until they could be relocated.St. Matthew’s Episcopal ChurchWeis Markets, Market Street Sunbury locationOriginal Italian PizzaThey would also like to thank everyone else who helped them in both big and little ways but whose names may haven been unintentionally forgetten

in the chaos of the moment.

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SALES • APPRAISALS • RENTALS 800 N. Fourth Street, Sunbury

570-286-6344

“Teamwork from the Team that WORKS !”

Debbie Brous e Assoc. Broker GRI, CRS

Ext. 207

Bob Kline, Realtor Ext. 205

Mary Fatool, Realtor Ext. 214

Dani Ferster, Realtor Ext. 213

Linford Good, Realtor Ext. 206

Cheryl Rice, Realtor Ext. 204

Wendy Wiest, Realtor Ext. 208

Shannon Long, Realtor Ext. 212

Mike Kisner, Realtor Ext. 203

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We are proud of the firefighters, first responders and volunteers for a job well done. for a job well done.

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Documents

Northumberland County Prison Fire