Three people are dead following a fire Wednesday night at a home in the first block of Prosperity Road near New Castle, said Assistant State Fire Marshal Richard Ward, a spokesman for the state Fire Marshal's Office.
The blaze began in the Duross Heights development just after 11 p.m. Wednesday. When firefighters first arrived they saw flames shooting out of the one-story home, Ward said.
Firefighters from Wilmington Manor, Elsmere, Minquas of Newport, Five Points, Cranston Heights and Delaware City fire companies worked to extinguish the blaze as thick clouds of smoke billowed from the white frame house and flames gushed from the rear windows.
Two occupants, a 56-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman, were removed from the house, Ward said. Both suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to Christiana Hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead, according to New Castle County paramedics spokeswoman Sgt. Kelli Starr-Leach.
The 56-year-old man and the 86-year-old woman had no obvious burns on their body, Starr-Leach said.
A third person was found burned beyond recognition in the rear of the house. That person was pronounced dead at the scene.
Information on the third victim was not available.
The identities of the victims will be released later today, Ward said.
The fire was placed under control at 12:41 this morning, according to the New Castle County fire board.
Investigators have been working throughout the night and into this morning trying to determine to the cause and origin of the fire, Ward said.
Damage is estimated at $100,000.
The home was built in 1950, according to New Castle County property records.
Republished with permission of The News Journal.
