$1 million Bethany fire is still under investigation

A house fire in Bethany Beach that caused an estimated $1 million in damage is still under investigation, officials said.

"What happens a lot of the time with big, high-loss incidents is we rely on experts, like electrical experts or mechanical experts," Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Harry R. Miller said. "That's where we stand right now."

Miller said the longer investigation was due to insurance reasons.

As of March 17, Miller said, the fire marshal's office does not suspect foul play as a cause of the fire.

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On Tuesday, March 14, at 10:30 a.m., seven fire companies responded to a blaze on Heron Road, just north of the intersection of Fred Hudson Road and Coastal Highway. After about an hour of work at the four-story, wood-framed vacation home, and the injury of one firefighter, units were able to get the fire under control.

The scene was ultimately cleared at 1:30 p.m.

What caused the fire could take some time to determine, Miller said.

"It takes awhile for the insurance companies to get these things lined up," Miller said. "We can't release our findings on the possibility that they might not be right. There's nothing suspicious down there, we just need the engineers and experts to investigate and determine what caused this fire."