Middletown – The Delaware Office of the State Fire Marshal has determined that last night’s building fire in Middletown, Delaware was accidental, said Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio.
Chionchio said the Volunteer Hose Company responded to the Amazon.Com Fulfillment Center located at 560 Merrimac Avenue around 9:30 pm for an active fire inside the processing area. Upon arrival, the fire sprinkler system had extinguished the fire.
State fire investigators were called to the scene to conduct the investigation. A fire occurred at the mezzanine level when static electricity ignited leaking vapor from a container of assorted aerosol cans. The area where the fire began was protected by a fully automatic fire sprinkler system which put the fire out and prevented the fire from spreading.
Fire damage was contained to the stock pile of product and estimated at $1000.
An ambulance was requested to the scene for a person suffering from a medical condition, unrelated to the incident. No injuries were reported.
Amazon released a short statement regarding the incident this morning.
“There was a small fire in the Middletown, Delaware fulfillment center late Tuesday evening which was quickly extinguished. We appreciate the efforts of our local first responders.
The health and safety of our associates and partners at the fulfillment center is our number one priority. No employees were directly injured as a result of this incident.”, said Amazon Spokeswoman Rachael Lighty.