At approximately 1130 on Wednesday afternoon, Wilmington Firefighters were alerted to a collapse of the street bed with a vehicle sinking in the hole; in the 800 block of W 9th Street in the Trinity Vicinity Section of the city.
Upon arrival, fire department personnel found a large portion of the street had collapsed in the middle of the block. At the time of fire department’s arrival, the rear portion of a US Mail van had fallen into the hole and an SUV was at the edge of the hole.
The hole measured approximately 10 feet by 15 feet and appeared to be at least 10 feet deep. Personnel also discovered a pressurized water leak from a large water main inside the hole causing the hole to continue to grow.
The incident commander, Battalion Chief Eric Haley, requested a priority response from Wilmington Water Department, Licenses and Inspections, and Delmarva Power. Fire department members began to evacuate 10 houses and move other vehicles parked in the block as a precaution. Upon the arrival of the water department, the water was secured to the main and Delmarva Power determined there were no electrical or gas lines involved in the street collapse.
Once the mail van had been removed from the hole by a tow truck, the fire department turned over the incident to Wilmington Public Works for the repair of the water main and the street. Any further updates, if necessary, will be provided by the Public Works Department.