BETHANY BEACH, Del.- Investigators are asking for tips following a bizarre house fire in Sussex County last week.
Firefighters responded to two fires at the same house in one night on Heather Lane in Bethany Beach. The first fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night; roughly seven hours later, firefighters were back.
"We are confident the fire was out when we first left," said Bethany Beach Fire Department spokesman Joe Hopple in an interview last week.
Investigators have collected all of the physical evidence that they can salvage, said chief deputy fire marshal Randy Lee. The insurance company will handle the pile of debris at the scene.
Lee said two fires at the same address in such a short time is not common, but not impossible either. Investigators are exploring a variety of possible causes: whether the first fire continued and broke out again later in the night or if the original fire damaged electrical wiring in a wall resulting in a second fire.
People staying in the home made it out alive. No one was injured. Two neighboring homes were damaged. Clean up crews were at the scene of one home on Tuesday morning.
Lee said damage on the structures will likely total in the millions of dollars. Investigators have been working since Thursday to determine a cause, Lee said.
