Friday May, 22 2026 @ 08:22

Nature: Alarms - Residential (Multiple)

Location: Lingo Creek Apartments (80)

Address: 32983 Shoppes At Long Neck Blvd Millsboro, DE 19966

On Friday morning, May 22^nd, the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for an automatic fire alarm (AFA) incident at the Lingo Creek Apartments off Long Neck Road.  It was reported to be an automatic fire alarm within the multi-residential structure.

Emergency response units from Indian River included Tower 80 from the Oak Orchard facility as well as Engine 80 from the Long Neck facility.  Additionally, the Delaware State Fire Police responded to assist.

Emergency response crew assignments included incident mitigation efforts which identified a water flow condition was prevalent and requested the assistance of emergency response crews to evaluate and investigate the apartments.  Interior searches of the residential structures as well as monitoring of the pump house areas were coordinated and identified a broken sprinkler pipe within the attic or ceiling area of a second floor apartment.  All residents of the multi-story, multi-unit structure were notified of the issue.  The water flow situation did extend into other residential units and the alarm activation within entire building was being mitigated. 

The sprinkler system was shut-off and drained pending resolution with professional service provider, the facility was placed on officers call for 72 hours, and the respective management and maintenance personnel were apprised that a manual fire watch was needed to be implemented until resolution of the system was achieved. 

All emergency response personnel were permitted to return to their respective quarters.

An "Automatic Fire Alarm" (AFA) is industry terminology used by local emergency service entities for dispatched calls. These incidents are frequently triggered by cooking smoke, dust, or sprinkler system issues.

AFA dispatches at this specific multi-residential complex follow a standard sequence of events:

• On-Scene Investigation/Evaluation: Crews complete an exterior and interior evaluation. Firefighters use thermal imaging, multi-gas detectors and other devices to ensure there is no active fire or conditions present.

• Maintenance Turn-Over: The incident is turned over to apartment maintenance personnel to reset the master fire alarm panel after corrective actions are pursued.

• Return to Quarters: Once the alarm is silenced and deemed safe, units are authorized to "return to quarters" (return to the fire station). .