Wiring fault caused Millsboro funeral home fire

A weekend fire that heavily damaged a Sussex County funeral home was caused by an electrical malfunction, state fire officials said Wednesday.

The fire began at 1:25 p.m. Saturday at the Bennie Smith Funeral Home, a former residence built in the late 1800s in the 200 block of S. Washington St. in Millsboro.

Crews from the Millsboro Volunteer Fire Co. arrived to find heavy smoke showing from the second floor and attic, as the fire traveled throughout the structure.

Millsboro crews and six other fire companies worked for several hours to put out the blaze, Fire Chief Matthew Warrington said Wednesday.

The resident of an apartment in the three-story building escaped without injury, said Harry R. Miller, chief deputy state fire marshal.

Were just grateful that no one was injured, said Terrence Nichols, chief operations officer with Bennie Smith. Thats whats most important.

No human remains were damaged and no services were under way at the time of the fire, Miller and Nichols said. Damage was estimated at $350,000.

The funeral home management does not yet know whether it will be able to rebuild. At this point, were still talking with the insurance company, Nichols said.

The fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in branch-circuit wiring, where power comes out of the panel box, Miller said.

The house that burned was one of several locations for the business, which has its main office in Dover.

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Wiring fault caused Millsboro funeral home fire