The historic Howard Hotel and a commercial building in Elkton were heavily damaged by fire Sunday evening.
Singerly firefighters quickly called for additional alarms for assistance to battle the flames at the vacant four-story hotel that dates back to 1853, along with a three-story commercial building that includes Angelucci Bail Bonds and three apartments that sit next to it, WJZ reported.
Firefighters found fire on all floors and heavy smoke coming from the building. A portion of the building's rear collapsed during the blaze, causing firefighters to be ordered out of the structure, The Cecil Whig reported.
"This is a historic building," said Master Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire. "This building is probably has been here for over 100 years. It's very chopped up, for lack of a better word. There are multiple rooms in there. It's just been changed over the years. That makes it extremely difficult and sometimes very dangerous for our firefighters to go in there and try to extinguish the fire."
An off-duty Delaware firefighter who observed smoke coming from behind the building assisted investigators in their expeditious conclusion. After observing the fire, he attempted to use fire extinguishers before it rapidly spread into the two buildings.
The cause remains under investigation, but no evidence has been found to suggest it's arson.
