Delaware Bay Barge Fire

SMYRNA, Del. – Multiple agencies are responding to a barge fire in the Delaware Bay.  The barge is carrying salvage metal and is being moved to shallow water where it can be secured to allow responders on-scene to extinguish the fire and complete salvage operations.

No injuries have been reported at this time.

The agencies responding include Wilmington Fire Department, Good Will Fire Company, Leipsic Volunteer Fire Company, Bowers Fire Company, South Bowers Fire Company, Delaware State Police, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s (DNREC) Police Fish and Wildlife Team, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s (DNREC) Emergency Response Team, the New Castle County Office of Emergency Management, Kent County Department of Public Safety, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) and the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay. The Philadelphia Fire Department is enroute to assist.

The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) is the lead state agency for coordination of comprehensive emergency preparedness, training, response, recovery, and mitigation services to save lives, protect Delaware’s economic base and reduce the impact of emergencies. DEMA is a division within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS) and authorized by Delaware Code, Title 20,Chapter 31 §3101-3130.

Correction: This release has been edited to properly reflect the claim that DNREC was “performing air quality monitoring”. DNREC did NOT perform air quality monitoring today as the air in the area surrounding the fire would need to be monitored for particulate matter (PM) – and the mobile monitors used by first responders (namely the DNREC Emergency Response Team) do not detect PM readings.

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