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Barge fire off of Bowers Beach extinguished, State of Emergency lifted

A barge fire off the coast of Bowers Beach is out and under control.

The Bowers Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at 1 a.m. on Monday, but found the fire was already getting out of control upon arrival.

Bowers Fire Chief Aaron Warren says that barge fires are common at port, but are closely monitored and extinguished quickly.

“Within the half hour or so that it took us to get underway out there to it and actually on scene with it, you had a good 5-10% of this 4 to 5 story tall story pile burning," Warren said. "So we were way behind the 8-ball on that from the get-go.”

The cause of the fire is undetermined, and Warren says it could remain a mystery. The barge was transporting a pile of scrap metal between 40 and 50 feet high, and while debris and potentially hazardous waste were carefully contained to the deck, much of it was melted down.

“With scrap piles like this in my understanding from many professionals that I’ve talked with, sometimes these things are undetermined," Warren said. "You have to remember, this barge was carrying scrap metal from households. It left out of New York, transmitting to Camden, New Jersey, where they go and get offloaded there.”

Gov. John Carney issued a state of emergency on Monday in Kent County and requested additional resources through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. The order was lifted Wednesday afternoon.

Warren said at least 30 volunteer firefighters were on site at all times, watching the fire closely and ensuring that nothing hazardous spilled over into the water.

“At some point we had six to eight foot seas out there and I had 26 foot Boston Whalers out there putting water on this thing. The volunteers in this state and the assets that were provided outperformed themselves and out performed what I honestly thought they could do.”

Warren added that the resources deployed through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact and many volunteers from over 55 units exceeded his expectations and masterfully defused the fire.

Warren said the barge is now in New Jersey waters and being handled by Cumberland County officials.

Rachel Sawicki was born and raised in Camden, Delaware and attended the Caesar Rodney School District. They graduated from the University of Delaware in 2021 with a double degree in Communications and English and as a leader in the Student Television Network, WVUD and The Review.