Delaware School Fire Cancels Week of Classes, Moves Polling Place

Students at Lulu M. Ross Elementary School in Milford, Delaware will stay home all week after a three-alarm fire tore through the nearly 70-year-old school early on Sunday, October 25, and the damage is now reaching beyond the classroom. The Milford School District said there will be no in-person or remote classes for Ross Elementary students from October 26 through October 30, and no classes at nearby Mispillion Elementary either, because the fire knocked out the fiber optic connection the two schools share. On Monday, the Delaware Department of Elections moved the November 3 polling place for Sussex County Election District 36-01 from Ross Elementary to Mispillion Elementary at 311 Lovers Lane in Milford, and mailed letters to every registered voter in the district.

The fire was called in around 4 a.m. on Sunday, October 25. Crews arriving at the school on Lovers Lane found fire coming through the roof, and firefighters needed about three hours to bring the blaze under control. The Delaware State Fire Marshal's office said investigators determined the fire started in the school's Kent wing. It spread into the lobby and front office areas, and caused significant damage to classrooms, the library and administrative offices, according to local reporting. No injuries were reported.

What officials said on Monday

Delaware's leaders spent Monday reacting to the loss. Governor Matt Meyer said he was saddened by the fire and called a school the heart of a community. "We are grateful to the firefighters and emergency crews who responded quickly, and I am relieved that no civilians or firefighters were hurt," Meyer said. He said the state is working directly with Milford School District leadership, and that the immediate priority is supporting the district as it makes alternate arrangements, contacts families and plans for a safe return to learning. Senator Chris Coons said he was deeply concerned by the fire and grateful to the firefighters who contained it. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester said her heart was with the students, educators and families dealing with the loss of their school. Representative Sarah McBride said she was glad no one was injured.

Superintendent Travis Moorman announced the week-long closure on October 25. The district's crisis team is meeting through the week to plan the longer response. Ross and Mispillion sit a little more than a football field apart and share many resources, Moorman said, which is why the fiber outage closed both schools even though only one burned.

Why it matters

For families in Milford, the fire removes a school, a polling place and a piece of local history in one morning. The building is nearly 70 years old, and the Kent wing, the library and the front offices are heavily damaged. Parents now need a week of childcare with no remote learning option, because the same outage that closed Mispillion also cut the connection remote classes would need. Voters in Election District 36-01 need to know their Election Day polling place has changed, one week before the November 3 general election. Early voting in Delaware continues through November 1 at any early voting site in a voter's county, which gives affected voters another route to cast a ballot.

The context

School fires at this scale are rare in Delaware, and the investigation will take time. Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Brian Schad said the exact cause is still under investigation and warned that, given the extent of the damage, finding it could take from a few days to a few months. "We are working to get it resolved as fast as we can," Schad said in a statement to Delaware Online. Investigators have fixed the point of origin in the Kent wing, but nothing public yet explains how the fire started.

What happens next

The district must decide where Ross students will learn once this week ends, whether in shared space at other Milford schools, in temporary classrooms or on a repaired portion of the site. The elections department says polling places statewide will be open on November 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and District 36-01 voters should go to Mispillion Elementary, not Ross. The district has set up a donation point for the school community, with items left in the donation box next to the main office at 20330 Sandhill Road. The fire marshal's findings, when they come, will shape both the rebuilding decision and any insurance and safety reviews that follow.

Key numbers

The fire was reported around 4 a.m. on October 25 and took about three hours to control. No injuries were reported. Classes at two elementary schools are cancelled from October 26 to October 30. The relocated polling place serves voters on November 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.