Structure fire in Seaford destroys two warehouses, over $1Mil. in damage

SEAFORD, DE- A structure fire at a pair of warehouses on the 500 block of Harrington Street in Seaford has leveled the structures and caused over 1 million dollars in damage according to the Delaware State Fire Marshall’s Office.

The fire broke out around 7 a.m, and while multiple fire companies responded, and were initially successful in battling the flames, the fire escalated too quickly to be stopped according to Seaford Fire Chief Jack Wilson.

“We had to call an audible to use a football term and reposition 3 times as the equipment and firefighters were taking the brunt of that heat, and it damaged a fire ladder and injured five of our guys,” Wilson said.

He says water issues also prevent them from being able to knock down the fire as fast as they wanted to.

“Once they started the fire attack the fire advanced, and we had to withdraw we tried to get access to another part but water supply issues made us have to pull out and reconfigure what we were doing,” he said.

A preschool near the fire canceled classes for the day as a result of the smoke, and the City of Seaford released a statement to residents, telling them that air quality and water quality would be impacted throughout the day as a result.

Wilson says in addition to Delaware State Fire Marshalls that were on site looking to determine the cause, officials from DNREC were also present to make sure the fire didn’t represent a threat to air or water quality, due to agricultural materials being stored inside the fire.

According to the City of Seaford’s release “Air quality is being monitored by DNREC but there are no concerns from hazardous chemicals.”

The Delaware State Fire Marshall’s Office is working to determine the cause.