One Dead, One Injured In Delaware Apartment Fire

CLAYMONT, Del. (CBS) — One person is dead and another was injured after a two-alarm fire ripped through an apartment complex in Claymont, Delaware.

Flames broke out around 2:30 a.m. Sunday at the Harbor House apartments in the 200 block of Harbor Drive.  The fire started in an apartment on the third floor of the building and then quickly spread.

"The fire was well advanced to us,"said Claymont Fire Department Chief Mark Harris. "We were definitely behind the eight ball before we even got on location."

It took crews about three hours to place the fire under control.

Seventeen units at the apartment complex were heavily damaged and 40 people were forced from their homes.

Officials confirmed one person was found dead inside one of the units. A second person, a 72-year-old man, was rescued and taken to Christiana Hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation and high carbon monoxide levels.

No firefighters were injured in the blaze.

The American Red Cross was on the scene assisting displaced residents.

The fire marshall was investigating the cause of the blaze and was also looking into whether or not the smoke alarms were working properly.

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