Wilmington – At 10:53 am Wilmington Firefighters on the A platoon were alerted to an unknown fire in the 600 block of North Market Street. Initial reports indicated “thick black smoke” coming from the manholes in the area. Upon arrival of Engine 1, a report was given of smoke coming from several manholes in the area, according to Lieutenant Andrew Cavanaugh.
Cavanaugh said fire department crews investigated and made contact with contractors working in front of 614 North Market Street. The contractors indicated that while digging in the area, an underground electrical cable may have been struck and damaged, according to Cavanaugh.
Fire department personnel requested Delmarva Power to respond to the scene and began securing the area. Local businesses and residences were secured for approximately 30 minutes until the arrival of Delmarva and the buildings could be checked by fire department personnel for any smoke or fire. No building suffered direct damage other than loss of power.
Currently, fire department units are still on scene with Delmarva. Local businesses remain open and accessible by pedestrian traffic only. It is estimated that this incident may take 8 to 16 hours to be rectified.
Engine 1 remains on scene standing by for Delmarva Power. This is still an ongoing incident and an update may be provided at a later time.
Approximately 22 fire personnel responded to the scene. The following units responded: Engine 1, Engine 2, Squirt 3, Squad 4, Ladder 1, Battalion-1, Battalion-2, and Delmarva Power.
