SUNBURY - For the second time in less than a month, employees, numerous criminal defendants and citizens seeking services were evacuated from Northumberland County Courthouse on Monday morning.
This time, the reason for the evacuation was a foul odor caused by a blockage in a main sewer line at Court and Second streets, which run along the west and south sides, respectively, of the Market Street courthouse.
The odor was detected by workers as they entered the courthouse around 9 a.m. and an evacuation plan was put into effect by court officials, county commissioners and county Chief Clerk Gary Steffen at approximately 10 a.m. All of the occupants, which included approximately 50 employees, were evacuated by 11 a.m., and the stench was mostly eliminated by 12:30 p.m. after Sunbury Municipal Authority employees unblocked the sewer line and county maintenance personnel cleaned up and ventilated the basement.
Northumberland County Commissioner Chairman Frank Sawicki said the basement, which stores county records dating to the 1700s, was not damaged. He said the basement was 75 to 80 percent dry as of 1 p.m.
"The blockage caused us to lose a day of work, but fortunately there was no damage," Sawicki said. "Public safety is paramount and we felt it was vital to evacuate the courthouse and shut down operations for the day."
Deputy Court Administrator Kevin O'Hearn noted the strong stench emanated throughout the courthouse after starting in the basement. He said Monday was a busy day at the courthouse due to many guilty pleas being scheduled. He said some of the legal proceedings had been completed prior to the evacuation, but the majority had to be continued due to the evacuation.
O'Hearn estimated there were 100 people inside the courthouse, including employees, defendants and other citizens, when the evacuation was declared.
Signs posted on the front courthouse doors notified people that the courthouse had been closed due to sewage issues and would reopen at 9 a.m. today.
On Sept. 7, the courthouse and all other county buildings were evacuated at about 10 a.m. due to flooding in Sunbury and the surrounding areas. The courthouse basement did not sustain any damage as a result of the flood, according to maintenance personnel.