Electrical Fire Leaves Gaping Hole in a Delmar Church

DELMAR, De. -- An electrical fire caused roughly $250,000 worth of damage to the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Delmar Fire Department, the fire started around 3:00 am on Sunday, December 4th. 

Units from Delmar, Laurel, Salisbury, Sharptown and Sussex County all helped put out the fire, which, according to the Delmar Fire Department, took about three hours. 

Just one day later, the smell of charred rubble still filled the air. Broken windows, peeled siding, a few holes in the roof and a giant hole on one side of the church made up most of the damage. 

Mindy Jenkins saw the whole thing from the steps of her home, just across the street. 

"I was sitting outside and I seen smoke coming from the top of the roof and everything, it lit the sky up," said Jenkins. "It was engulfed in flames, it was really terrible."  

According to Michael Chionchio, an assistant fire marshal for the state of Delaware, the fire was accidental. 

"The origin was inside the church and the cause was a faulty electrical extension cord to a pool heater," said Chionchio. 

The ruling was a relief for those who immediately thought the worst. 

"Unfortunately my first thought was arson, like I really hope somebody didn’t deliberately do this," said Carrie Fleming. "I was so happy to find out, not that I'm happy that it happened, but glad that it was electrical and not somebody trying to hurt them."

Fleming, who has a clear view of the church from her backyard, said her and her husband were woken up to the sound of fire fighters extinguishing the flames. 

"We were woken about 3:00, 3:30 to the chainsaws, saw the firetrucks and it wasn’t until the morning that we realized what had happened," said Fleming. "We went out and took a look and saw a huge hole on the side and felt so bad for them." 

Now, neighbors would like to see the church get some help. 

"I do hope they find somebody to step up and help them find a place to worship, because they’ve been misplaced and this is the worst time of year to be misplaced," said Fleming. 

An unfortunate event, but many hope a helping hand is right around the corner. 

WBOC did reach out to members of the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. They declined to make an official statement until they figure out the insurance and where they will hold services until the building is repaired.