The fire happened Monday night at Burton Bros. Hardware in Seaford. The store has been in continuous operation since 1893, and the building has been listed since the 1970s on the National Register of Historic Places.
The brothers who operate the store, Ron and Ric Marvel, responded to the blaze as members of the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department. Ron Marvel told the News Journal of Wilmington that he would continue making deliveries to his customers, even though the store's basement was flooded and most of the merchandise had been damaged by water or smoke.
His brother, Ric, was being treated at a Pennsylvania hospital for smoke inhalation.
