Felton commercial building heavily damaged in weekend fire

FELTON, Del. – Delaware Fire Marshals investigated a commercial building fire that caused significant damage Saturday afternoon in Felton.

Just after 2:30 p.m., firefighters responded to the J&J Contracting Storage Facility in the 9000 block of S. Dupont Highway for a reported fire. Crews with the Felton Community Fire Company and neighboring fire companies battled the blaze for over two hours before it was brought under control.

One firefighter was taken to Bayhealth Kent Campus for treatment of a minor leg injury sustained in the battle.

Deputy State Fire Marshals have determined that the fire began in a vehicle inside a separate storage unit that was being privately rented and spread to other attached storage units. It was concluded that the fire was caused by an engine compartment malfunction in a 2015 GMC pickup truck that was being worked on at the time and was not able to be moved out of the structure before spreading.

Total damage has been estimated at $300,000.