DEWEY BEACH, Del.- Firefighters pulled up early Saturday morning to a fire on Bayard Avenue. Three homes were severely damaged with one of them collapsed and eventually knocked down.
Anne Boyle woke up to the noise a block away and went out to see what was going on.
"I thought I heard a bunch of car doors slamming and when it kept going for a few minutes, my husband got up to look out the window and saw that the house over here Granfaloon was on fire," Boyle said. "We later came to understand what we heard were the windows shattering and popping out."
Everyone was safe in getting out of the houses thanks in part to Dewey Beach Patrolman First Class John Kane, who according to Dewey Police banged on doors to alert the people inside to get out.
We wanted to talk to Kane, but his superior Sergeant Cliff Dempsey says he's taking a well-earned few days off.
Dewey Beach Police Chief Sam Mackert says that officers go through fire school training. He says they learn things like how to protect themselves in a fire but to also assess the situation before they go in.
Vice President of the Delaware Fraternal Order Of Police Todd Mumford says the Police Fire Survival training is required by the Delaware Council For Police Training and is a course that takes at least 14 hours to complete.
"It trains every police officer in the state on you know recognizing dangers when it comes to electrical fires, how to properly use fire extinguishers, what the different types of fire extinguishers can be used for, as well as knowledge of flammable liquids," Mumford says.
Dale Cummings is visiting her sister for the Easter holiday and has been walking by the rubble over the last few days.
'All I could think of is how sad I was for what had happened,' Cummings said. "And so my question to one of the neighbors was was anyone hurt and she said she understood that they were able to get out so I was grateful to hear that."
The cause of this fire is still under investigation. John Galeska who works in the Sussex County Division of Investigations says this will take a while to determine what started it and that there were smoke alarms in all of the homes which were working the night of the fire.
A large fire that caused over a million dollars in damage with some answers still to come.