Lulu Ross Elementary fire caused by electrical fault, fire marshal says

Why Should Delaware Care?
At the end of October, a fire shut down a Milford elementary school, leaving hundreds of students without classrooms or consistency. Those students have since found new classrooms in other district properties, but questions remain about rebuilding the school, and at what cost. 

Delaware fire marshals who investigated a blaze that tore through a Milford elementary school last month said on Thursday a failed fluorescent lightbulb caused the fire that displaced 600 students. 

At a press conference outside the now condemned Lulu M. Ross Elementary School in Milford, district leaders and state fire investigators outlined the cause of the fire and how the community has come together in its aftermath. 

B. Scott Bullock, the assistant state fire marshal and chief of investigations with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, said the nature of the fire was “accidental” and did not assign a monetary figure to the damages. 

He said the fire started following an electrical failure in a “combustible display case” that was embedded into the wall. Bullock said one of the lighting fixtures at the top of the display case, which had fluorescent bulbs, failed, and the fire began to rise into the ceiling. 

Wires, plumbing and other mechanical equipment typically run through the structural parts of a building or home, often in ceilings or behind walls. Bullock said these areas usually do not contain smoke or fire detection systems, and the fire raged on for 17 minutes in the ceiling space before any fire alarm went off inside the school.

Fire alarms were first tripped at 4:11 a.m., and firefighters put out the blaze a little more than three hours later. He said that since the fire and its smoke vented through the roof, many of the gases went into the atmosphere instead of getting trapped within the building. 

But because of this venting, Bullock said there is extensive water damage in the school because the fire grew so large. 

The principal of the elementary school, Kim Webb, said during the press conference that while the impact of the fire is “difficult to put into words,” the community has rallied to support the students. 

She added the students have been the community’s “greatest reminder” of the “good in this world,” as they have navigated their new reality after the fire. But Webb also said Milford has a long road ahead as it plans the future of the school. 

“There will be hard days ahead, and we will meet them with the same love and determination that have carried us thus far,” Webb said. 

To rehab or rebuild? 

Travis Moorman, the superintendent of the Milford School District, said 600 elementary students had been moved to other facilities across the district and would stay there until at least the end of the school year. 

Insurance adjusters are currently taking inventory of all the items in the school and assessing the damage, Moorman said. Once a monetary figure for how much was lost in the fire is determined, Moorman said district officials would work to figure out if it is cheaper to rehabilitate the school or demolish and rebuild on the same site. 

If a district wants to build a new school, add an expansion, or complete a substantial renovation, its officials must seek state funding approvals from the Delaware Department of Education through a process known as a certificate of necessity, commonly referred to as a CN. 

If the Department of Education approves a request, the state will fund a percentage of the project cost. The district would need to secure its local contribution through a referendum vote to raise residents’ property taxes, which Moorman said can take between two to three years. 

Nearly all CN requests have been rejected in recent years. 

This past summer, the Milford School District requested $80 million to complete major renovations and expansions to its high school. It was the fourth time the school district has submitted the request. 

Delaware Department of Education spokesperson Alison May said the department understands the “emergency nature” of the situation for the Milford School District. 

She also said there are emergency protocols and provisions to expedite construction needs under the insurance process. May also pointed to an “emergency process” when the Capital School District’s William Henry Middle School was impacted by a tornado in 2020.

More than $9 million was needed to repair William Henry Middle, as reported by Bay to Bay News. At the time, Capital School District officials credited legislators, the Delaware Department of Education and the state insurance office with securing funding for the repairs.

Julia Merola and Maddy Lauria contributed to this report.