At 8:39 this morning, Wilmington Firefighters on the B platoon were alerted to a commercial structure at 1925 Lancaster Avenue. KFC employee alerted the New Castle County 911 Center of a fire in the storage area. The first arriving engine company reported heavy smoking showing from the one-story building.
Crews immediately established a water supply and began to stretch hose lines into the building to make an interior attack. The initial arriving Incident Commander, Battalion Chief John Hoban, arrived on scene and requested additional resources. Shortly after Battalion Chief Hoban ordered all personnel out of structure due to rapidly deteriorating conditions and subsequent roof collapse; once all personnel were removed from building the fire attack plan changed to exterior operations only.
Deputy Chief Jerome McCaffery arrived on scene with the additional resources and assumed command. Deputy Chief McCaffery placed the incident under control at approximately 10:30 AM.
A firefighter was treated for a leg injury at the Wilmington Hospital and later released. There are no reported civilian injuries. Currently, the Wilmington Fire Marshal’s Office is on scene performing an origin and cause investigation.
Approximately 32 fire and EMS personnel responded to the incident. The following units responded: Engine 6, Engine 5, Squad 4, Engine 1, Squirt 3, Ladder 2, Ladder 1, Battalion-1, Battalion-2, Deputy 2, Battalion 12, F9, Deputy 4, St. Francis EMS, and New Castle County Paramedics.
