Five fire departments responded to the blaze at the Georgetown, Del., property, which engulfed and destroyed a maintenance structure that housed lawn and turf equipment. No injuries were reported, and damage to the structure and equipment has been estimated at $75,000.

The Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a fire at Sussex Pines Country Club in Georgetown, Del., on the morning of August 8 that caused severe damage to a maintenance structure housing lawn and turf equipment. Five fire companies responded to the blaze, but were unable to save the structure, the Salisbury, Md., Daily Times reported. 

At 10:46 a.m., the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Company responded to a report of a vehicle fire at the club, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Harry Miller said. The fire, which started in a maintenance enclosure about a mile from the club entrance, quickly spread to engulf the equipment shed in which the vehicle was parked, according to Ellendale Firefighter Roland Moore.

Fire teams from Indian River, Millsboro, Milton and Ellendale responded to assist. Moore said the responders fought the blaze for about an hour and a half. The shed was fully involved and could not be saved. No one was in the structure at the time, and no injuries were reported, the Times reported.

A second nearby structure about 40 feet away had its vinyl siding melted away. Plastic garbage receptacles in front of the building were also melted from the heat of the conflagration. A pair of double-walled metal fuel tanks only ten feet away were untouched. The contents of the shed included lawn mowers, graders and turf maintenance equipment, all of which were destroyed, the Times reported.

Dean Rubino of The Insurance Market, who was traveling past the club when the alarm was raised, said that the shed also housed the club’s computer controlled irrigation system, essential to maintaining the golf course greens. It was also destroyed, the Times reported.

The Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating the origin and cause of the blaze. Damages to the structure and equipment is estimated to be approximately $75,000, the Times reported.