Former Prison Youth Center Fills Fire Department Training Needs

The 55-acre site of the former D.C. prison’s Youth Center in Lorton is surrounded by landfills, an incinerator and a recycling center. When the center opened on Furnace Road in 1960, it was the first such institution constructed specifically to accommodate those sentenced under the Federal Youth Corrections Act of 1950.

Today, surrounded by fencing and towers, the youth center’s buildings are in various stages of disrepair and collapse, according to a recent County report. For the past five years, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, along with other federal and state organizations, have used the facility for training purposes.

The History

The Federal Youth Corrections Act was enacted by Congress and targeted young offenders, both men and women, between the ages of 18 and 22. The aim was to segregate them from more hardened adult offenders and to rehabilitate them through intensive programs and a mandatory period of parole supervision.

The layout and architecture of the Youth Center was unlike the design of previous facilities built by the department. More like a college campus, it allowed a sense of freedom of movement by the inmates and provided academic and vocational educational opportunities as well as professional counseling and guidance. Each inmate had his own room.

“The mission of the Youth Center as interpreted by the Department at the time of its opening was to provide individual treatment of the offender through a 'team' approach,” wrote Mary Hostettler Oakey in her book, "Journey From the Gallows". 

Three years after the center opened, a group of more than 50 inmates claiming to be members of the Black Muslim faith rioted, set fires, broke windows and damaged the chapel. The perpetrators were transported to the jail in D.C. by bus and order was restored. By the early 1970s the facility had become severely overcrowded and corrections was forced to convert the former Women’s Workhouse into Youth Center II to accommodate the growing number of Federal Youth Corrections Act offenders.

Evacuation

In 1985, methane migrating from the nearby landfill entered the plumbing system causing blasts which fatally injured one inmate and critically burned another forcing the Youth Center to be quickly evacuated and entry restricted. An extensive method to vent the gas was installed and after several months the inmates were returned.

Did You Know...

The ground-floor level of one of the youth center buildings housed a Civil Defense Emergency Operations Center bunker operated by the D.C. Office of Emergency Management. Theoretically, the bunker would absorb the shock of a nuclear attack on Washington, D.C. - 20 miles away. Working cubicles for various agencies were identified so that emergency operations could be conducted from the site in the event of an attack.

Until 2003, when the site was dismantled and stored by Gary Francis Powers, Jr. for possible future inclusion in a Cold War Museum, most of the original equipment and artifacts remained. The bunker was featured in a History Channel production titled Lost Worlds: Secret U.S. Bunkers.

The Future

Plans are to continue to use the site for training, however the county Fire and Rescue Department is requesting a long-term formal contract with county officials for its use. This contract will enable Fire and Rescue to apply for federal and state training grants that require a dedicated site.

The site has been used by U.S.A. Search and Rescue Team-1/Virginia Task Force One, who were deployed to Japan to assist in the search for survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami. They also helped in the search efforts following the earthquake in Haiti last year.

Training at the site includes live collapse work, training within a breach/break simulator and trench rescue training, according to Chris Caperton, Laurel Hill Liaison with the county’s DPZ. An area is proposed for future canine certification training, he added.

The County is exploring the possibility of a review by the Planning Commission to determine if a temporary or interim use of the site by Fire and Rescue is substantially in accord with the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan. The actions go to the Board of Supervisors for determination.

The South County Federation endorsed the use at its June meeting provided the site is photographically documented and an effort be made to preserve the bunker.