Firefighter has 'a long recovery ahead' after blaze at Mill Creek home

A Delaware firefighter was in critical condition at Crozer Burn Center in Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon after a house fire on Mill Creek Road in Mill Creek.

Dave Smiley Jr., a 23-year-old rescue captain for Minquas Fire Company, sustained serious burns on 10 percent of his body after falling from the second to first floor while fighting the blaze, according to updates posted by family on Facebook.

Smiley is also a career fireman with the Lebanon City Fire Department in Pennsylvania, according to his Instagram and Facebook accounts. 

Crozer Burn Center said he was in critical condition Thursday afternoon. 

David Smiley Sr., the injured rescue captain's father and a former fire chief from Pennsylvania, posted about the incident on Facebook. 

"During the operation, the floor collapsed and David fell through the floor from the second floor to the first floor," he wrote. "He sustained 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns on approximately 10 percent of his body. His burns are on his ankles, hands, neck, ears, stomach and back. He is currently intubated and medicated to keep him comfortable until he can have his airway assessed. David is in for a long road of recovery. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers." 

Late Thursday, Smiley Sr. again posted an update, saying his son was wake and talking, although in a lot of pain. 

"So far the great prayers are working, keep them coming." 

Multiple fire companies responded to the blaze, which was reported about 8 a.m. Nobody was in the house at the time of the fire, said Mill Creek Fire Company Chief Joseph Stewart Sr.

A cat was rescued, which Stewart, clearly emotional about the injured firefighter, said was the only good news of the day. 

The State Fire Marshal's Office has determined that the fire was accidental. It originated in the first-floor laundry room and was caused by an electrical/mechanical malfunction in the dryer, Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Fox said in a press release. 

The fire caused an estimated $250,000 in damages.

Golfers at a nearby Delcastle Golf Course called in the blaze, according to Stewart, who said the house was more than 100 years old and had heavy flames on the second floor.

The golfers weren't able to give the fire companies an address, and it took them a while to get there, find a water source and set up. The lines were hooked up about a quarter-mile away and the water pressure wasn't good, the chief said.  

"These old houses, you don't get water on it fast ... it doesn't take long, as you can see," Stewart said. 

The attic and second floor collapsed. A second alarm and a “mayday” were called, and several fire departments and agencies responded to the scene, the State Fire Marshal's Office said.

The injured firefighter was rescued from the house, treated on scene by New Castle County Paramedics and transported to Christiana Care, where he was stabilized before being transported to the Crozer Burn Center in Upland, Pennsylvania. 

One reason the house burned so quickly was because of its age, Stewart said. It had plaster on wooden slats instead of drywall. 

"Once you get a fire behind the walls, they're just little slats ... like kindling," Stewart said. 

Crystal Goerlitz, who lived in the house, walked down Mill Creek Road after the fire, cradling her rescued cat and trying not to cry. 

She had two cats, but only one was found. She got a call about the fire while at work and drove back home as quickly as she could.

“I have no idea,” she said when asked what she and her husband would do now. She said they don’t really have family in the area and had not yet connected with Red Cross.

Frances Smith, who lives nearby on Riblett Lane, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the Goerlitz family and the injured firefighter.  

“Your heart breaks," she said. "It hits close to home. 

"It was intense. It was very scary."

The house is owned by New Castle County and was built in 1899, making it about 120 years old, according to property records. 

Jason Miller, director of communications for the county, said the house is leased as part of a curatorship program, which allows people rent the property for free in exchange for making substantial improvements to historical buildings, thus saving them from ruin. 

New Castle County seekssolution for historical homes

The current tenants — Goerlitz and her husband — have been there for about five years, Miller said.

The house is part of a chunk of property acquired by the county from the state several decades ago for Delcastle Park, he said. 

The Delcastle Recreation Area and Delcastle Golf Course were once home to the New Castle County Workhouse, also known as the Greenbank Prison, according to the Mill Creek Hundred History Blog.

There was also a large farm, called Delcastle Farms, which taught farming techniques to select inmates.

The house that burnt down Thursday was a part of that farm, according to the blog. It was acquired by the state in 1915 to help make the workhouse self-sufficient. 

Jeff Seemans said his grandfather managed the farm for the prison and his mom grew up there. 

"My heart is twice broken," he said. "First because of the couple who lived there and their terrible loss, and second because my mother's family grew up there from the late 1920s to 1943 when my maternal grandfather died." 

“It’s always been, not part of our family because we never owned it, but part of our family history.”

Reporter Adam Duvernay contributed to this story. Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.

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