MIDDLETOWN, DELAWARE (5/4/2018) A fire started by discarded smoking material caused $250,000 to a townhome in Middletown on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
The blaze was reported at 1:11 p.m. in the 900 block of Lansdowne Road, in the Willow Grove Mill Townhouse community. The location is just east of the Route 1 expressway and south of Route 299.
When Odessa and Middletown firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames and smoke coming from the middle-of-the-row townhome, said Robert Fox, chief deputy state fire marshal.
He said the flames extended to the roof.
Investigators from the Delaware state Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire started outside the home in a mulch bed where smoking material had been discarded. The flames spread to the siding.
No injuries were reported.
The homeowner and neighboring residents were being assisted by the Red Cross of Delmarva.
