Using a giant crane with a basket attached, fire officials were lowered above the charred pile of rubble where the fire could have started. Fire spokesman Mark Brady said it likely began in the roof above the center hall of the red brick courthouse that was undergoing renovations.
Investigators also continued to question the roughly 50 contractors who were working on the building when the fire was first reported around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Brady said several workers were around the area where the fire began, but he would not say what the workers were doing or what they told fire officials.
``We are piecing it all together now,'' he said. ``Hopefully in the next couple of days we'll come up with our theory of what happened.''
The new courthouse, which is connected to the building that burned, remained closed Thursday because of smoke and water damage in the basement where prisoners are held. The newer building was not damaged by the fire.
Prince George's County Circuit and Administrative Judge William D. Missouri said court would also be closed Friday while officials await a report on how the smoke could affect people working in the building. Missouri said he hoped to open Monday because the court docket was backing up quickly because of the closures.
The intense fire burned for more than 90 minutes, fueled by winds that topped 20 miles per hours and an ample supply of wood building material. Much of the interior of the courthouse, which was just two months away from opening after a $27 million renovation, was chewed away by flames.
By Thursday, a steady, cold rain had snuffed any remaining hot spots, allowing investigators to get inside the structure. The red brick facade still stood, but heaps of blackened rubble could be seen through the empty windows in some sections, all that was left of the building's two floors.
The metal skeleton of the cupola still sat above the front steps, flanked by four stone columns that no longer hold anything up. The bell from the cupola had plunged into the basement, and Brady said it had not been recovered by Thursday afternoon.
A courthouse has sat on the site continuously since 1720 and the 151,000 square-foot structure that burned Wednesday dated from 1881. Renovations began in May 2003 and were scheduled to be finished Jan. 13. Court records and other historical artifacts had been removed, but carpeting and most of the new ceiling were already installed.
Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson has pledged to rebuild the structure and the county has a $100 million insurance policy that could cover the cost. Brady said structural engineers have determined that many of the interior walls and brick facade are still sturdy.
Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele took a brief tour of the site Thursday afternoon, saying the state may help Prince George's with the repairs if necessary. Ehrlich said the cost of rebuilding may be between $30 million and $40 million.
``To see it go up in flames was very heart-wrenching,'' said Steele, a Prince George's resident. ``There is a lot of history here.''
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