Officials: Burned Pennsylvania prison must be torn down

Sunbury, Pa. — The more than century-old central Pennsylvania prison ravaged by fire will be torn down.

Officials held an emergency meeting Thursday morning and decided that the Northumberland County Prison must be torn down and can’t be rebuilt at its current location blocks off the banks of the Susquehanna River.

County officials haven’t decided how they’re going to replace the facility. They are discussing regionalizing the prison system with neighboring counties and are looking into possible locations to rebuild it.

The jail’s 208 inmates were initially held in a nearby church before being transferred to separate state prisons.

The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon and thick smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the stone building with castle-like parapets.

Firefighters were back at the site Thursday morning after the blaze reignited.