On December 31st at 12:49 p.m Lewes Fire Department Station 82 was dispatched to a reported structure fire at Irish Eyes Restaurant, 213 Anglers Road, Lewes, DE. Lewes Fire Chief William Buckaloo arrived on scene shortly after the dispatch and reported heavy fire visible from the exterior of the building.

Firefighters from 9 Sussex county fire departments battled the blaze until it was determined under control at 4:19 p.m. The efforts to bring the fire under control were significantly hampered due to high winds and cold temperatures. Additionally, the majority of the fire was found to be under the building and access to the area was extremely difficult.

At the time the fire was reported there were 10 employees and several tables of customers in the building. All occupants were able to exit safely. There were no injuries to the patrons or to any firefighters.

Fire Departments assisting were; Rehoboth, Milton, Indian River, Georgetown, Roxana, Milford, Millville, Slaughter Beach, Bethany Beach, Millsboro, Greenwood, Ellendale and Frederica. It is estimated the overall cost to the volunteer fire service to extinguish this fire will exceed $10,000.00. This figure includes the cost of fuel; equipment damaged fighting the fire (power tools, hose and turnout gear), firefighting foam, and food for over 100 firefighters. This figure does not cover the value of the personnel hours expended, which is estimated to be over 600 hours.

At this time the cause of the fire has not been determined nor has the monetary value of the damage to the structure. This information may be released later by the Fire Marshall’s office.