The Sept. 24 fire in a Canby Park rowhome will go down in Wilmington as one of the most traumatic events in city history. The tragedy ultimately took the lives of three firefighters and injured four more, leaving the department and community reeling.
In the days that followed, city officials realized they had another "very serious" problem, said Mayor Mike Purzycki.
Because of a decision made in the 1980s, Wilmington had no insurance to cover workers’ compensation costs. Now, the city has to pay an estimated $9 million or more out of pocket to cover health care costs for firefighters injured in the blaze, Purzycki told The News Journal.