Firefighter injured, cat killed in house fire

A firefighter was burned and a cat was killed in a house fire late Monday night in Wilmington, city fire officials said early Tuesday.

Nearly three dozen Wilmington Fire Department firefighters and emergency medical services personnel were dispatched at 10:04 p.m. Monday to the fire in the first block of Bedford Court.

Crews arrived to find heavy fire coming from the first floor of a three-story, mid-row home, said Battalion Chief James R. Jobes, public information officer for the Wilmington Fire Department.

One firefighter, whose legs were burned battling the blaze, was taken to Wilmington Hospital, where he was being treated and evaluated late Monday night, Jobes said.

He was expected to be released early Tuesday, he said.

Crews quickly suppressed the fire, declared under control by Battalion Chief Elizabeth Tickner at 10:26 p.m., Jobes said.

Although firefighters were able to suppress the fire quickly, he said, a cat that belonged to residents died in the house.

No estimate was available early Tuesday of the heavy fire and smoke damage to the building, Jobes said.

Residents of adjoining properties were allowed to return to their homes, he said, but officials from the city Department of Licenses and Inspections determined the burned house was not safe to occupy.

The resident will be staying with relatives, Jobes said.

The Wilmington Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Contact robin brown at (302) 324-2856 or rbrown@delawareonline.com. Find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @rbrowndelaware.