A couple was killed and two firefighters were injured when flames tore through a townhouse on 8th Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware, overnight.
The incident began at a home along 8th Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware, at about 2:45 a.m. on Tuesday morning. John Looney, Chief of Fire for the Wilmington Fire Department said that firefighters found the three-story building engulfed in flames when they arrived at the home.
Looney said, initially, the fire crews made an “aggressive interior attack” but had to retreat to a defensive position when the flames caused a collapse of the second floor.
Once they were able to head back inside, Looney said, the firefighters discovered both residents of the home had died in the fire.
Family members identified the couple as Tanya and John Poteat.
Janene Peterson, Tanya’s daughter, said she rushed to the home when she heard about the fire. She hoped it was a false alarm.
“As I’m coming up Maryland Ave I see all the fire trucks and then parked my car and ran up and saw the house was engulfed in flames,” Peterson said.
Two firefighters had to be hospitalized after suffering minor injuries during the response to this incident. As of about 7 a.m., one of these firefighters had been treated and released.
But, Sharon Osburn was at the scene early Tuesday and said the victims were her sister and her sister’s husband.
“My sister is gone, she’s gone, that’s all I know,” she tearfully told NBC10’s Neil Fischer. “They was on the third floor and they said the whole house was burning… Just keep us in prayer right now. We need all the prayers we can get.”
Officials said the fire was placed under control by about 5:10 a.m. and investigators are still working to determine the cause of the incident.
“At this time, we don’t know the cause,” Looney said.
