Dewey Beach’s Lighthouse Cove Development Company has announced an increase in the reward money for last year’s fire.
The Delaware Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating the April 23, 2020, structure fire that destroyed the Lighthouse Restaurant and boardwalk area under construction in Dewey Beach, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal John Galaska said at the time.
Galaska said the Dickinson Avenue fire was reported shortly before 10:00 in the evening. Firefighters from the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company arrived on the scene and found heavy flames coming from the structure and requested mutual aid from area fire companies.
State fire investigators determined that the destructive fire was the result of arson, Galaska said in a statement last April. Fire damage was estimated at $750,000, added Galaska.
On Tuesday the Lighthouse Cove Development Company announced an increase in reward money to $30,000 for anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the fire.
“We have increased the reward to $30,000 to help encourage those with additional information regarding the fire to come forward so that the responsible parties can be brought to justice. We will not rest until this is resolved,” stated Thomas J. Hanna, President of Harvey Hanna & Associates, the company that is overseeing the redevelopment. “We remain confident we can soon bring to full light the details of this senseless act. We would also like to thank the Delaware Fire Marshal’s and Attorney General’s offices for continuing to explore every lead in our relentless pursuit in the arson investigation.”
The Lighthouse Restaurant was being remodeled at the time of the fire, with the expectation that it would be reopened in the Summer of 2020. The arson occurred weeks before the restaurant was scheduled to reopen, thereby displacing almost 40 workers that had been hired or had been scheduled to be hired. No timeline has been determined for rebuilding the restaurant.
Anyone with information on the fire is asked to contact the Delaware Fire Marshal at (302) 856-5600; Delaware Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at (800) TIP-3333; or Harvey, Hanna & Associates at (302) 323-9300 Ext. 112.